The Salt March concludes
Mohandas Gandhi’s Salt March ended on April 5, 1930. The 60-year-old man had walked 241 miles over the previous 3-1/2 weeks, loudly announcing at every opportunity his intention to break the salt laws that gave the British a monopoly in India. The world press had gathered at Dandi to witness his actions; when they asked him for a message, he wrote, “I want world sympathy in this battle of Right against Might.”
The criminal act took place on the beach the next morning, a date chosen to commemorate the first national day of fasting in 1919. Gandhi’s repeated predictions of his arrest had not come true, but the British had followed his progress. Although the police were not present that morning—any arrests would play right into Gandhi’s goal of “world sympathy,” the British had scoured the beach, trying to destroy the clumps of salt that naturally collected there.
Gandhi was undeterred. Surrounded by thousands and thousands of supporters, he waded into the sea for a symbolic purification, then stooped to pick up a muddy clump of salt. The crowd cheered. Ever a fundraiser, Gandhi preserved the salt and later sold it at auction for 1,600 rupees.
This was the signal to the country. As if a dam had burst, a wave of popular support swept across the nation. It was a secular campaign; all of India’s religions could appreciate the absurdity of not being able to collect salt. Millions who had never questioned the status quo—the British control over this essential element of their lives—were driven into a frenzy with desire for their own salt.
Across the coasts, women spread pans of salt water in the sun to evaporate. Children hawked the coarse grains in the streets. Men purchased them and defied police orders to surrender the native mineral, clenching the salt in their fists even when their fingers were broken open. By the end of April, nearly 60,000 arrests had been made. In later years, it was a badge of pride to have sacrificed one’s liberty for the cause of independence.
But Gandhi was still free. He made speeches; the viceroy of India declared it a felony for the press to report on civil disobedience. He made salt again, waiting for his turn, and called for people to remain nonviolent when he was arrested. Nearly a month later, the British finally took him into custody… but that’s another story.
Can you think of an injustice that you support, just because it’s the status quo?