Why did Gandhiji choose to Break the Salt Law?
By BYJU'S Exam Prep
Updated on: November 9th, 2023
Gandhi Ji chose to break the Salt Law because, according to his views, nobody has to pay for salt as it is a natural resource. It doesn’t matter if someone is poor or rich; everyone uses the same amount of salt, and salt comes from oceans, a natural resource, so everyone should have equal rights. That was the reason he did the salt march in April 1930. Gandhi organized the campaign. Gandhi chose the 1882 British Salt Act as the first target of satyagraha.
Gandhiji Break the Salt Law
British wanted Indians to pay a tax for the salt they extracted from the Indian oceans, but Gandhi Ji had different views on this scenario. He was against this decision because, according to him, the Ocean is a natural resource, and everyone has equal rights for the necessities. Gandhi Ji believed it was an injustice because he used to think that the ocean was a natural resource and belonged to everyone equally.
- Gandhi Ji decided to protest against the salt law, and he organized a salt march in 1930.
- It was known as Salt Satyagrah or Dandi march.
- The 24-day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930.
- It was a non-violent protest.
- Gandhiji marched 239 miles (382km) from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, which was called Navsari at that time (Now in the state of Gujrat)
The Salt Satyagraha campaign was based upon Gandhi’s principles of non-violent protest called satyagraha, which he loosely translated as “truth force”. Literally, it is formed from the Sanskrit words Satya, “truth”, and agraha, “insistence”.
Summary:
Why did Gandhiji choose to Break the Salt Law?
The decision to disobey the salt law was taken by Gandhiji since, in his opinion, no one should be required to pay for salt because it is necessary. Gandhi Ji was a lawyer and social activist. He saw that the British were implementing a salt tax on Indians that they were extracting from the ocean, which was still a complicated process. After all the hard work, they must pay taxes and sell the salt at lower prices.
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