Salt March
On March 12, 1930, Gandhi led 78 followers on a 240-mile (385 km) march from Sabarmati Ashram to the coastal village of Dandi to make salt from seawater, defying the British salt tax. The march swelled to tens of thousands and ignited the wider Civil Disobedience Movement across India.
Preceding Causes
The Lahore Congress (December 1929) declared Purna Swaraj (complete independence) as its goal and authorized Gandhi to launch civil disobedience. The salt tax was both practically oppressive — hitting the poorest hardest — and symbolically perfect for exposing colonial injustice to a global audience.
Non-Cooperation Movement
Gandhi's first nationwide mass resistance campaign called on Indians to boycott British institutions, goods, titles, and courts. Millions participated — surrendering British honors, withdrawing from government schools, and boycotting foreign cloth — paralyzing colonial administration.
Formation of Indian National Congress
Allan Octavian Hume, a retired British civil servant, founded the Indian National Congress in Bombay in 1885 with 72 delegates, initially as a moderate platform for educated Indians to petition the British government. It evolved into the primary vehicle for India's independence movement.
Historical Consequences
Brought global attention to India's independence struggle, particularly through American journalist Webb Miller's reporting of the Dharasana salt works raid. Over 60,000 Indians were jailed. The resulting Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931) acknowledged Congress as a legitimate negotiating partner. The movement proved that nonviolent civil disobedience could force an empire to the negotiating table.