92 years ago today, the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi called for the Dandi March to end the British monopoly on salt production. Which is considered to be an important stage of the Indian freedom struggle. This Dandi March started from Sabarmati Ashram on March 12, 1930. Which reached Dandi on 6 April. On the same day Mahatma Gandhi broke the salt law made by the British at 6:30 am.
The Dandi March was followed by the non-cooperation movement across the country, which lasted till 1934. During this march, Mahatma Gandhi along with 78 other associates went out. He had covered this 386 km journey on foot. Whenever there is talk of India’s movement history, in which the name of Dandi March is definitely taken.
The main objective of Dandi Satyagraha was to break the civil law against the salt law enforced by the British. Let us tell you that before this, Indians did not have the right to make salt under the British rule. Indians had to use only salt coming from England. Not only this, the British Sultanate had also imposed a manifold tax on salt. Salt is an essential commodity for human life, for which Gandhi started this Satyagraha to remove the tax on salt.
This march started on 12 March and reached Dandi after covering a distance of 241 miles on 6 April 1930, after about 25 days. After this Mahatma Gandhi raised a handful of salt from the sea level in Kutch land and gave a strong message to the British rule. Gandhiji had said on this day with a hand of salt that, I am shaking the foundation of the British Empire. After which this movement lasted for about a year. More than 70,000 Indians who participated in this movement were arrested.
At the same time, in the year 1931, there was an agreement between the Father of the Nation Gandhi and the then Viceroy Lord Irwin and this Satyagraha was abolished. But after this the spark of independence had flared up in India. After this movement the ‘Civil Disobedience Movement’ started. Which gave rise to widespread public struggle against the British rule in the whole country.