1. Gandhi’s Salt March and Demands 📜🧂

• On 31 January 1930, Gandhi sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin, listing eleven demands ✉️📜.
• These demands were wide-ranging, appealing to people across all social classes, from industrialists 🏭 to peasants 🌾.
• The demands included issues such as reduction of taxes 💵, control over the salt industry 🧂, and rights for workers 🧑‍🏭 and farmers 🚜.
• Gandhi’s intent was to unite different sections of society by focusing on issues that directly affected them, ensuring broad participation 👥🤝.
• The most significant of these demands was the call to abolish the salt tax 🧂💰, which affected both the rich 💎 and the poor 🍞.
• Salt was a daily necessity for all Indians, making it a symbol of economic oppression 💸⚖️.
• Gandhi argued that the salt tax was not just a financial burden 💵, but also a symbol of the oppressive nature of British colonial rule 👑🔒.
• The government monopoly on salt 🌍 further symbolized British exploitation, as they controlled its production, while Indians were forced to buy salt at a premium 🏷️💲.
• In his letter, Gandhi also threatened that if the demands were not addressed by 11 March, the Congress would start a civil disobedience campaign 🚨✊.
• This demand for salt tax abolition became a rallying cry 📣, stirring immense public support across India 🇮🇳.

2. The Civil Disobedience Movement Begins 🚶‍♂️⚖️

• Gandhi gave Irwin an ultimatum 📅: meet the demands by 11 March, or the Congress would launch a civil disobedience campaign 🚨⚖️.
• When the British government failed to act 🏛️❌, Gandhi began his famous Salt March with 78 volunteers 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 from Sabarmati Ashram 🏠 to the coastal town of Dandi 🌊.
• The march covered a distance of 240 miles 🛤️ in 24 days 🗓️, and Gandhi led the group on foot 👣, embodying the principle of non-violent resistance ✋🕊️.
• Along the way, Gandhi addressed thousands of people 👥, spreading the message of Swaraj (self-rule) 🇮🇳 and urging them to peacefully defy British authority ✊⚖️.
• The march itself became a symbol of unity and resistance 🕊️✊, as ordinary citizens joined in at different points 👥🌍.
• Gandhi’s march was a peaceful form of protest ✋, where he emphasized that civil disobedience would not include violence or destruction 🔨❌.
• On 6 April, Gandhi reached Dandi, where he violated the salt law 🧂🚫 by making salt from sea water 🌊💧, an act that symbolized the defiance of British authority 👑⚖️.
• This act of law-breaking marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement 🚶‍♂️⚖️, a campaign that aimed not only to challenge the salt tax but also to confront British colonialism itself 🏴‍☠️💪.
• As news of Gandhi’s action spread 📡, many more Indians took to manufacturing salt 🧂, and a massive movement emerged 🌍✊, defying British laws across the country 🇮🇳.
• The march and its significance inspired countless other acts of resistance ⚡, and Gandhi’s message of peaceful disobedience 🕊️ began to resonate globally 🌍.
• The Salt March became one of the defining moments in India’s fight for independence 🏆🇮🇳 and an enduring symbol of peaceful protest worldwide 🌍✊.

3. How Civil Disobedience Was Different from Non-Cooperation 🔥⚖️

• Unlike the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22), which urged refusal to cooperate with the British, Civil Disobedience encouraged actively breaking colonial laws ✊🚫, pushing for direct action against British authority instead of mere non-compliance.
• The movement aimed to create a massive confrontation with the colonial powers, highlighting civil disobedience as a method of defiance against injustice 🌍⚖️.
• Thousands of Indians took part in the movement by:
  • Breaking the salt law 🧂⚖️ by making and selling salt illegally 🏭🌊, undermining the British monopoly.
  • Manufacturing salt illegally as an act of direct rebellion against British economic control 🧂✊.
  • Protesting at government salt factories 🚧📢, drawing attention to the exploitation of the people and the colonial taxes placed on essential goods.
• As the movement spread, it gained momentum and expanded to include actions against other symbols of colonial control:
  • Boycotting foreign cloth 👕❌, urging people to wear handspun khadi as a symbol of self-sufficiency and resistance to British goods 🇮🇳🧵.
  • Picketing liquor shops 🍾🚫, signaling opposition to British taxation and control over alcohol, which was used as a tool of exploitation.
  • Refusing to pay land revenue and taxes 💰⚠️, as a direct challenge to the financial grip the British had over Indian farmers 🌾🛑.
  • Village officials resigned in protest 🏡📜, refusing to enforce British laws in their communities, marking a breakdown of colonial authority at the grassroots level 🌍✊.
  • Forest dwellers broke forest laws 🌳 by grazing cattle and collecting wood 🐄, defying colonial restrictions on forest resources and asserting their rights over the land they depended on 🌿💪.
• This broad spectrum of actions made Civil Disobedience more radical and direct than Non-Cooperation, uniting Indians from all walks of life in active resistance 🧑‍🤝‍🧑🔗.

4. Repression and Violence in the Movement 🚔🔥

• As the Civil Disobedience Movement gained momentum, the British government began arresting Congress leaders 🏛️🚔, including Gandhi, to suppress the movement and silence its leaders.
• The repression led to violent clashes across India, as people took to the streets to defend their rights and demand justice ✊🔥.
• In April 1930, when Abdul Ghaffar Khan (a key ally of Gandhi) was arrested in Peshawar, protests erupted 🔥📢.
  • Demonstrators faced armoured cars 🚗🛡️ and police firing 🔫, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries as the colonial authorities tried to quash the protests.
• Gandhi’s own arrest in May 1930 escalated tensions further, triggering violent protests in Sholapur 💥.
  • Industrial workers ⚒️ in Sholapur attacked symbols of British rule, including police posts 🚔💥, municipal buildings 🏢🔥, and railway stations 🚂🔥, challenging the authority of the British colonial machinery.
• The colonial government responded with a brutal repression campaign:
  • Satyagrahis (non-violent protesters) were attacked ✊💔, with many being beaten, arrested, or killed in the streets by the British police 🚔💥.
  • Women and children were among those beaten 💪👧 as they participated in the protests, showing that even the most vulnerable were targeted by the colonial government.
  • In total, around 100,000 people were arrested 🚔🧳, many held without trial or sent to prison camps as a way of stifling the rebellion.
• The repression aimed at crushing the movement only strengthened the resolve of the Indian people 💪🇮🇳, turning many more against British rule. The harsh response highlighted the brutality of the colonial regime, solidifying the need for Indian independence 🏆🇮🇳.

5. Gandhi-Irwin Pact and the Break in the Movement ✍️🕊️

• On 5 March 1931, after much deliberation and pressure from the escalating situation, Gandhi called off the Civil Disobedience Movement and entered into the Gandhi-Irwin Pact with the British government.
• Under the pact:
  • Gandhi agreed to attend the Round Table Conference in London, aiming to discuss India’s constitutional future with British officials and other political leaders 🌍✈️.
  • The British government agreed to release political prisoners, signaling a temporary pause in the repression, as a gesture of goodwill towards resolving the ongoing crisis 🤝🕊️.
• In December 1931, Gandhi traveled to London to participate in the Round Table Conference 🏛️, with hopes of securing a more favorable deal for India.
• However, the negotiations failed 💼🚫, as the British were unwilling to concede significant power to the Indian leaders. The conference did not lead to any concrete change, and Gandhi returned to India disappointed 😔✈️.
• Upon his return, Gandhi found that the government had intensified its repression again, with Ghaffar Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru being imprisoned 🏛️🚔. The Congress party was banned, and repressive measures were enforced to curb any further unrest, effectively undermining the fragile peace from the pact 🔥⚖️.

6. Relaunch of the Civil Disobedience Movement and Its Decline 🔄⛔

• Faced with the renewed suppression of political activists and the Congress, Gandhi decided to relaunch the Civil Disobedience Movement ⚖️✊ in 1932, challenging the British once again.
• The movement was reignited across the country, with people continuing to break colonial laws, especially the salt law, and engaging in protests against British rule 📢🧂.
• However, the movement struggled to maintain the same momentum as it had previously. Despite over a year of continued resistance, by 1934, the movement began to lose its energy and enthusiasm 🔋⛔.
• The British government maintained its brutal measures, continuing with widespread arrests, confiscating materials, and imposing severe penalties for participation in the protests 🔒💼.
• The harsh policies and the jailing of key leaders led to the decline of the movement, with many people disheartened by the lack of progress and the ongoing suffering caused by British repression 📉⚖️.
• The failure to gain significant concessions during the latter phase of the movement marked the beginning of a period of political uncertainty in India, leading to calls for other forms of resistance.