The global press coverage and international support forced the then Viceroy, Lord Irwin to begin dialogue with Gandhi. Sculpture in New Delhi, India, depicting Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi leading the 1930 Salt March. In an effort to help free India from the British rule, Mahatma Gandhi once again contributed to a protest against salt taxes, known as the Salt March. The much-publicized, 24-day, 240-mile Salt March began on March 12, 1930, when 61-year-old Mohandas Gandhi led an ever-growing group of followers from the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to the Arabian Sea at Dandi, India. This protest advocated Gandhi’s theory of satyagraha or nonviolent disobedience as the nation came together on March 12, 1930 to walk the 241 miles long journey to the shores of Dandi to attain salt. The salt march also inspired, Ghaffar Khan, also popularly known as Baccha Khan, to led non-violent movement against the British Raj. Learn about "The Salt March" also called the "The Dandi march", a non violent protest organized by Mahatma Gandhi. Oktober 1869 in Porbandar, Gujarat; † 30. The Salt March, which took place from March to April 1930 in India, was an act of civil disobedience led by Mohandas Gandhi to protest British rule in India. Introduction. It was against these laws that Gandhi now turned the force of satyagraha . The Salt March was not only the most widely-celebrated moment in Gandhi’s career as a freedom fighter, but it is paradigmatic of his approach: it is a highly-symbolic and dramatic exercise in civil resistance, contextualized among a variety of other nonviolent actions (boycotts, civil disobedience, picketing) strategically focused on a relatively narrow goal. A few days before beginning the march, Gandhi wrote to Lord Irwin, offering to stop the march if their demands like the abolition of salt tax among others were met. As we celebrate the 91 st anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s Salt March, we need to remember his methodological genius. [On the 11th of March 1930, the crowd swelled to 10,000 at the evening prayer held on the Sabarmati sands at Ahmedabad. For Gandhi, the issue encapsulated the wicked tyranny of colonialism. Updates? There, Gandhi planned to together with his supporters defy British policy by making salt from seawater. On the morning of April 6, Gandhi and his followers picked up handfuls of salt along the shore, thus technically “producing” salt and breaking the law. The march ended on April 5, 1930, in Dandi when Gandhi defied the salt law by picking a lump of salt. Salt March Begins. For many reasons, his speech was a large success. The Salt March was a peaceful protest against British rule in India. His courage inspired millions of people across the country. For Gandhi, the issue encapsulated the wicked tyranny of colonialism. The 78-year-old Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu extremist less than six months later, on January 30, 1948. https://www.history.com/topics/india/salt-march. He told that on 12 March, 1930, he would begin the Salt March … Possibly these … Ken Pletcher was Senior Editor, Geography and History for Encyclopædia Britannica. A good biography by Kathleen about Gandhi, helped us gain some background knowledge on the leader. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Citizens were forced to buy the vital mineral from the British, who, in addition to exercising a monopoly over the manufacture and sale of salt also exerted a heavy salt tax. The private manufacture of salt violated the salt tax system imposed by the British, and in a new campaign of civil disobedience Gandhi led his followers from his ashram at Sabarmati to make salt from the sea at Dandi, a distance of 320 km (200 miles). They were led by Mohandas Gandhi, also known as the Mahatma, and intended to … 2014. The Salt March was one of the most successful campaigns in … Gandhi himself was arrested on May 5, but the satyagraha continued without him. Gandhi’s idea was to lead a march about salt. India won its independence in August 1947. Then, on March 12, 1930, Gandhi set out from his ashram, or religious retreat, at Sabermanti near Ahmedabad with several dozen followers on a trek of some 240 miles to the coastal town of Dandi on the Arabian Sea. It led to the Gandhi-Irwin pact. As one of the great performances of the independence movement, the Salt March epitomized a repertoire of rituals and practices that Gandhi developed, rehearsed and experimented with over more than 30 years of passionate political and social activity as he organized masses for collective action. He marches 240 miles from his home to the ocean to make salt in defiance of British regulations. Salt March: Background Britain's Salt Acts prohibited Indians from collecting or selling salt, a staple in the Indian diet. Gandhi’s decision to use salt or salt tax for organising this protest was a very unique one, as salt being a daily use item, resonated with more people irrespective of caste, gender, or religion. He reached the sea and grabbed a handful of salt, a symbolic act by which he invited the population to oppose the British monopoly on salt. There he said he would take a pinch of salt from the Indian Ocean and spent twenty-four days walking to the sea. Indian protests against the salt tax began in the 19th century and remained a major contentious issue throughout the period of British rule of the subcontinent. In march, 1922, was arrested for a mass boycott of British goods. Nevertheless, Gandhi reached down and picked up a small lump of natural salt out of the mud—and British law had been defied. 7 These experiments form what I propose to call, the 'rites of nonviolence'. First, Gandhi sent a letter on March 2, 1930 to inform the Viceroy Lord Irwin that he and the others would begin breaking the Salt Laws in 10 days. As he marched along other Indians joined him so they can participate in the great movement. Kurtz, Lester. The”Salt March” was Gandhi’s first great battle for independence. Gandhi later participates in a Round Table Conference in London to discuss the possibility of Indian independence, but no agreement is reached. Photo: Central Press/Getty Images Early Life and Education Indian nationalist leader Gandhi (born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Kathiawar, India, which was then part of the British Empire. On the eve of March 12, 1930, Gandhi made his famous speech to inspire his fellow citizens to march in protest against the unfair British policies. Gandhi’s Salt March speech made a deep impact on history. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. 1,600 (then equivalent to 750 USD) to the highest bidder of salt, Dr. Kanuga. The 240 mile march continued for 24 days. The Salt March, which took place from March to April 1930 in India, was an act of civil disobedience led by Mohandas Gandhi to protest British rule in India. All along the way, Gandhi addressed large crowds, and with each passing day an increasing number of people joined the salt satyagraha. The much-publicized, 24-day, 240-mile Salt March began on March 12, 1930, when 61-year-old Mohandas Gandhi led an ever-growing group of followers from the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to the Arabian Sea at Dandi, India. Even if the Government allow me to march tomorrow morning, this will be my last speech on the sacred banks of the Sabarmati. In 1930, the British introduced the salt tax, after which Gandhi led a 250-mile salt march to collect his own salt. Thousands across India would simultaneously break the salt law along India’s long coastline. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. He was immediately arrested. The Salt March, led by Mohandas Gandhi in 1930, was one of the first acts of civil disobedience in the 20th century. Salt March has been listed as one of the Social sciences and ... either, since it's not Salt Satyagraha exactly. Gandhi and a few select nonviolent followers would walk 390 km in 24 days to Dandi. The Salt March to dandi, concluding with the making of illegal salt by Gandhi on April 6, 1930, launched a nationwide protest against the British salt tax. Satyagraha (Sanskrit: सत्याग्रह; satya: "truth", āgraha: "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or holding firmly to truth, or truth force, is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance.Someone who practices satyagraha is a satyagrahi.. Gandhi later participates in a Round Table Conference in London to discuss the possibility of Indian independence, but no agreement is reached. Gandhi. This was later known as The Salt March that led to a larger civil disobedience movement that eventually led to India winning their independence in 1947. Mahatma Gandhi and his followers led the movement in 1930 (Kuhn 162). This was Gandhi's Salt March, a peaceful salvo in the fight for Indian independence. Webchron, 2003. All along the way, Ganhdi addressed large crowds, and with each passing day new … No arrests were made that day, and Gandhi continued his satyagraha against the salt tax for the next two months, exhorting other Indians to break the salt laws by committing acts of civil disobedience. The Salt March sparked similar protests, and mass civil disobedience swept across India. One of the unfair laws was the salt tax, where everyone who consumed salt had to pay tax for it. Gandhi’s followers called him "Mahatma, " which in Sanskrit means "great soul.". In March 1930, Mahatma Gandhi and his followers set off on a brisk 241-mile march to the Arabian Sea town of Dandi to lay Indian claim to the nation's own salt. On March 12, having given the Viceroy an extra day, Gandhi and seventy-eight others left his ashram and began to walk the two hundred miles to the seacoast. In his most successful protest, he leads the Salt March to the sea so that Indians can make their own salt and avoid paying the British tax on salt. The march resulted in the arrest of nearly 60,000 people, including Gandhi himself. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). He later met with Lord Irwin, the viceroy of India, and agreed to call off the satyagraha in exchange for an equal negotiating role at a London conference on India’s future. They too joined him in a non-cooperation movement against the British rule. The Salt March, which took place from March to April 1930 in India, was an act of civil disobedience led by Mohandas Gandhi to protest British rule in India. Learn about "The Salt March" also called the "The Dandi march", a non violent protest organized by Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi Salt March: 1930. Very much like the administration of 1930, today’s administration views civil disobedience as a nuisance. The essential mineral was heavily taxed by the colonial power, and Indians could even be jailed for daring to make salt themselves. Salt March, also called Dandi March or Salt Satyagraha, major nonviolent protest action in India led by Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi in March–April 1930. The march was the first act in an even-larger campaign of civil disobedience (satyagraha) Gandhi waged against British rule in India that extended into early 1931 and garnered Gandhi widespread support among the Indian populace and considerable worldwide attention. After the Salt March : Gandhi would remain in prison till 1931. After the Salt March : Gandhi would remain in prison till 1931. Satyagraha, an Act of Peaceful Disobedience . But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! At the time, the British Empire had a stranglehold on salt in India. India finally was granted its independence in 1947. Beside above, what did salt march symbolize? Salt production and distribution in India had long been a lucrative monopoly of the British. New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks, 2006. Source: Gandhi, himself sold a pinch of salt for Rs. As part of his master's program,... Mahatma Gandhi and Sarojini Naidu on the Salt March in western India, March 1930. A truce subsequently was declared, which was formalized in the Gandhi-Irwin Pact that was signed on March 5. The Salt Satyagraha was initiated by Mahatma Gandhi … Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. With the help of the Working Committee, Gandhi planned to stage a 240-mile march from his ashram in Ahmedabad to the coastal village of Dandi where he would publicly break the Salt Laws on 6 April 1930. Check out famous speech of Mahatma Gandhiji on the eve of historic Dandi March. But in 1930, he wrote the Declaration of Independence of India, and then led the Salt March in protest against the British monopoly on salt. The Salt March was an act of civil disobedience in March and April 1930 designed to reveal the injustice of Britain’s Salt Act of 1882 and, by extension, of British claims to India more broadly. The meeting was a disappointment, but British leaders had acknowledged Gandhi as a force they could not suppress or ignore. https://www.britannica.com/event/Salt-March, Salt March - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). The Salt March was a civil disobedience movement in India. Upon arriving at the beach in Dandi on the morning of April 6, 1930, loincloth-clad Gandhi reached down and scooped up a lump of salt and held it high. in Japanese studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He marches 240 miles from his home to the ocean to make salt in defiance of British regulations. This source just helped us with basic facts and knowledge of the Salt March. The Salt March was a civil disobedience movement in India. After living for two decades in South Africa, where Mohandas Gandhi fought for the civil rights of Indians residing there, Gandhi returned to his native country in 1915 and soon began working for India’s independence from Great Britain. Salt March, also called Dandi March or Salt Satyagraha, major nonviolent protest action in India led by Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi in March–April 1930. Gandhi-Irwin Pact, agreement signed on March 5, 1931, between Mohandas K. Gandhi, leader of the Indian nationalist movement, and Lord Irwin (later Lord Halifax), British viceroy (1926–31) of India.It marked the end of a period of civil disobedience in India against British rule that Gandhi and his followers had initiated with the Salt March (March–April 1930). OVERVIEW OF THE SALT MARCH One of the most famous examples of Gandhi’s economic non-cooperation was the Salt March. Another reason for this march was that the Civil Disobedience Movement needed a strong inauguration that would inspire more people to follow Gandhi's example. On March 12, 1930, in which, together with 78 faithful, he left Sabarmati and walked 390 km for 24 days, followed by a growing number of admirers. This march is famously known as the “Dandi March” in all the history textbooks. Webchron, 2003. Britain’s Salt Act of 1882, which heavily taxed Indians trying to purchase salt, was the cause of this march. (12 March–6 April 1930)A march by Indian nationalists led by Mohandas Gandhi. The march was the first act in an even-larger campaign of civil disobedience ( satyagraha ) Gandhi waged against British rule in India that extended into early 1931 and garnered Gandhi widespread support among the Indian populace and considerable … India finally was granted its independence in 1947. Britain’s Salt Act of 1882 prohibited Indians from collecting or selling salt, a staple in their diet. This march would help contribute to the independence of India. In August of that year, Gandhi traveled to the conference as the sole representative of the nationalist Indian National Congress. The march is a great success and further disrupts British rule. Salt March The Salt March, which took place from March to April 1930 in India, was an act of civil disobedience led by Mohandas Gandhi to protest British rule in India. Web. ... Gandhi scripted the action as “a salt march”—a drama that would unfold in several acts. Known as the Long March, the trek lasted a year and covered some 4,000 miles (or more, by some ...read more, The March on Washington was a massive protest march that occurred in August 1963, when some 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Also known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the event aimed to draw attention to continuing ...read more, From November 15 until December 21, 1864, Union General William T. Sherman led some 60,000 soldiers on a 285-mile march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks, 2006. When next have time, will start a dedicated article on CDM, that has a summary of Dandi March & Salt Satyagraha, but focuses more on the non-salt features. Gandhi returned to India in 1915 where he would protest British rule until India was granted independence in 1947. Without Gandhi, the Indians would have tried to use violence to protest the salt tax given to them by the British. Gandhi declared resistance to British salt policies to be the unifying theme for his new campaign of “satyagraha,” or mass civil disobedience. After each day’s march the group stopped in a different village along the route, where increasingly larger crowds would gather to hear Gandhi rail against the unfairness of the tax on poor people. All Rights Reserved. Learn about "The Salt March" also called the "The Dandi march", a non violent protest organized by Mahatma Gandhi. On the eve of March 12, 1930, Gandhi made his famous speech to inspire his fellow citizens to march in protest against the unfair British policies. In the early morning of March 12, 1930, Gandhi and a trained cadre of seventy-eight followers from his ashram began a march of more than 200 miles to the sea. During the salt march, thousands of Indians followed behind Gandhi. Gandhi enforced his policy of "Satyagraha" or nonviolence during the Salt March and this was a great strategy for the purposes of the Salt March. On April 6th, Gandhiji broke the salt law. In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi led a march protesting against Britain’s colonial monopoly and their decision to tax on the essential resource of salt. Although faced with the challenge of uniting a vast population diverse in culture, language and religion, he ...read more, The Taj Mahal is an enormous mausoleum complex commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the remains of his beloved wife. The ...read more. On March 2, 1930, he sent a famous letter to the Viceroy Lord Irwin, warning him that beginning on March 11 he and the other members of his ashram would begin breaking the Salt Laws. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી, Hindi मोहनदास करमचंद गांधी Mohandās Karamchand Gāndhī; genannt Mahatma Gandhi; * 2. It was one of the many residences (1917-30) of Mahatma Gandhi, located at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Gandhi’s idea was to lead a march about salt. Gandhi continues his diplomacy with the other heads of the Indian state to insure that when India gains it's sovereignty that all the faiths of the country, chiefly Hindu and Muslim, will live together peacefully. Kurtz, Lester. Gandhi decided to mount a highly visible campaign against British policies in the salt trade by marshalling thousands of his supporters to walk with him on a 230-mile journey that started from his hometown of Gujarat to the Indian coastal town of … On May 4, 1930, Gandhi wrote to Lord Irwin, Viceroy of India, explaining his intention to raid the Dharasana Salt Works. He set out on foot on March 12, accompanied by several dozen followers. "The Gandhi Salt March." This touched off acts of civil disobedience across India, and the British were forced to invite Gandhi to London for a Round-Table Conference. During the march, thousands of Indians followed Gandhi from his religious retreat near Ahmedabad to the Arabian Sea coast, a distance of some 240 miles. Defying the Salt Act, Gandhi reasoned, would be an ingeniously simple way for many Indians to break a British law nonviolently. Here’s a summary of five publicity lessons that Gandhi deployed during the famous salt march. Under the Salt Laws, the British government had a monopoly on salt, controlling both its production and distribution. In early 1930 Gandhi decided to mount a highly visible demonstration against the increasingly repressive salt tax by marching through what is now the western Indian state of Gujarat from his ashram (religious retreat) at Sabermati (near Ahmadabad) to the town of Dandi (near Surat) on the Arabian Sea coast. There, Gandhi and his supporters were to defy British policy by making salt from seawater.