Disclaimer: The following blog post is not a reflection of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s opinion on the Salt Satyagraha
By Simran Bedi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, famously known as Mahatma (great-souled) Gandhi, is often credited as the leader of India’s independence movement and the father of nonviolence. The Salt Satyagraha, led by Gandhi, is subsequently recognized as the turning point in the Indian independence movement and the moment at which Gandhi’s practice of civil disobedience gained popularity.[1] Satyagraha is taken from the Sanskrit language and translates to, “holding firmly to truth.”[2] Gandhi practiced this idea of satyagraha through nonviolent political resistance to the British government.
In 1670, a large deposit of rock salt was discovered in England. To maximize the benefits of this discovery and to continue to economically benefit from English trade in salt with the rest of the world, the British government decided to impose a salt tax in India.[3] India had enough salt deposits to supply the entire world, but once the tax was in place, Indians themselves couldn’t benefit from their own land.[4] Indians now had to pay money for the mineral even though it was an invaluable resource many in India could collect for free. Additionally, salt was necessary for the metabolism of those living in the heat and humidity of those regions. Salt was needed by every single person in India and so everyone was affected, especially India’s poorest.[5]
“Next to air and water, salt is perhaps the greatest necessity of life.” – Mahatma Gandhi.[6]
The universal need for salt created the perfect political issue to unite Indians of all classes. When Gandhi began speaking out against the tax in February of 1930, Congress members were in support as they (and most other Indians) knew the importance of the issue.[7] Gandhi believed that protesting the salt tax would lead to India’s independence. On March 12 of 1930, Gandhi, along with 78 of his followers, began to march towards the sea from his ashram in Sabarmati, Gujarat. On his way to the final destination of the coastal village of Dandi, Gandhi stopped at numerous villages along the way and spoke to the people of India, urging them to join him in his civil disobedience of the salt tax.[8]
23 days after his departure, he reached Dandi. On April 6, 1930, Gandhi went to the sea and picked up a small lump of mud and salt and boiled it in seawater. He stated, “With this salt, I am rocking the foundations of an Empire.” [10] He prompted his followers in Dandi, thousands at the time, to make salt as well. The British responded by arresting over 60,000 by the end of March people for making or selling salt.[11] Gandhi himself was arrested May 5 of that year for breaking the law, but all over India people continued making and buying salt, in protest against the unjust law imposed by the British.[12]
The salt march is described as a, “tipping point in the loss of legitimacy and bringing an end of colonial rule in India.” [14] After Gandhi was released from prison, he continued fighting for freedom from the salt monopoly, resulting in the Gandhi-Irwin Pact giving Indians autonomy from the salt tax. Gandhi restlessly promoted civil disobedience and nonviolence after this pact until India’s independence in 1947.
[1] Shani, Ornit. “Gandhi’s Salt March: Paradoxes and Tensions in the Memory of Nonviolent Struggle in India,” In Cultural Memories of Nonviolent Struggles: Powerful Times, 32–51. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
[2] Doyle, Mark ed. In The British Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia, Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2018.
[3] Kuhn, Betsy. The Force Born of Truth: Mohandas Gandhi and the Salt March, India, 1930. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., 2011.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Graham, Scott. “Gandhi’s Salt March to Dandi.” Web log. Postcolonial Studies (blog). Emory University, 1998.
<sup[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Soni, Mallika, ed. “’A Lump of Salt’: Significance of Dandi March Led by Mahatma Gandhi.” Hindustan Times, March 12, 2021.
[9] “Mahatma Gandhi Starts Salt March to Dandi…” n.d. Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers – Historic Newspapers. Accessed January 16, 2021.
[10] Kuhn, Betsy. The Force Born of Truth: Mohandas Gandhi and the Salt March, India, 1930. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., 2011.
[11] Graham, Scott. “Gandhi’s Salt March to Dandi.” Web log. Postcolonial Studies (blog). Emory University, 1998.
[12] Soni, Mallika, ed. “‘A Lump of Salt’: Significance of Dandi March Led by Mahatma Gandhi.” Hindustan Times, March 12, 2021.
[13] Szczepanski, Kallie. 2018. “Gandhi’s Historic March to the Sea in 1930.” Thought Co. August 4, 2018.
[14] Shani, Ornit. “Gandhi’s Salt March: Paradoxes and Tensions in the Memory of Nonviolent Struggle in India,” In Cultural Memories of Nonviolent Struggles: Powerful Times, 32–51. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
[15] “Gandhi-Irwin Pact in 1931…” n.d. Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers – Historic Newspapers. Accessed January 16, 2022.