A pinch of salt, that brought down an empire.

300 years of British rule inflicted great harm, for it exploited and bankrupted India and impoverished her people. During its rule, Britain reduced India's share of Global GDP from 28% to 1.8% while taking British share from 0.9% to 30%. 

Britain sought to break the spirit and destroy the character of the materially and spiritually richest civilisation of India. Luckily they did not completely succeeded. 

Based on historical analysis and various reports submitted to the British parliament Britain  had extracted  27 to 46 trillion pounds in today's value.  (India's total national debt today by comparison is only 190 billion pounds)

Like all exploiters the British ruled with an iron hand. With just a mere 1700 officers in India, Britain executed with devastating effectiveness the policy of 'divide and rule', making Indians destroy Indians. They pitted Indians against one another using religion, caste, colour, etc. 

It was only natural that the majority of Indians yearned to be free from the terrible yoke of British rule.

The Dandi Salt March depicted on the Rs 500 Indian currency note

                           

The organised opposition towards British rule was taken up mostly by British educated, wealthy urban Indians working under the banner of the Indian National Congress party (INC). Filled with many British loyalists,  in addition to great rivalry and politics amongst these elites, the INC was largely ineffective.

Some of the important leaders within the INC were impressed by the personality and track record of a frail looking lawyer who had effectively and bravely opposed apartheid rule in South Africa, Mohandas Gandhi. Desperate for achieving some results, the INC took a gamble, they requested Gandhi ji to lead the freedom movement.

There are many people and organisations credited with India gaining her freedom. Gandhi ji's contribution however is seen as the most significant.

What did Gandhi ji do? What was his contribution?
Pacifistic nature of the Indian people makes them easily get used to the conditions of their lives, even oppression, and total domination. Generations believe that their own lives as of their children would be the same as those of their elders. Life gets calibrated to the 'normal'. 

A leader is able to touch a nerve in the masses, the 'normalised' ordinary people. That nerve that electrifies, arouse passion within and emboldens them to take up a cause and the feeling that, 'we can do it.' 

The people have no clue what they are doing, but they give the leader almost everything they have. Their money, their possessions, their time and most importantly, themselves.
Gandhi ji, united all Indians in a popular mass movement with the conviction that they could rid India of British rule and live better lives as free men.
  
Gandhi ji had observed that Indians had neither the physical nor psychological disposition, neither funds, the weapons, nor the training for an armed conflict. Any violent attempt would be doomed to fail, and set back the freedom struggle by many decades. Violence by freedom seeking Indians, would lead to unnecessary deaths and provoke the use of excessive reactive force by the British. The British could easily justify it as self defence.

Gandhi ji had spent 14 years travelling across India and deep into its interior. He travelled, ate and resided just like any ordinary rural Indian. Interacting and understanding Indians and getting them to understand him and his philosophy, Gandhi ji touched lives and influenced people. He knew India and her people and they knew him, like no other national leader. 

Late in the year 1929, the INC agreed to Gandhi ji's advice to start a civil disobedience movement. 

Gandhi ji, contemplated for long on a strategy. He realised that the greatest weapon that an oppressor has, is the control of the mind and hence the obedience of the oppressed. If Indians stopped fearing, obeying and cooperating with the British, India would become ungovernable. Thus forcing the British to leave India.

Gandhi clearly understood that civil disobedience can easily lead to a complete breakdown of law and order and Indian society could rapidly descend into anarchy. This was Gandhi ji's greatest challenge in implementing his strategy. He had to unite Indians and maintain social harmony between Indians particularly Hindus and Muslims, while simultaneously uniting all Indians against the British. 


Gandhi ji drew upon three key Indian virtues, Hindu - Muslim amity,  'Ahimsa' that is non violence and the inherent deep spiritual nature of Indians.

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Early in 1930 Gandhi ji wrote an open letter to Lord Irwin (the British Viceroy in India) of his plans to lead a Salt March from his ashram at Sabarmati (Ahmedabad) to the coast in Gujarat to collect salt from the sea in defiance of the salt tax imposed by the British on its monopoly of the salt trade.

The British laughed at Gandhi ji, at his naivety and simple honesty. They decided to let him do what he wanted. They were sure like most other protests that it would be an insignificant act, a token, a non starter.  In any event it would not look good for the British to attack an old, frail and half naked man with his ragtag band of less than a hundred followers.

The anxious British heaved a sigh of relief now that they knew what Gandhi ji was up to. 

Members of the INC were dismayed at Gandhi ji's seemingly timid form of resistance.

Its easy for most people, particularly aggressive and violent men, to mock and underestimate the capability and capacity of peace loving people, mistaking non-aggression for weakness.

Gandhi ji called press reporters from all over the world and made it appear a grand event,  this march to Dandi in Gujarat. He converted a civil disobedience program into a morally just and spiritual conflict. He called on the citizens of India , businessmen, civil servants, labourers, villagers and students to join him on the march to protest against injustice.

Along the way, huge crowds of Indians cheered and hailed the marchers, people kept joining and the group grew in numbers and in passion. By the time the marchers arrived at the sea shore they were more than a hundred thousand strong, with many more cheering them. 

The marchers gathered salt from the sea. The salt was sold at nominal price and often freely distributed to Indians in the cities.

Using deep understanding, great intelligence and tenacity, Gandhi ji prepared and executed a simple but brilliant strategy. It was a powerful spontaneous mass movement where every Indian irrespective of caste, creed, social status or religion could relate to, support and participate in. In addition the movement required very few material resources. It drew on the spirit of ordinary Indians for strength and impact.

It is the ruled who grant authority to the rulers by obeying and cooperating with them. Power is bestowed on the ruler by the ruled people who obey rulers. Stop obeying and cooperating and the rulers have no authority .
Gandhi ji chose the right battle with no violence. Touching issues close to the heart of most Indians he demonstrated the vulnerability of the British Raj's incapacity to rule a united and charged people of India. Gandhi ji was thus able to unite Indians in their goal to drive the British out of India.

As history reveals, this underestimation of the mind of Gandhi ji and the spirit of Indians, was a blunder committed by the British. 

The event electrified the marchers, and ignited hope and courage in all Indians and a sense of panic overcame the British.

Eventually the British arrested Gandhi and came down heavily on most Indians. However it was too late for the British. The fire of freedom was now burning ever so strongly in the hearts of most Indians, it became impossible to extinguish. 

Today the 5th of April is the anniversary of the conclusion of the Dandi March. This was a turning point in history and marked the beginning of the end of the British rule in India.

Immoral and oppressive power can be defied and overcome if one understands one self and one's adversary. If we win the trust and support of people and apply intelligence and effort sincerely and fearlessly. 

Sure Gandhi ji had human failings. Not every decision he made was correct or politically or socially beneficial. He however lived by a noble code,  which won him the love, support of most Indians, and later the respect of even Britain and the world.

Bharat or Hind as the land of India was known before the British became free in 1947 due to a number of converging causes. 

World war II was the trigger, Britain had lost the moral right of ruling other nations after Britain itself had to fight against the Germans and the Japanese for their own freedom, something they arrogantly denied other people for so very long. 

Financially weakened after World War II, Britain lacked the means to effectively and efficiently control India. In addition the presence of 2.5 million well trained soldiers, battle hardened world war II veterans, was extremely worrying for the British. 

However the greatest reason was the courageous defiance of the Indian people, born from a spark ignited by that fateful march to Dandi.  A spark born from a pinch of salt, that brought down an empire.