Gandhi's 387-km march against British salt taxes launched mass civil disobedience across India and influenced later civil rights movements worldwide.
Key Facts
- March duration
- 24 days (12 March – 6 April 1930)
- Distance covered
- 387 kilometres km
- Initial volunteers
- 78
- Indians jailed
- over 60,000
- Route
- Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, Gujarat
- Salt law targeted
- British Salt Act of 1882
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Indian National Congress adopted satyagraha as its principal tactic for achieving self-rule in 1920 and appointed Gandhi to lead resistance campaigns. Following the Purna Swaraj declaration of independence on 26 January 1930, Gandhi selected the British Salt Act of 1882 as the first target, as the salt monopoly imposed an unjust tax burden on all Indians regardless of class.
On 12 March 1930, Gandhi departed Sabarmati Ashram with 78 volunteers on a 387-kilometre march to the coastal village of Dandi. Crowds grew as the march progressed, and on 6 April 1930 Gandhi broke British salt laws by producing salt through evaporation from seawater. Gandhi was arrested on 4–5 May 1930, days before a planned satyagraha at the Dharasana Salt Works, where hundreds of nonviolent protesters were beaten by colonial police.
Millions of Indians joined acts of civil disobedience against the salt laws, and over 60,000 were imprisoned. Extensive global newspaper and newsreel coverage drew worldwide attention to the independence movement. The campaign continued for nearly a year, ending with Gandhi's release and talks with Viceroy Lord Irwin, and it directly ignited the nationwide Civil Disobedience Movement that lasted until 1934. Gandhi's methods later influenced American civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King Jr.
Political Outcome
The Salt Satyagraha galvanised mass civil disobedience across India, led to over 60,000 arrests, drew global attention to Indian independence, and ended with Gandhi negotiating with Viceroy Lord Irwin at the Second Round Table Conference, though Britain made no immediate major concessions.
British Raj held monopoly control over salt production and taxation in India
British authority was openly challenged at scale; Civil Disobedience Movement spread nationwide, weakening colonial legitimacy