Salt Satyagraha: Background, Facts and Causes of Salt Satyagraha

Salt Satyagraha: Gandhi’s Bold Stand Against Colonial Rule and Injustice

Grishika Singh March 10, 2025

10 4 minutes read

Gandhi’s Historic March Against British Oppression

The Salt Satyagraha, referred to as the Salt March, Dandi March, and Dandi Satyagraha, was a demonstration of peaceful civil disobedience in colonial India spearheaded by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march occurred between 12 March 1930 and 6 April 1930 as a direct action initiative opposing the British salt monopoly through tax resistance and nonviolent protest.

The Salt Satyagraha was a large-scale disobedience movement started by Mahatma Gandhi in opposition to the salt tax levied by the British authorities in INdia. On 12th March 1930, he guided a sizable group from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, a coastal village in Gujarat, to defy the salt law by making salt from seawater.

What was the Salt Satyagraha?

The Salt March, referred to as the Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was a non-violent civil disobedience movement spearheaded by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
The march took place from March 12, 1930, to April 6, 1930, as a campaign of direct action involving tax resistance and peaceful protest against the British salt monopoly.
On March 12, Gandhi departed from Sabarmati accompanied by 78 supporters on a 241-mile journey to the seaside town of Dandi by the Arabian Sea. In that place, Gandhi and his followers would challenge British Policy by producing salt from ocean water.
At Dandi, thousands more emulated his actions, and in the coastal cities of Bombay and Karachi, INdian nationalists guided groups of people in producing salt.
Civil disobedience erupted throughout India, quickly engaging millions of Indians, while British authorities detained over 60,000 individuals. Gandhiji was detained on 5th May, yet the satyagraha persisted in his absence.
On May 21st, poet Sarojini Naidu led 2,500 protesters to the Dharasana Salt Works, located about 150 miles north of Bombay. The event, captured by American journalist Webb Miller, sparked a global outcry regarding British policy in India.
In January 1931, Gandhiji was freed from incarceration. He subsequently met with Lord Irwin, the viceroy of India, and consented to end the satyagraha in return for an equal role in negotiations at a London conference regarding India’s future.
In August 1931, Gandhiji attended the conference as the only delegate from the nationalist Indian National Congress. The meeting turned out to be disappointing, yet British leaders recognized him as a force they could neither suppress nor overlook.

Background of Salt Satyagraha

The Lahore Congress of 1929 had empowered the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to initiate a civil disobedience program comprising the refusal to pay taxes.
On January 26th, 1930, “Independence Day” was celebrated, featuring the raising of the national flag at various locations and the singing of patriotic songs.
In February 1930, at the CWC meeting in Sabarmati Ashram, Gandhiji was granted complete authority to initiate the Civil Disobedience Movement whenever and wherever he deemed fit.
Gnadhiji’s ultimatum to Lord Irwin, the Viceroy of India (1926-31), mentioned that the minimum demands had been disregarded and the only option left was civil disobedience.

What was the Effect of Movement?

Various forms of civil disobedience persisted across different regions. Particular emphasis was placed on the rejection of imported products.
In Eastern India, the payment of chowkidari tax was declined. The no-tax initiative gained significant popularity in Bihar.
In Bengal, J.N. Sengupta went against Government laws by publicly reading books that had been prohibited by the authorities.
The violation of forest laws took on a collective nature in Maharashtra.
The movement had gained significant momentum in the regions of U.P. and Orissa. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Assam.

What is its Significance?

Imports from Britain had decreased significantly. For instance, imports of fabric from Britain had decreased by 50%.
The movement was broader in scope than the last one. Widespread involvement of women, peasants, workers, students, and urban groups such as merchants and shopkeepers granted the Congress a fresh all-India significance.
The backing that the movement received from the impoverished and the uneducated in both urban and rural areas was extraordinary.
For women in India, the movement represented the most freeing experience to date and can genuinely be considered the beginning of their presence in public life.
Even though the Congress ended the Civil Disobedience in 1934, the movement gained international recognition and signified a crucial phase in the advancement of the anti-imperialist fight.

Drawbacks of Salt Satyagraha

The Salt March, in itself, did not cause significant economic disturbance to British authority. The creation and distribution of salt did not have the same economic significance as other industries, reducing the direct financial strain on the colonial administration.
Even with a peaceful approach, the movement faced harsh oppression from British authorities. Numerous participants, including Gandhi, were detained, which briefly reduced the movement’s momentum.
While the Salt March attracted considerable urban involvement and media coverage, rural India, making up the bulk of the population, experienced comparatively little direct participation. The symbolic gesture did not directly tackle the urgent concerns of the agricultural population regarding land and food.
The direct outcomes of the Salt Satyagraha were not as significant as its symbolic victories. The British government did not implement any notable policy adjustments related to salt tax or other oppressive laws right after the campaign.
India’s fight for independence, it didn’t swiftly convert into international political pressure on the British government.

Why did Gandhiji initiate the Civil Disobedience Movement with the Salt Satyagraha?

Salt was essential for every Indian household, yet people were prohibited from producing it for personal use, compelling them to acquire it at inflated prices from vendors.
The state monopoly on salt was highly contentious, and Gandhiji believed that by proclaiming it as his goal, he could provoke a stronger reaction against all British officials.
Salt was chosen as a symbol for the start of the civil disobedience movement because it was viewed as a fundamental right held by every Indian.
The Dandi March was initiated when Mahatma Gandhi declared that opposing British salt restrictions would be the unifying theme of the civil disobedience movement.

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