"In all probability this will be my last speech to you. Even if the Government allow me to march tomorrow morning, this will be my last speech on the sacred banks of the Sabarmati. Possibly these may be the last words of my life here."
- Mahatma Gandhi March 11, 1930
- Mahatma Gandhi March 11, 1930
The Salt March
- Protest to the British tax on salt
- Gandhi walked from Sabarmati, Ashram to Dandi, Gujarat to get salt (240 miles)
- Many thousands followed him
- March lasts March 12 to April 6, 1930.
- Outcome draws support for the independence movement across India and the World
- Gandhi arrested and put in prison
- Gandhi walked from Sabarmati, Ashram to Dandi, Gujarat to get salt (240 miles)
- Many thousands followed him
- March lasts March 12 to April 6, 1930.
- Outcome draws support for the independence movement across India and the World
- Gandhi arrested and put in prison
Question: What if Gandhi had never completed the 240 mile walk? Would his followers have pushed on through?
Summary
The Salt March was an important part of the Indian independence movement. It was a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly in colonial India, and triggered the wider Civil Disobedience Movement. This was the most significant organized challenge to British authority.