Dandi March/SaltSatyagraha (1930):
The Salt Satyagraha, also known as the Salt March, was a non-violent civil disobedience movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress in 1930. It was a protest against the British Salt Act, which imposed a tax on salt production in India, and was a key event in India’s struggle for independence from British rule.
The Salt Satyagraha began on March 12, 1930, when Gandhi and 78 other activists set out on a march from Ahmedabad to Dandi, a village on the coast of Gujarat. The march, which covered a distance of over 240 miles, was a symbolic protest against the Salt Act, which Gandhi saw as an example of British oppression and exploitation of the people of India.
During the march, Gandhi and the other marchers received widespread support from the Indian people, who saw the Salt Satyagraha as a way to resist British rule and demand their rights. Thousands of people joined the march, and Gandhi’s message of nonviolence and civil disobedience inspired others to take up the cause of independence.
On April 6, 1930, Gandhi and his followers reached Dandi, where they broke the Salt Act by collecting and producing salt from seawater. This act of civil disobedience was seen as a direct challenge to British rule and sparked similar protests and acts of civil disobedience across India.
The Salt Satyagraha was a significant moment in India’s struggle for independence and played a major role in bringing about the end of British rule in India. It also had a global impact, inspiring other movements for freedom and civil rights around the world.
Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence and civil disobedience influenced other leaders and movements, including Martin Luther King Jr.’s civil rights movement in the United States. The Salt Satyagraha remains a key moment in the history of India and an important example of the power of nonviolence and civil disobedience in the fight for justice and equality.