Q.Describe the causes and significance of Salt Satyagraha launched by Gandhiji. (3 + 3 = 6)
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →The Salt Satyagraha was a direct challenge to the British monopoly on salt and a powerful mass movement that transformed the Indian freedom struggle by uniting diverse social groups.
The Salt Satyagraha of 1930 did not begin as a mere protest against a tax on salt. It was a carefully crafted political act by Mahatma Gandhi to break the moral and legal authority of the British Raj. For decades, the British had enforced a series of Salt Laws that prohibited Indians from manufacturing or selling salt — a basic necessity of life. Only the government could produce and sell salt, and it imposed a heavy tax on every grain. This was deeply resented because salt was consumed by every Indian, rich or poor, and the tax fell most heavily on the poorest.
Gandhi chose salt as the symbol of his campaign because it was something everyone could understand. It was not an abstract constitutional demand — it was about the right to a common resource. By declaring that he would march to the coastal village of Dandi and make salt from seawater, Gandhi was deliberately breaking an unjust law. This act of civil disobedience was designed to show that the British laws were not only oppressive but also illegitimate.
The Dandi March began on 12 March 1930 from Sabarmati Ashram and covered about 240 miles over 24 days. Gandhi was accompanied by 78 chosen followers, but thousands joined along the way.
The causes of the Salt Satyagraha can be understood at three levels. First, the immediate cause was the failure of the Simon Commission (1928) and the Round Table Conference to address Indian demands for self-rule. The British had refused to grant dominion status, and the Congress had declared Purna Swaraj (complete independence) in December 1929. Gandhi needed a concrete issue to mobilise the nation. Second, the salt tax was a daily reminder of colonial exploitation — it was a tax on the most essential item, and its removal would benefit every Indian. Third, Gandhi wanted to shift the freedom struggle from elite politics to a mass movement. The salt issue could reach villages, peasants, and women in a way that constitutional debates never could. …
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