Dandi March- How One Man Broke India’s Unjust Salt Law
During its close to 200-year rule over India, the British Empire imposed many unfair laws and policies. It’s cruel and oppressive regime claimed the lives of millions of innocent Indians. Efforts to fight British authorities and negotiate terms of independence had been underway for a long time, but were met with little to no success. Many freedom fighters and opposers of the British rule had succeeded in leading sporadic protests, but there was an urgent need to unite the people of India in its fight against the British with a cause that would appeal to the millions of Indian masses.
There was little else that affected the lives of all Indians, irrespective of their age, financial status or gender like the Salt Tax. With its long coastline, India produced more than enough salt for the consumption all of its people. However, the British made it illegal for Indians to produce their own salt. Because the empire wanted money to fill its coffers, they reserved the rights to produce salt, sold it for a hefty profit to Europe and levied a heavy tax when selling to Indians. Can you imagine how it would seem to an Indian living in one of the coastal towns to not be able to collect salt from its easily accessible shores, but instead buy it at an exorbitant price from the British? Apart from air and water, salt is the perhaps the most essential thing for all humans on this earth.
One man saw this as a golden opportunity to bring Indians from all sections of the society to unite in their fight against the British. He was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. When he declared that he will undertake a march to protest against the Salt Tax, Gandhi was met with laughter and ridicule. The British seemed unfazed and disinterested and even his fellow members in the Indian National Congress seemed skeptical of a positive outcome. Undeterred, Gandhi, along with his 78 volunteers started the Dandi March on March 12th, 1930 from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. He intended to travel 240 miles by foot and end his march at Dandi, a coastal town in the state of Gujarat. Gandhi and his volunteers travelled during the day and stopped to rest in villages during the night. People welcomed them with open arms and hearts. During his stay, Gandhi made inspiring speeches against the Salt Tax and urged people to join him. Because it was a cause that affected every single person, Gandhi left each village with more followers than he came with.
On 6th April 1930, Gandhi and his followers reached Dandi, after 24 days of traveling on foot. Mind you, Gandhi was 61 at the time! Gandhi and his followers picked up fistfuls of salt from the shore technically “producing” salt and breaking the Salt Law. He called upon Indians everywhere to break the Salt Law in their respective towns and villages, without indulging in any kind of violence. Gandhi himself declared another Salt March at Dharasana in Gujarat. The movement gained massive support across the nation and united Indians like never before. The British who had earlier seemed unfazed were now scrambling to take action and break up protests that had sprung across the entire nation. Before the Dharasana march, they arrested Gandhi. His arrest spurred thousands more to join the march, which was then led by the Indian poet, Sarojini Naidu.
As she led the followers peacefully to break the salt law, they were attacked brutally by the British police. Since non-violence was one of main pillars of the Indian Independence movement, not a single Indian attacked them in return. Wounded, bleeding and injured, they continued their march. The famous American journalist Webb Miller was covering the Salt March and could not bear to witness this atrocity. He wrote a scathing article on the British government and its oppressive policies in India and put the Indian independence movement and Gandhi on the world map.
Gandhi remained in prison for a year. After his release, he negotiated with the British as an equal on behalf of the Indians and though the British did not repeal the Salt Tax completely, they allowed the poorest of Indians to make their own salt. Also, since the entire world now knew about Gandhi and his will to achieve independence from the British, it put pressure on the government to invite Gandhi to the Round Table Conference in England, where they would discuss constitutional reforms in India.
Gandhi and India made great strides with the Salt March, literally and figuratively. Many Indians had been fighting for independence for years before Gandhi arrived on the scene, but no one brought the entire nation together like he did. His principles of non-violence, insistence on the truth (Satyagraha) and civil disobedience not only brought the British government to its knees, but inspired rights-based movements across the world, the most notable of which are the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. and the movement against apartheid in South Africa led by Nelson Mandela.
March 12 2023 marks the 93rd Anniversary of the Dandi March.
P.S. This story was written to be shared at the International Festival celebrated by my son’s Elementary School. Every year, students are invited to share stories and interesting facts about their country of origin with a view to encourage and embrace multi-culturalism which is a hallmark of the American society.