{"id":486,"date":"2020-08-15T15:59:41","date_gmt":"2020-08-15T15:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/?p=486"},"modified":"2020-08-15T15:59:41","modified_gmt":"2020-08-15T15:59:41","slug":"salt-satyagraha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/2020\/08\/15\/salt-satyagraha\/","title":{"rendered":"Salt Satyagraha"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On\nDecember 31, 1929, the Congress under the presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru,\npassed the historic resolution at Lahore, moved by Gandhiji, declaring Purna\nSwaraj <\/em>as its goal. It also resolved to boycott the Central and Provincial\nlegislatures and the Round Table Conference to be held at London. It authorised\nthe All-India Congress Committee (AICC) to launch a programme of Civil\nDisobedience, including refusal to pay taxes. As the clock struck the zero\nhour, the great Jawaharlal, full of youth and passion, hoisted the tricolour\nflag of independence on the banks of river Ravi in the presence of a mammoth\ngathering. A thrill of joy and enthusiasm warmed up the hearts of the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nindependence day was observed solemnly on January 26, 1930 all over the country.\nPeople assembled in large numbers and took the following pledge : <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\nbelieve that it is the inalienable right of the Indian people as of any other\npeople, to have freedom and to enjoy the fruits of their toil and have the\nnecessities of life so that they may have full opportunities of growth. We also\nbelieve that if any Government deprives the people of these rights and\noppresses them, the people have a further right to alter or abolish such a\nGovernment. The British Government in India has not only deprived the Indian\npeople of their freedom, but has also based itself on the principle of\nexploitation of the masses and has ruined India economically, politically,\nculturally and spiritually. We believe, therefore, that India must sever the\nBritish connection and obtain Purna Swaraj <\/em>or complete independence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\npeople thus asserted their right to forgo all ties with the British raj <\/em>in\norder to have full opportunities for growth. The Government viewed the defiance\nwith contempt. There was bound to be a new confrontation between Gandhiji and\nthe British Government. What would be its form and technique could be anybody\u2019s\nguess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabindranath\nTagore, who met Gandhiji at Sabarmati Ashram on January 18, 1930, asked him as\nto what he proposed to do. His reply was, \u201cI am furiously thinking night and\nday, and I do not see any light coming out of the surrounding darkness.\u201d The\ninner struggle in his mind went on for days and days. The answer he got finally\nwas the finest fruit of his creative genius. It was so simple, yet so dramatic\nand so enchanting to everyone. It was to be salt, which he had given up as a\npart of his daily diet many years ago. Yet, it was so important to everyone\u2014an\nessential ingredient of food. There could be no life without salt. Its manufacture\nwas, however, the Government\u2019s monopoly, which raised its price slightly by\nimposing a small tax upon it. Economically, the price rise or the tax was too\ninsignificant, but it hit the poor people. That was the reason why Gandhiji\ndecided to embark upon his struggle against it. As Jawaharlal wrote, \u201cSalt\nsuddenly became a mysterious word\u2014a word of power.\u201d The salt satyagraha <\/em>drew\nworldwide attention and invigorated the country\u2019s struggle for freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before\nembarking upon the salt satyagraha<\/em>, Gandhiji published his eleven points\ndepicting the evils of the British raj <\/em>and wrote to the Viceroy on\nMarch 2, 1930 that if the Government accepted them, he would not resort to\nthe Civil Disobedience Movement. He also asked for an interview with the\nViceroy. These points touched on reduction of land revenue, prohibition,\nabolition of the secret police, imposition of a protective tariff on foreign\ncloth, reservation of coastal traffic to Indian shipping, an amnesty for\npolitical prisoners and finally abolition of salt tax for the peasants and poor\npeople. It was obvious that the Government would not accept them, but Gandhiji\nhad full faith in his capacity to convert the British people through\nnon-violence and make them see the wrong they had done to India. Lord Irwin neither\ngranted him an interview nor accepted his demands. His Secretary sent a crisp\nreply that the Viceroy regretted that Gandhiji contemplated a course of action\nwhich was bound to involve violation of law and endanger public peace. Gandhiji\nretorted, \u201cOn bended knees I ask for bread and I have received a stone\ninstead.\u201d The die was cast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\naccordance with his plans, Gandhiji explained to his co-workers at the evening\nprayer on March 11, 1930 the concept and strategy of his march. He stressed\nthat it was to be a symbolic gesture of total protest by the people for\nbringing to an end the domination of the British over India. It might or might\nnot have an impact upon the authorities, but was bound to arouse the people\nagainst the alien rule. He was confident that the Indians serving the\nGovernment would abandon their posts, the lawyers their practice, the teachers\ntheir classes and tax-payers their payment of taxes. He declared, \u201cOur cause is\njust, our means are strong and God is with us.\u201d He felt that there could not be\na defeat for satyagrahis<\/em> unless they forsake truth and non-violence. Let\nthem, therefore, do their duty and leave the result to the Almighty. On March\n12, 1930, he started his march on foot at 6.30 a.m. with seventy-eight\nco-workers of his ashram <\/em>for Dandi, 241 miles away on the seacoast near\nJalalpur, to defy the salt law. Clad in a simple loincloth and with a bamboo\nstick in hand, he walked slowly for he was in no hurry to reach his\ndestination. It was a unique march in the annals of mankind. People, who\ngathered on the way, strewed leaves across his path. They climbed roofs, walls\nand trees to have a glimpse of the march. They bowed in reverence when Gandhiji\npassed by them and raised slogans to greet him. Wherever he stopped en route<\/em>,\nhe exhorted the people\u2014live in harmony, treat the untouchables as your\nbrothers, keep your environment clean and tidy, give up alcohol and\nintoxicants, spin the wheel and join the satyagraha <\/em>against the salt\nlaw. The Government watched his march with anxiety, but were unable to\nunderstand what he was doing. Newsmen came from all over the world to flash the\nprogress of his march, but for the authorities, he was moving too slowly and\nthat was causing tension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At\nAslali, where he stopped en route <\/em>for rest at first night, he told the\npeople that he would either die on the way or else refrain from returning to\nthe ashram<\/em> until Swaraj <\/em>was won. In the event of his arrest or\ndeath, his place would be taken by Abbas Tyabji, his old friend. He walked ten\nto fifteen miles everyday, and seldom felt tired or exhausted. He spun every\nevening, wrote his diary and gave suitable instructions to his comrades for the\nnext day. He was opposed to comfort or luxuries and expected his co-marchers\nalso to bear with him all the hazards of the journey. Obviously, they could not\ncomplain that they were not getting good food, recreation or rest during their\njourney. The reports about the march reached the Viceroy every day, but he\nhesitated to act. He wished the event to pass peacefully, but was often\nnonplussed. \u201cThe fire of a great resolve is in him,\u201d said Jawaharlal who\nexhorted the youth of the country. \u201cThe field of battle lies before you, the\nflag of India beckons you and freedom herself awaits your coming. Do you\nhesitate now ? Will you be mere onlookers in this glorious struggle ?\nWho lives if India dies ? Who dies if India lives ?\u201d The marchers\nreached their destination on the evening of April 5, 1930 after a long and\narduous journey of 24 days. Gandhiji looked thin and strained, but he was\nextremely happy and felt elated. Asked next day as to what he wanted to achieve\nby defying the salt law, he answered, \u201cI want world sympathy in this battle of\nRight against Might.\u201d Undoubtedly, he achieved his objective fully in winning\nthe support and sympathy of millions all over the globe for the freedom of his\nmotherland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout\nthe night of April 5, 1930, the marchers devoted themselves to prayers. Next\nmorning, Gandhiji went to the seashore along with them. He walked into the sea\nand took his bath. At 8.30 a.m., he picked a small lump of natural salt and\ndefied the law. Sarojini Naidu shouted excitedly: \u201cHail, Deliverer.\u201d This lump\nof salt was carefully preserved and later auctioned for sixteen hundred rupees.\nThe entire nation was aroused. It was a universal signal for the defiance of\nlaw. People violated the salt law on the seashores and where there was no\nseashore, they defied the other laws. They cut down the timber in Central\nProvinces and Bombay in defiance of forest laws. In the United Provinces and\nGujarat, they started a campaign for non-payment of land revenue. The mayor of\nCalcutta defied the law of sedition by openly reading the banned literature in\na public meeting. In North-West Frontier Province, the Khudai Khidmatgars <\/em>(Servants\nof God), known popularly as the Red Shirts, organised anti-Government movements\nin various ways, including non-payment of Government dues. They were led by\nKhan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. The Government arrested him, which led to big\ndemonstrations by his followers. The armoured cars sent by the authorities to\ncontrol the situation were themselves attacked by the demonstrators and set on\nfire. The demonstrators broke open the jail and released their leader. In utter\ndisgust, the administration was compelled to call for outside help to retrieve\nthe situation, but the two platoons of the 18th
\nRoyal Garhwali Rifles sent to establish order in the disturbed town, refused to\nopen fire on the unarmed crowds. The defiant soldiers were court-martialled,\nbut their brave and patriotic act placed the city of Peshawar in the hands of\nthe Frontier Gandhi and his Red Shirts for ten days from April 25 to May 4,\n1930.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nresponse to the appeal of Gandhiji in the Young India <\/em>on April 30, 1930,\nthousands of women offered satyagraha<\/em>. They picketed the foreign cloth\nand liquor shops. At Delhi, 1,600 women courted arrest. The position was\nequally encouraging in other metropolitan towns like Bombay and Madras, which\ngreatly impressed the foreign visitors like H.N. Brailsford and G. Slocombe. At\nthe tender age of twelve, Indira Priyadarshini, the daughter of Jawaharlal,\nbuilt up an army of 6,000 children at Allahabad to offer their services to the\nelders in the struggle for freedom of the country. In Nagaland, the young Rani\nGaidinliu, at the age of thirteen, raised the banner of revolt in response to\nthe call of Gandhiji. She was captured and sentenced to life imprisonment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\nfor Gandhiji, the violation of the salt law was both an act of faith and his\nprincipal objective. He announced his intention to raid the Government-owned\nsalt works at Dharsena in Surat district and take them over in the name of the\npeople, until the Government withdrew the salt tax. The Government promptly\narrested Gandhiji. His place was to be taken by Abbas Tyabji, who was also\narrested. The mantle of leadership now fell on the young Sarojini Naidu, who\nrushed to Dharsena to lead the raid on May 22, 1930. The raiders comprised\n2,500 volunteers wearing white dhotis <\/em>and Gandhi caps. There were 400\npolicemen armed with steel-tipped lathis <\/em>within the salt works\u2019\ncompounds. An account of the heroic non-violent struggle by the Congressmen and\nthe police atrocities upon them at Dharsena was flashed to the world media by\nWeb Miller, the correspondent of the United Press of USA. He wrote : <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSlowly\nand in silence, the throng commenced the half-mile march to the salt\ndeposits…. As the throng drew near the salt pans, they commenced chanting the\nrevolutionary slogans, Inquilab Zindabad<\/em>, intoning the two words over\nand over…. Police officials ordered the marchers to disperse under a\nrecently-imposed regulation, which prohibited gathering of more than five\npersons in any one place. The column silently ignored the warning and slowly\nwalked forward.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSuddenly,\nat a word of command, scores of native policemen rushed upon the advancing\nmarchers and rained blows on their heads with their steel-shod lathis<\/em>.\nNot one of the marchers even raised an arm to fend off the blows. They went\ndown like tenpins…. Those struck down fell sprawling, unconscious or writhing\nin pain with fractured skulls and broken shoulders. In two or three minutes,\nthe ground was quilted with bodies. Great patches of blood widened on their\nwhite clothes. The survivors, without breaking ranks, silently and doggedly\nmarched on until struck down….\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On December 31, 1929, the Congress under the presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru, passed the historic resolution at Lahore, moved by Gandhiji, declaring Purna Swaraj as its goal. It also resolved to boycott the Central and Provincial legislatures and the Round Table Conference to be held at London. It authorised the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=486"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":487,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486\/revisions\/487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}