Reference Text
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The
Salt
March,
also
known
as
the
Dandi
March
and
the
Dandi
Satyagraha,
was
an
act
of
nonviolent
civil
disobedience
in
colonial
India
led
by
Mohandas
Karamchand
Gandhi
to
produce
salt
from
the
seawater
in
the
coastal
village
of
Dandi
(now
in
Gujarat),
as
was
the
practice
of
the
local
populace
until
British
officials
introduced
taxation
on
salt
production,
deemed
their
sea-salt
reclamation
activities
illegal,
and
then
repeatedly
used
force
to
stop
it.
The
26-day
march
lasted
from
12
March
1930
to
6
April
1930
as
a
direct
action
campaign
of
tax
resistance
and
nonviolent
protest
against
the
British
salt
monopoly.
It
gained
worldwide
attention
which
gave
impetus
to
the
Indian
independence
movement
and
started
the
nationwide
Civil
Disobedience
Movement.
Mahatma
Gandhi
started
this
march
with
78
of
his
trusted
volunteers.
The
march
was
over
240
miles.
They
walked
for
24
days
10
miles
a
day.
The
march
was
the
most
significant
organised
challenge
to
British
authority
since
the
Non-cooperation
movement
of
1920–22,
and
directly
followed
the
Purna
Swaraj
declaration
of
sovereignty
and
self-rule
by
the
Indian
National
Congress
on
26
January
1930.
Gandhi
led
the
Dandi
March
from
his
base,
Sabarmati
Ashram,
240
miles
(390
km)
to
the
coastal
village
of
Dandi,
which
was
at
a
small
town
called
Navsari
(now
in
the
state
of
Gujarat)
to
produce
salt
without
paying
the
tax,
growing
numbers
of
Indians
joined
them
along
the
way.
When
Gandhi
broke
the
salt
laws
at
6:30
am
on
6
April
1930,
it
sparked
large
scale
acts
of
civil
disobedience
against
the
British
Raj
salt
laws
by
millions
of
Indians.
The
campaign
had
a
significant
effect
on
changing
world
and
British
attitudes
towards
Indian
sovereignty
and
self-rule
and
caused
large
numbers
of
Indians
to
join
the
fight
for
the
first
time.
After
making
salt
at
Dandi,
Gandhi
continued
southward
along
the
coast,
making
salt
and
addressing
meetings
on
the
way.
The
Congress
Party
planned
to
stage
a
satyagraha
at
the
Dharasana
Salt
Works,
25
miles
south
of
Dandi.
However,
Gandhi
was
arrested
on
the
midnight
of
4–5
May
1930,
just
days
before
the
planned
action
at
Dharasana.
The
Dandi
March
and
the
ensuing
Dharasana
Satyagraha
drew
worldwide
attention
to
the
Indian
independence
movement
through
extensive
newspaper
and
newsreel
coverage.
The
satyagraha
against
the
salt
tax
continued
for
almost
a
year,
ending
with
Gandhi's
release
from
jail
and
negotiations
with
Viceroy
Lord
Irwin
at
the
Second
Round
Table
Conference.Over
60,000
Indians
were
jailed
as
a
result
of
the
Salt
Satyagraha.
However,
it
failed
to
result
in
major
concessions
from
the
British.
The
Salt
Satyagraha
campaign
was
based
upon
Gandhi's
principles
of
non-violent
protest
called
satyagraha,
which
he
loosely
translated
as
'truth-force'.
Literally,
it
is
formed
from
the