Category Famous Personalities

       The Round Table Conferences were a series of conferences aimed to discuss the future of India.

            Demands for Swaraj or self-rule had been growing across India. By the 1930s, many British politicians believed that India needed to move towards a dominion status. In order to make decisions regarding this, they conducted three Round Table Conferences in London. 

   The first one among these was organized in England on November 12th, 1930. There were 89 delegates from India who attended the conference. Indian delegates also made their presence felt in the conference, but no member of the Indian National Congress was invited. It was also true that many of the Indian leaders were imprisoned for their participation in the civil disobedience movement.

          Later, the British realized that they would have to work with the Congress as it was India’s most prominent party. As a gesture of goodwill, Gandhiji and other Congress leaders were released. 

        The participation of women in the freedom fight was not notable, until the Dandi March. But the Salt Satyagraha changed the whole scenario. Thousands of women, from urban to rural areas began to actively participate in Satyagraha. Gandhiji had asked only men to be part of Dandi March. But the radical action inspired the women of the country as well.

          Sarojini Naidu, the nightingale of India, led 2500 volunteers in a march to Dharasana salt works on 21st May. The salt work was guarded by the police. They attacked the satyagrahis with lathis. Not a single person raised his hand against the police. Sarojini Naidu was arrested, and sent to jail.

          The participation of women in Salt Satyagraha was rapidly growing day by day. The Salt Satyagraha earned glory because of the massive participation from all walks of society.

          Civil Disobedience spread like fire all around India. The new visible spirit strengthened the minds of millions of Indians. Members of the public dared to make salt by themselves by breaking the Salt Law of the British.

          Salt was sold illegally all over the coastal regions of India. About eighty thousand people were arrested in response to the aggressive violation of the Salt Law by the end of the month.

          The Civil Disobedience had its beginning in Salt Satyagraha. It grew into mass Satyagraha later. This movement included actions like boycotting British clothes and goods.

          Peasants refused to pay taxes at the cost of losing their crops and land. The British used every means to suppress all forms of rebellion against the government and even declared the Congress and its associate organizations as unlawful.

          None of these measures weakened the Movement. On the other hand, the British government was shaken by Satyagraha. The non-violent activism of Gandhiji left the British confused whether or not to arrest him.

            The Dandi March was indeed a march towards India’s Independence. It was covered extensively through newspapers and documentaries. This historic event grabbed the attention of newspapers internationally and they wrote editorials about it. It gave momentum to the nationwide civil disobedience. This march was an organized challenge to the British authority and in a way, a blow to their esteem.

            The Dandi March, which was followed by the Non-cooperation movement and the declaration of Purna Swaraj, also occupied a significant place in the pages of India’s history.

            Do you know what happened on that day? Gandhiji started a march from his ashram in Sabarmati, to Dandi Beach in Gujarat. The march lasted for 24 days. It began on 12th March, 1930, and ended on 6th April, 1930. About 79 people accompanied Gandhiji for the march of 390 Km to the Dandi beach. Many people gathered and joined them on the way and the small group had grown into a huge procession as they reached Dandi. When Gandhi broke the Salt Law at 6:30 am on 6th April 1930, by making salt, it ignited large scale acts of civil disobedience against the British Salt Law by millions of Indians.

               Salt has enormous significance as it is an indispensable ingredient in our food. Ever since the East India Company established its power, it became a criminal offence for Indians to produce and sell salt.

               Gandhiji disobeyed this law laid down by the British. The ruling government imposed tax even on salt and earned a large profit from that too. Not surprisingly, the salt tax represented 8.2 per cent of the British Raj tax revenue. The British believed that they would be able to establish their full control over natural resources by manufacturing salt. Indians found this hard to digest.

               Many were sceptical of Gandhiji’s choice of salt as a means of civil disobedience. But some leaders like C. Rajagopalachari understood Gandhiji’s viewpoint. After the protest gathered momentum, leaders recognized the value of salt as a symbol and appreciated Gandhiji’s genius in choosing salt. 

            The civil disobedience movement of the year 1930 was a landmark in the history of Indian nationalism. Disobeying British laws was the core of this movement.

            Indians had lost faith in the British and their government because of their continuous neglect of the local people. The Congress had no option other than to launch the civil disobedience movement.

            It was then that Gandhiji wrote a letter to Lord Irwin, the Viceroy of India narrating the many injustices of British rule. The decision to launch the ‘satyagraha’ campaign by producing salt at Dandi was also conveyed through the letter. The British ignored the letter. Therefore, Gandhiji and the Congress decided to launch the massive civil disobedience movement to defy the British.

            Gandhiji inaugurated the movement in 1930, by violating the salt law. Salt was produced everywhere. Indians dared to do anything, even at the cost of their lives, for their dream of a free India. The Dandi Salt March with its spirit united Indian and had an immense effect on the whole nation.