Civil Disobedience

 On the morning of March 12, 1930, Gandhi and his followers set off on a 240 mile journey to the Arabian Sea coast to harvest salt. The British had made harvesting salt illegal, and salt was expensive and vital to life, Gandhi wanted to march non- violently to communicate to Indians and the British that they were taking a step in gaining Indian independence. The British officials didn’t care at first, but soon they were confused and angry about what Gandhi was doing. Many Indians joined the march along the way, including Indian women for the first time, and journalists as well, documenting what happened. After about 25 days they reached the sea, and Gandhi reached down and grabbed up a handful of salt. He had broken the law and thousands of other Indians followed in harvesting the salt. Over 60,000 people were arrested, including Gandhi a few weeks later. The Salt March was incredibly significant in the Indian Independence Movement. It was a turning point for the movement and the world was watching.