Salt March to Dandi, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu (Vedaranyam), 1930
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| Salt march by Gandhiji. thequint.com |
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| Freedom struggle. Salt march by Gandhiji. thequint.com |
The Salt Satyagraha Memorial has come up in the coastal place at Dandi, Gujarat where Mahatma Gandhi concluded the historical salt march in April 1930 in protest against the British Raj which vehemently introduced tax on cooking salt as if they were not content with centuries of exploitation of Indians and their natural resources.
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| .indiatimes.com |
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| Gandhiji collecting salt at Dandi shore, Gujarat.en.wikipedia.org |
Above image: Gandhi picked up grains of salt at the end of his march. Behind him is his second son Manilal Gandhi and Mithuben Petit.
The salt padayatra/March was an arduous one, as it happened in the hot summer time - a long stretch of 241 mile journey from Ahmedabad through semi- arid terrain to the coastal town of Dandi. On March 12, 1930, Gandhi set out along with 80 satyagrahis, unmindful of button-wielding police force who wanted to stop them. Being defiant as he was, Gandhiji concluded the 24-day March in Dandi village, and on April 6, picked up a handful of salt, thus breaking the salt law. The simple act became a sensational news across the world and the foundation of the empire had developed more cracks, by then. The British realized that India's freedom was not far off.
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| Vedaranyam (Tanjore composite district),TN researchgate.net/ |
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| Vedarayam Salt march, Rajaji & others .instagram.com |
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| Apr.13, 1930 Vedarayam Salt march, Rajaji & others..mindstick.com |
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| Vedaranyam salt march memorial, TN.en.wikipedia.org |
In Southern India C. Rajagoplachari (who became the first Gov. General of India and CM of Madras state) repeated the same act and undertook padayatra toward the end of April 1930 from Tiruchirapalli city to coastal village of Vedaranyam (about 150miles) in Tamil Nadu. He collected a handful of salts along with great leaders like Kamaraj Nadar, Kakkan, Sardar Vedaratnam pillai and others. The British collector of Tanjore (Thanjavur) announced severe punishment to those who would provide the marchers with food, etc. The salt march was a great success because the natives refused to cooperate with the British. The patriots got food and water secretly (hidden in selected location on their path). Janitor refused to clean the toilet and laundrymen refused to wash the white men's clothing, etc. The Englishmen were in the soup.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_March
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedaranyam_Salt_Satyagraha
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