CBSE Class 10 Answered

Mahatma Gandhi found in salt a powerful symbol that could unite the nation.

1. On 31^st January, 1930, he sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating eleven demands, one of which was the demand to abolish the salt law.
2. Salt was and is one of the most essential food items, consumed by the rich and poor alike and a tax on it was considered completely unjust.
3. Gandhi’s letter was an ultimatum and if his demands were not fulfilled by March 11, he had threatened to launch a civil disobedience campaign.
4. The British government did not take note of the demands and therefore Gandhi launched his famous salt march accompanied by 78 of his trusted volunteers. The march was over 240 miles, from the ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati coastal town of Dandi.
5. The volunteers walked for about 24 days, 10 miles a day. On the way, many people joined in and the number of marchers increased manifold.
6. On 6^th April, Gandhi reached Dandi and ceremonially violated the salt law by boiling sea water and producing salt. This marked the beginning of the civil disobedience movement.