Context

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off a symbolic 386-kilometer ‘Dandi march’, following the same route to commemorate the historic salt march.

About

The Dandi March

• Dandi March was a 24-day march from March 12 to April 5, 1930.
• Objective: It was a tax resistance campaign against the British salt monopoly.
  • It marked the inauguration of the civil disobedience movement.
• Principle: The march was based on Gandhi’s principle of non-violence or Satyagraha.
• An organized movement: The Dandi march was the most significant organized movement against the British Raj after the non-cooperation movement of the early 1920s.
• Significance: The March is considered truly a turning point in the Indian Independence movement.
• End of movement: In 1931, Mahatma Gandhi was released and met Lord Irwin who wanted to put an end to the civil disobedience movement.
  • As a result,the Gandhi-Irwin pact was signed, the civil disobedience movement was halted and Indians were allowed to make salt for domestic use.
  • Arrested Indians were also released.
  • The Second Round Table Conference was attended by Mahatma Gandhi in London.

Why did Gandhi call for the Dandi March?

• To break the monopoly: The 1882 Salt Act gave the British a monopoly in the manufacture and sale of salt. Even though salt was freely available on the coasts of India, Indians were forced to buy it from the colonizers.
• Symbol of unity: Gandhi saw salt as a symbol of unifying power as it was the most common element among all the individuals.

Other Salt Satyagraha Chattopadhyay March: In Mumbai, 500 people led by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay marched to the Wadala Salt Depot on 16th April 1930. They collected natural salt and sold it to people. Vedaranyam March: The march led by Rajaji was called the “Vedaranyam March” and was part of the Civil Disobedience Movement. The march was started at Trichy (Trichinopoly then) and ended at Vedaranyam, a coastal town in Tanjore district. Dharasana Satyagraha: Dharasana Satyagraha was a protest against the British salt tax in colonial India in May, 1930.