I intend to break the Salt Law
On March 2, 1930 Gandhiji wrote a letter to the Viceroy, Lord Irwin. Apart from being a testament to his moral stature, it is absolutely brilliant in terms of both communications and strategy: “ Dear Friend; I cannot intentionally hurt anything that lives, much less fellow human beings, even though they may do the greatest wrong to me and mine. Whilst, therefore, I hold the British rule to be a curse, I do not intend harm to a single Englishman or to any legitimate interest he may have in India.” He goes on to compare the income of the average Indian – two annas per day to the Viceroy’s daily take of Rs. 700/- i.e. “ much over 5,000 times India’s average income.” Gandhiji then apologizes for using “a personal illustration to drive home a painful truth.”I beg you on bended knees to ponder over this phenomenon.” A clear statement of intent follows: If the British are not willing to eradicate ‘evils,’ “I will undertake fresh civil disobedience and intend to break the Salt Law because it is the most iniquitous of all from the poor man’s standpoint.” Gandhiji got the letter delivered by a young English friend who believed in non violence and the Indian cause.
Gandhiji meets the King Emperor on equal terms…
In his letter, Gandhiji addresses Lord Irwin as ‘Dear friend’. This is an assertion of equality – which - given the context is nothing short of sedition –and he extends a hand in friendship hoping to bridge the divide between the two camps. Gandhiji separates an oppressive regime from the decent, ordinary individuals who serve it. Lord Irwin made very few concessions but one of the outcomes of the Salt Satyagraha was a conference in London which Gandhiji attended – in his dhoti- as the sole representative of the Congress. Churchill’s reaction is a measure of Gandhiji’s stature and achievements: “It is alarming and also nauseating to see Mr. Gandhi, a seditious Middle Temple lawyer, now posing as a fakir of a type well known in the East, striding half naked up the steps of the vice regal palace while he is still organizing and conducting a defiant campaign of civil disobedience, to parley on equal terms with the King-Emperor.”
On bended knees I asked for bread and I have got stones instead
Lord Irwin’s reply was predictable. He spoke of the disturbance to law and order. Gandhiji remarked: “On bended knees I asked for bread and I have received stones instead.” True to his word, he set about the practical task of organizing a pada yatra to protest the salt tax. Gandhiji, together with his team of satyagrahis, congress workers and supporters drew up a concrete action plan for the protest march. On March 12, 1930, Gandhiji, with 78 supporters, would march from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmadabad to Dandi, a sea side village in Gujarat (a distance of 241 miles) and break the salt law. On March 11, Gandhiji addressed a group of about 10,000 people and said: “In all probability, this will be my last speech to you. Even if the government allows me to march tomorrow morning, this will be my last speech on the sacred banks of the Sabarmati. Possibly, these may be the last words of my life here.” Gandhiji had no illusions about what the government could do. He was determined to go through with the march even if it cost him his life. It was this kind of grit and sacrifice that mesmerized the ordinary Indian. As he spoke, so he acted.
We have looked upon Dandi as Hardwar
At 6:30 a.m on March 12, Gandhiji and his band started the march after prayers followed by a huge crowd. Gandhiji used religious symbolism to convey the importance of the Dandi March: “My feeling is like that of the pilgrim to Amarnath or Badri-Kedar. For me this is nothing less than a holy pilgrimage.” Again on March 28 he said: “We have looked upon Dandi as Hardwar. Let us become worthy of entering a place as holy as Hardwar.” Gandhiji was prepared for the inevitable government backlash. In a speech on March 29 he said: “For me there is no turning back whether I am alone or joined by thousands. I would rather die a dog’s death and have my bones