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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.
Since the late-1910s, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi had been at the forefront of India’s quest to shake off the yoke of British colonial domination, otherwise known as the “Raj.” The thin and abstemious former lawyer had led civil disobedience against colonial policies, encouraged Indians to boycott British goods, and had served two years in prison on charges of sedition.
Gandhi’s philosophy of “satyagraha,” which sought to reveal truth and confront injustice through nonviolence, had made him the most polarizing figure on the subcontinent. While the British regarded him with suspicion, Indians had begun calling him “Mahatma,” or “great-souled.”
Mohandas Gandhi
When the Indian National Congress redoubled its efforts for independence in January 1930, many assumed Gandhi would stage his most ambitious satyagraha campaign to date. Yet rather than launching a frontal assault on more high-profile injustices, Gandhi proposed to frame his protest around salt.
As with many other commodities, Britain had kept India’s salt trade under its thumb since the 19th century, forbidding natives from manufacturing or selling the mineral and forcing them to buy it at high cost from British merchants. Since salt was a nutritional necessity in India’s steamy climate, Gandhi saw the salt laws as an inexcusable evil.
Discover the life of Mahatma Gandhi—India's "Great Soul." Through revolutionary nonviolence, the fearless leader helped liberate his country from British colonial rule.
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May 1, 2014 · World History20th century Nationalist MovementsClip from the film Gandhi (1982) - Sony PicturesPurpose of this video clip is Educational.
Original footage of Gandhi and his followers marching to Dandi in the Salt Satyagraha. On 12 March 1930, Gandhi and 78 satyagrahis, among whom were men belonging to almost every region, caste, creed, and religion of India, set out on foot for the coastal village of Dandi in Navsari district of Gujarat, 385 km from their starting point at ...
Jun 10, 2010 · 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. During the march, thousands of...
May 10, 2024 · Salt March, 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 ...
