Dandi March

• 12 Mar 2026

Source: AIR 

The Vice President paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi and all the freedom fighters who participated in the Dandi March (1930), noting that the march's spirit of self-reliance guides India's journey towards an Atmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat.  

Dandi March 

• About: The Dandi March (1930) was an important event in India’s freedom struggle. It was led by Mahatma Gandhi to oppose the British salt tax through a peaceful act of civil disobedience, challenging British economic control over India. 
  • Mahatma Gandhi deliberately chose salt because it was a daily necessity, making the injustice universally relatable.  
• Timeline and Key Events: The march started on 12th March 1930 and concluded on 6th April 1930, covering 240 miles from the Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi village (present-day Gujarat). Mahatma Gandhi was accompanied by 78 initial followers, a number that swelled into a mass movement along the route. 
  • The protest targeted the British salt monopoly and the salt tax, enforced by laws like the 1882 Salt Act. This tax forced all Indians, especially the poor, to buy expensive, taxed salt (often imported) instead of using the readily available coastal salt. 
  • On 6th April 1930, Mahatma Gandhi broke the salt laws by picking up a handful of natural salt from the seashore at Dandi. This single act served as a signal for millions of Indians to begin their own acts of civil disobedience across the country. 
    • E.g., C. Rajagopalachari broke salt law in the coastal town of Vedaranyam in the Tanjore coast (Madras Presidency). In the Malabar region (present-day Kerala), K. Kelappan (Kerala Gandhi) organized salt marches from Calicut to Payyanur. 
• Repression: The British responded with mass arrests, including Gandhi's arrest on 5th May 1930, and violent crackdowns on peaceful protesters, most notably at the Dharasana Salt Works. 
  • In Gujarat, after Mahatma Gandhi’s arrest, Sarojini Naidu led a nonviolent raid on the Dharasana Salt Works on 21st May 1930, where American journalist Webb Miller reported a brutal police lathi-charge on peaceful protesters. 
• Long-Term Significance: It garnered significant international attention, exposing the moral bankruptcy of British rule and inspiring future global leaders of nonviolent movements, such as Martin Luther King Jr. 

Read More: Dandi March 1930