Discuss the salt march to make clear why it was an effective symbol of resistance against colonies
Answers
1) Gandi ji saw in salt a powerful symbol that could unite the nation .
2) On 31 July 1930 , he sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating 11 demands .
3) The most stirring of all was the demand to abolish the salt March . Salt was something consumed by the rich and the poor.
4) Mahatma Gandhi started his famous salt March with his trusted 78 followers.
5) On 6 March he reached Dandi ,and ceremonially violated the law , manufactured salt by boiling sea water .
Explanation:
The Salt March was an effective symbol of resistance against colonialism because:
Gandhiji met a large number of commoners during the march and he taught them the true meaning of swaraj and non-violence.
It was the first time that Indian leaders decided to violate law. People were now asked not only to refuse cooperation with the British, but also to break colonial laws.
Thousands of Indians in different parts of the country broke the salt law, manufactured salt and demonstrated in front of the government salt factories. With this, Gandhiji set forth an example to the whole nation of how the oppressor could be confronted in a non-violent manner.
People also started boycotting foreign cloth. Peasants refused to pay revenue and ‘chaukidari taxes’. In many places people started going into the reserved forests by violating forest laws to collect wood and graze cattle.
Worried by the development, the colonial government started arresting the Congress leaders, one by one. This led to violent clashes in many places.
After Gandhi ji got arrested, some industrial workers in Sholapur attacked police posts, municipal buildings and many other structures that symbolised the British rule.
In an outcome of the movement, the Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed between Gandhiji and Irwin on 5th March, 1931. By this Pact, Gandhiji consented to participate in a Round Table Conference in London and the government agreed to release the political prisoners