On March 12, 1930, Mahatma Gandhi stepped out of Sabarmati Ashram with a small group of followers and a simple but radical plan: to challenge British authority over something as basic as salt. What began as a quiet march toward the coastal village of Dandi would become one of the most powerful acts of civil disobedience in modern history and a defining moment in India’s struggle for freedom.

‎The protest targeted the colonial government’s salt monopoly, which forced Indians to buy heavily taxed salt and banned them from collecting it themselves—even along their own coastline. To Gandhi, the issue symbolised the everyday injustices of colonial rule. In a letter to Lord Irwin days before the march, he warned that the campaign would begin unless the British government addressed the grievances of the Indian people. “On bended knees I asked for bread and I have received a stone instead,” Gandhi wrote, announcing his decision to launch a movement of non-violent resistance.

‎The march marked the beginning of the broader Salt Satyagraha, a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience. Gandhi and 78 volunteers began the journey from Sabarmati Ashram, walking nearly 390 kilometers through villages across Gujarat. Each day, crowds gathered along the dusty roads to greet the marchers, offer support, and listen to Gandhi speak about freedom and self-reliance. What started as a small procession gradually transformed into a mass movement, drawing national and international attention.

‎At the heart of the campaign was Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violent resistance, rooted in the principle of Satyagraha—the idea that truth and moral courage could challenge unjust authority. “We are not out to destroy the British,” Gandhi told supporters during the march. “But we are determined to destroy their system of exploitation.”

‎After 24 days of walking, the marchers reached the Arabian Sea at Dandi on April 6, 1930. In a symbolic act that reverberated across the country, Gandhi bent down, picked up a lump of salty mud from the shore, and declared that he had broken the British salt law. The gesture was simple but electrifying: it invited millions of Indians to defy the colonial monopoly.

‎The response was swift and widespread. Across India, people began producing salt illegally, boycotting British goods, and staging peaceful protests. Women joined the movement in large numbers, while students, workers, and farmers participated in demonstrations. The colonial government responded with mass arrests; tens of thousands of people were detained, including Gandhi himself.

‎The march became a turning point in the broader Indian independence movement. It transformed the freedom struggle from a largely political campaign into a mass movement involving ordinary citizens. International newspapers carried dramatic images and reports of peaceful protesters facing arrest and violence, drawing global attention to India’s demand for self-rule.

‎Historians often describe the Dandi March as one of the most influential acts of civil resistance in the 20th century. By choosing salt—a necessity shared by rich and poor alike—Gandhi turned an everyday commodity into a powerful symbol of freedom. The march did not immediately end colonial rule, but it fundamentally altered the dynamics of the independence movement and weakened the moral authority of the British Empire in India.

‎Nearly a century later, the journey from Sabarmati to Dandi remains etched in the nation’s memory. The quiet footsteps that began on March 12, 1930, carried a message that would echo far beyond India’s shores: that determined, non-violent resistance could challenge even the mightiest empire.

Legacies of Gandhiji and Sree Narayana Guru carry clear message against violence: Rahul Gandhi

He emphasized that both Mahatma Gandhi and Sree Narayana Guru lacked physical or financial strength but possessed immense, lasting power due to their spiritual strength and commitment to truth.

A life in pursuit of human dignity

On 17 February, the world lost one of its most resonant voices for equality - Reverend Je sse L . Jackson, Sr., who passed away at the age of 84.

Jesse Jackson dies: American civil rights leader who hailed Mahatma Gandhi as ‘spiritual godfather’

In speeches across India and the US, Jesse Jackson credited Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence for shaping global civil rights movements and influencing leaders from King to Mandela.

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