Mahatma Gandhi reached Dandi, a small costal village in Gujarat, after travelling 385 km with 78 followers to break the recently imposed "Salt Law". This event is known as 'Dandi March' and was started from Sabarmati Ashram near Ahmedabad. The march lasted from March 12th to April 6th, 1930, and was part of a direct action campaign of tax resistance and non-violent protest against the British salt monopoly.
Background
The 1882 Salt Act gave the British a monopoly on salt manufacturing and distribution. Despite the fact that salt was abundant along India's coasts, Indians were forced to buy it from colonizers.
In addition to having a monopoly on the manufacture and sale of salt, the British imposed a hefty salt tax. Despite the fact that India's poor bore the brunt of the tariff, all Indians desired salt.
Gandhi came to the conclusion that if there was one product that could be used to start civil disobedience, it would be salt.
Salt, along with air and water, is possibly the most important component of life. The British government, particularly Viceroy Lord Irwin, did not take the anti-salt-tax campaign seriously.
Gandhi announced his decision to defy the salt rules in front of a large crowd in Ahmedabad on March 8.
Lord Irwin, thought Gandhi's protest posed no threat. Millions across undivided India would be interested in salt, that essential simple component in every meal eaten by every common man for which he was forced to pay an exorbitant tax to the British government.
