Mahatma Gandhi begins famous Salt March

1930 The Salt March: On this day 80 years ago, Mahatma Gandhi began a campaign of civil disobedience in India in defiance of British opposition, to protest the British monopoly on salt. Eventually, this non-violent tactic, known as satyagraha, helped expel the British colonial masters of India.



Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi), Indian leader and proponent of civil disobedience, set out at 6:30 am from Sabarmati with 79 volunteers on the historic Salt March 385 km (239 mi) to the sea at Dandi. A civil disobedience campaign against the British in India began, the beginning of a campaign that allowed Indians to have control of India, with the British relinquishing colonial 'ownership' of that great nation, which is now the world's largest democracy. The All-India Trade Congress had empowered Gandhi to begin the demonstrations. Gandhi led a march to the Gujarat Coast of the Arabian Sea and produced salt by evaporation of sea water in violation of the law as a gesture of defiance against the British monopoly in salt production. It was the first major step in the movement of Indians regaining India.

Mahatma Gandhi: from lawyer to national liberator (audio & transcript)

Categories: non-violence, india, peace, activism, gandhi, action, civil-disobedience