Laws are the framework within which man is judged for their actions and adequately charged if they violate them. However, there are specific laws that citizens may consider unfair or unjust and thus refuse to obey. Mahatma Gandhi’s walk from Ahmedabad to Dandi in response to unfair British imposed taxes on homegrown salt is an admirable form of civil disobedience aimed at ending colonialism and exposing unjust rule.
Under British rule, India maintained a lucrative salt production industry in the 19th century. The nation had strict laws preventing independent commercial sales by Indians and demanded they pay a premium for imported salt (Venkatraman 15). Mahatma Gandhi confronted the salt laws using non-violent means by first penning a letter to Viceroy Lord Irwin. Therein he communicated a philosophy that insists on truth above all else, dubbed satyagraha (Venkatraman 2). Gandhi’s walk dawned on March 12th, after the lack of a formal British response. He handpicked a group of 78 followers to walk for roughly 240 miles to the Arabian beachside at Dandi, where he arrived on April 5th and openly harvested salt in defiance of British law by handpicking a lump of mud on the beach (Venkatraman 19). The act signified the end of salt laws and allowed Indians to harvest saltwater and produce salt locally.
In conclusion, Gandhi’s salt walk was an act of civil disobedience occurring in India in the 19th century. Mahatma protested unfair salt laws imposed by staging a peaceful walk from his hometown in Ahmedabad to Dandi. His plan was successful because Indian citizens acquired the right to sell salt independently and produce supplies for home use. The abolition of the salt laws also crucially set India down a path of independence from British rule.
Work Cited
Venkatraman, V. “Salt Satyagraha: The Preventive Measures and Counter Propaganda of the British in the Madras Presidency, 1930 – 1931.”SSRN Electronic Journal, vol. 1, ser. 1, 2018, pp. 1–24. 1.