Today in History—March 12: When Gandhi Took On the Salt Tax
On this day in 1930, a small group of Indian citizens set out on a walk toward the sea.
They intended to break British law—by producing salt from seawater.
Salt production and distribution in India had long been a lucrative monopoly for the British. Indians were prohibited from producing or selling salt independently. They were instead required to purchase heavily taxed salt, much of it imported. This affected the great majority of Indians, who could not afford to buy it.
A few dozen people, led by Mahatma Gandhi, left Sabarmati Ashram, near Ahmedabad, and began the long walk to Dandi, on the Gujarat coast. Hundreds joined them along the way.
For months afterward, Indians across the country broke salt laws. By the end of the year, more than 60,000 people had been arrested.
This was exactly what Gandhi wanted. His primary method in countering British dominance was to expose the absurdity of imperial rule. Tens of thousands of arrests over a naturally occurring food item provided the perfect example.
American journalist Webb Miller’s reporting on the salt protests helped sway international opinion against British rule in India.
He was arrested in May, after informing the viceroy of his intention to raid the Dharasana Salt Works. He would remain in jail until January 1931.
The Salt March was the opening act in a broad campaign of civil disobedience (satyagraha, or “truth-force”) that lasted until 1931. Although the British would not leave India until 1947, the march was a turning point in bringing the injustice of British rule to the attention of the wider world.
- 24: Days of marching
- 240 miles: From Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi
- 60: Gandhi’s age when the Salt March began
- 1365: The University of Vienna is founded
- 1933: U.S. Pres. Franklin Delano Roosevelt holds his first fireside chat
- 1968: Mauritius becomes independent from the United Kingdom
