Image: Gandhi during the Salt March, Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Salt became the centre of Gandhi’s 1930 civil-disobedience campaign. The choice was simple but politically significant: salt was used by people across India, making the issue easy to understand beyond political circles.
Why Gandhi selected salt
Gandhi wanted an issue that could connect everyday economic life with opposition to colonial rule. The salt tax and regulations provided such an issue.
The decision to launch the campaign
The Gandhi Heritage Portal records that Gandhi wrote to Viceroy Lord Irwin on 2 March 1930 explaining his grievances and his intention to break the salt law.
The march to Dandi
Gandhi left Sabarmati Ashram on 12 March with 78 Satyagrahis. The group reached Dandi on 5 April after travelling through villages and holding public meetings.
Breaking the law
At about 6:30 a.m. on 6 April, Gandhi broke the salt law at Dandi. The action marked the start of the Salt Satyagraha.
From one act to a wider campaign
The salt protest expanded into a broader civil-disobedience campaign. People in different parts of India challenged salt regulations and other colonial policies.
Read the Gandhi Heritage Portal’s Salt Satyagraha background and our Dandi March article.
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