-
Dandi movement
Write a short note on Dandi movement.
-
2 Replies
-
1) On 12th March 1930, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, an Indian lawyer, and anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist embarked on a historic march from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi Beach. This led to the start of the Dandi Movement (March) or Salt March.
2) The Dandi March included seventy-eight chosen followers of Mahatma Gandhi from varied fields and cultures like newspaper editors, scholars, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, untouchables, and weavers.
3) Mahatma Gandhi and his followers commonly referred to as Satyagrahis marched up approximately 390 kilometers from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to the coastal village of Dandi in Gujarat.
4) The movement was mainly held to break the ‘salt law’ which was established by the Colonial Government (British Raj). The Salt Law granted the colonial government monopoly in manufacturing salt, representing imperial exploitations of Indians.
5) Mahatma Gandhi considered the salt tax as a true index of inhuman oppression; he instructed individuals to violate the salt tax everywhere.
6) On 6th April 1930 Mahatma Gandhi reached Dandi and broke the salt law. This movement served as a symbol of Indian’s refusal to live under the colonial government.
7) However, Mahatma Gandhi, the key figure of the movement was arrested by the authorities.
8) Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose compared the Dandi March to “Napoleon’s March to Paris after his return from Elba”. While Lord Irwin the viceroy of India commended Mahatma Gandhi for his political instincts.
9) This March led to the development of the Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-1934). This movement included the following programs such as:
a) Students should leave school and colleges
b) foreign goods should be burned
c) No taxes to be paid to the government
d) Women to start dharna before liquor shops, etc.
10) The movement reflected Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of Non-violence known as Satyagraha. It served as fuel in generating the widespread participation of Indians in the independence movements.
