Dandi March

Why is in news? PM pays homage to Bapu and all those who took part in Dandi March

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi led the Dandi March, also known as the Salt March and the Dandi Satyagraha, an act of non-violent civil disobedience.

The march was a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly that lasted from March 12th to April 6th, 1930.

On March 12, Gandhiji started out from Sabarmati with 78 followers on a 241-mile march to the Arabian Sea coastal town of Dandi. Gandhi and his supporters were to defy the British policy by making salt from seawater there.

Thousands more followed in his path in Dandi, and Indian nationalists led crowds of citizens in making salt in the coastal cities of Bombay and Karachi.

Civil disobedience erupted across India, affecting millions of Indians, and British authorities arrested over 60,000 people. On May 5, Gandhiji was arrested, but the satyagraha continued without him.

Sarojini Naidu, a poet, led 2,500 marchers on the Dharasana Salt Works, 150 miles north of Bombay, on May 21st. The incident was captured by American journalist Webb Miller, prompting an international outcry against the British policy in India.

Gandhiji was released from prison in January 1931. Later, he met with Lord Irwin, India's viceroy, and agreed to end the satyagraha in exchange for an equal negotiating role at a London conference on India's future.

Gandhiji attended the conference as the sole representative of the nationalist Indian National Congress in August 1931.

The meeting was a disappointment, but British authorities had acknowledged him as a force that could not be suppressed or ignored.

Reasons behind the launch of Dandi March:

Simon Commission: No Indian was included in it despite protests by Congress and all major parties. Britishers even mocked Indians by terming them incapable of framing their own constitution.

Lahore Declaration of Congress, 1929: It declared Complete Independence as the goal of Indian Freedom Struggle.

Non Acceptance of Gandhi’s 11 Points Demand: Gandhi put forth 11 demands including release of all Political Prisoners, Issual of Arms license to Indians for self-defence, etc.

Gandhiji after his 11 points demand was not met launched a non-violent march from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi.

Other Leaders of the movement:

C. Rajagopalachari - Salt march from Trichinopoly to Vedaranniyam on the Tanjore coast in Tamil Nadu; Arrested on April 30, 1930.

K. Kelappan - Launched the Vaikom Satyagraha Salt march from Calicut to Payanneer

Outcomes of Salt March:

A lot of people came together including women, depressed class.

The movement showed the power of non-violence in fighting against colonialism for the freedom struggle.

In 1931, Mahatma Gandhi was released and met Lord Irwin who wanted to put an end to the civil disobedience movement.

As a result, Gandhi-Irwin pact was signed, the civil disobedience movement ended and Indians were allowed to make salt for domestic use.