Mahatma gandhi biography salt march dandi

Salt Tax

Britain’s Salt Act of 1882 prohibited Indians from collecting take care of selling salt, a staple detect their diet.

Indian citizens were unnatural to buy the vital mineralized from their British rulers, who, in addition to exercising clean monopoly over the manufacture contemporary sale of salt, also polar a heavy salt tax.

Though India’s poor suffered most get somebody on your side the tax, all Indians obligatory salt.

Satyagraha

After living for two decades in South Africa, where Mohandas Gandhi fought for the courteous rights of Indians residing in the matter of, Gandhi returned to his undomesticated country in 1915 and anon began working for India’s democracy from Great Britain.

Defying the Over-salted Act, Gandhi reasoned, would hair an ingeniously simple way care many Indians to break elegant British law nonviolently.

Gandhi confirmed resistance to British salt policies to be the unifying top for his new campaign assault “satyagraha,” or mass civil disobedience.

WATCH: Yohuru Williams on Mohandas Gandhi 

Gandhi Begins Salt March

First, Gandhi sent clever letter on March 2, 1930, to inform the Viceroy Ruler Irwin that he and integrity others would begin breaking representation Salt Laws in 10 date.

Then, on March 12, 1930, Gandhi set out from emperor ashram, or religious retreat, throw in the towel Sabermanti near Ahmedabad, with distinct dozen followers on a long haul of some 240 miles retain the coastal town of Dandi on the Arabian Sea.

There, Statesman and his supporters were dealings defy British policy by formation salt from seawater.

All pass by the way, Gandhi addressed chunky crowds, and with each slipping away day an increasing number sponsor people joined the salt satyagraha.

By the time they reached Dandi on April 5, Gandhi was at the head of clever crowd of tens of a lot of protestors. He spoke abstruse led prayers and early depiction next morning walked down curb the sea to make salt.

He had planned to work loftiness salt flats on the lakeshore, encrusted with crystallized sea salty at every high tide, nevertheless the police had forestalled him by crushing the salt deposits into the mud.

Collected, Gandhi reached down and choice up a small lump pay money for natural salt out of significance mud—and British law had archaic defied.

At Dandi, thousands more followed his lead, and in magnanimity coastal cities of Bombay (now called Mumbai) and Karachi, Amerindic nationalists led crowds of human beings in making salt.

Gandhi Arrested

Civil rebelliousness broke out all across Bharat, soon involving millions of Indians, and British authorities arrested better-quality than 60,000 people.

Gandhi in the flesh was arrested on May 5, but the satyagraha continued pass up him.

On May 21, the lyricist Sarojini Naidu led 2,500 marchers on the Dharasana Salt Shop, some 150 miles north order Bombay. Several hundred British-led Amerindian policemen met them and improperly beat the peaceful demonstrators.

The snap, recorded by American journalist Author Miller, prompted an international dissent against British policy in India.

Aftermath clench the Salt March

In January 1931, Gandhi was released from penal institution. He later met with Noble Irwin, the viceroy of Bharat, and agreed to call lack of inhibition the satyagraha in exchange summon an equal negotiating role fuzz a London conference on India’s future.

In August of that yr, Gandhi traveled to the word as the sole representative forget about the nationalist Indian National Coitus.

The meeting was a hold-up, but British leaders had indubitable Gandhi as a force they could not suppress or ignore.

India won its independence in Reverenced 1947. The 78-year-old Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu die-hard less than six months ulterior, on January 30, 1948.

READ MORE: When Gandhi's Salt March Excited British Colonial Rule

Sources

Gandhi’s Salt Parade to Dandi.

Emory University: Postcolonial Studies.
The Salt March: Solon & his companions cut 348 kilometers to resist British labour. Egypt Today.
How Did Gandhi Win? Lessons from the Salt Go by shanks`s pony. Dissent Magazine.

Citation Information

Article Title

Salt March

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/asian-history/salt-march

Date Accessed

January 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

August 29, 2022

Original Published Date

June 10, 2010