An Old Man, Salt and Tax

Salty over the salt law, Gandhiji engaged in an act of open defiance that set the Indian Independence movement on a new course altogether.

Gandhi picking up a lump of salt to break the Salt Law; Source: Public Domain

On the morning of this day in 1930, in the sandy beaches of Dandi, stood a frail old man draped in a khadi dhoti, standing by the support of a stick. He held in his hands a lump of dirty sea salt and a sense of freedom in his eyes. This was an Indian, trying to shake the very foundation of the grand British empire by the grains of a rather unnoticed ingredient of our food.

The most shocking thing that a government could do was enter a kitchen and look for something that is the most commonly used yet ignored product. The garb of high Western ideas went down when the Salt Laws were passed.

While many emperors and tyrants, colonists and imperialists have ruled over the human race, the collective spirit had always been triumphant when the limits of a rule had crossed the boundaries of basic morality. The British empire had developed its roots and entered almost every sphere of Indian life, from rituals to education, food to industry, agriculture to jobs. But this was not enough!\

The most shocking thing that a government could do was enter a kitchen and look for something that is the most commonly used yet ignored product. The garb of high Western ideas went down when the Salt Laws were passed. These Acts prohibited Indians from collecting, making and selling salt - the staple food, the basic ingredient, the tastemaker.

Only the British had the monopoly to make and sell salt. Added to that was the heavy salt tax. A tax on salt! What would a poor man do?

This was not all. Only the British had the monopoly to make and sell salt. Added to that was the heavy salt tax. A tax on salt! What would a poor man do? Either pay the tax to make the food salty or fall out - as ridiculous as it sounds.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, known for his rather subtle ways of fighting the big battles, took upon himself the task of adding salt to the plate of every Indian. He took his lathi and started walking from his Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat towards the Arabian Sea. This was not a journey to the opposite street, but a 240-mile long trek that took 24 days.

Before starting, a fair notice was sent to the Viceroy which in short said - stop us if you want to but fulfil eleven of our wishes. However, it was ignored!

He wasn't alone. Some started with him and others joined later. As foolish as it seems to us a government taxing salt, the government felt it was foolish of the so-called Mahatma to make salt his symbol of protest. Sometimes, small things create big differences! When you don't look closely, you miss the details. Salt is one thing that connects humanity beyond social and economic differences. It is but a symbol of equality - a reminder that no matter what we are, in the end, we are all just humans.

Not just Britishers and the international media, but the very leadership of Congress was uncertain of the idea. But nothing deterred the spirit of our frail old man. Before starting, a fair notice was sent to the Viceroy which in short said - stop us if you want to but fulfil eleven of our wishes. However, it was ignored!

When Gandhi reached Dandi he had somewhere between 60,000 to 100,000 people with him - men, women and children. They prayed, they bathed and then Gandhi picked up salt and became the 'law-breaker'. The first bullet had been fired. The non-violent war declared. Millions broke the law after he and India rose as one nation against an unwanted rule and their foreign laws!