Indian Independence Movement
Gandhi's Salt March
In the beginning of the 20th century the British created a salt tax so that the Indians had to pay a tax on all of the salt that they bought. If the Indians didn't buy their salt form the British or if they made their own salt they could have been arrested. In 1923 the salt tax doubled. The Indians were not happy with this, and Gandhi decided to make a plan to get rid of the salt tax. He had a different method though, he planned to use non- violent protest. In 1930, Gandhi started a 240 mile journey with 78 followers to the sea at Dandhi. By the end of his 25 day walk, he reached the sea and he had gained thousands of followers. Once he got there he walked to the sea and picked up a handful of salt. "Over the course of a month, the police arrested between 60,000 and 100,000 people for salt-related crimes and protests," following Gandhi's rule of non-violent protest they did not refuse arrest some of them even got beat with clubs. On March 5, 1931 the Gandhi- Irwin pact was signed by Lord Irwin, which ended the salt satyagraha.