Preparing to march

March 5, 2023

On March 5, 1930, Gandhi announced that the Salt March would begin in one week, setting off promptly at 6:30am. Particiapants were expected to be in place ten minutes early.

Gandhi had announced his intention to break the salt laws in a letter and gently goaded the British to arrest him. They declined to accept the bait, considering it but deciding that it would be better to let “his weird plan flop” first.

His plan to engage in civil disobedience over the salt laws impressed no one. Indian politicians, including future prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, scoffed. No one was complaining about salt. There were bigger and better issues that needed to be addressed in the struggle for independence.

Undaunted, Gandhi continued to prepare for the march. Instructions were sent ahead to towns and villages along the route, requesting a minimum of preparation; a clean, shaded place to rest, with an “enclosed place for the satyagrahis to answer calls of nature.” If the village people would provide “the simplest possible” food, the party would do their own cooking. No sweets, no spices, just roti, milk, and boiled vegetables would suffice.

He also requested data. Villages were asked to answer a series of questions about the population, schools, taxes, spinning wheels, and so forth. He asked that the information be “written out on a sheet of paper neatly and handed to me immediately on our arrival.”

A mildly controversial decision was that no women would be permitted on the march. It wasn’t because they were incapable; Gandhi assured them that they would “have enough opportunity to offer satyagraha.” In the widespread civil disobedience in the coming months, women would be a key part of picketing liquor stores and shops that sold foreign cloth.

Gandhi's reason was human nature. This march was a provocation, an invitation for the British to attack and stop their efforts, and Gandhi pointed out that “just as Hindus do not harm a cow, the British do not attack women as far as possible.” There must be no accusations that he was using women as human shields.

Have you ever protected someone, even when they didn’t really need it?