7th anniversary of Dandi

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE MAHATMA

Dr. Ravni Thakur

Celebrating the 75^th anniversary of the Dandi March and a Gandhian focus on the common man

A nation creates its history by those incidents that have a lasting effect on its ideology and on its ethics. The Dandi March, Gandhiji's famous walk to protest the tax imposed on salt by the British colonial authorities is one such significant event in the history of India. Led by Mahatma Gandhi on the 12^th of March from the Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi on the coast of Gujarat, this act galvanized the nation and shook the roots of British colonialism. It also questioned the British government's moral right to tax this very basic ingredient and showed it up to be the immoral and illegitimate representative of the people of India.

He proclaimed the declaration for Indian independence "Swaraj hamara hak hai" on January 26, 1930. He decided that to motivate the masses and drive home the necessity of independence, a mass movement was necessary. He chose the salt tax imposed by the British as his focal point. Salt was found in the low lying areas of the coastal zones of India and was readily accessible to the poor who could collect it themselves. The British by taxing this most simple thing were taxing the right of the people to their own resources. Gandhiji in true democratic fashion, first tried to change the law and even wrote a letter to the then Viceroy stating the reasons why he felt it necessary. His letter to Lord Irwin said:

"If my letter makes no appeal to your heart, on the 11^th day of this month I shall proceed with such coworkers of the ashram as I can take, to disregard the provision of the salt laws. I regard this tax to be the most iniquitious of all from the poor man's stand point. As the independent movement is essentially for the poorest in the land, the beginning will be made with this evil." (March 2, 1930).

Gandhiji started his march on the 12^th of March and this was to cover 380 kilometres. Starting with a small band of workers, it was the first peaceful and popular protest against British rule in India. Every village that he passed found people coming out to join the march. When they finally reached Dandi, the line stretched up to two kilometres. On April 6^th he picked up a lump of sea mud and boiled it into salt, proclaiming to the greatest power of that time that India's call for freedom could no longer be compromised. The march made world headlines and pulled the common man and woman out of his house onto the streets of India. Each ready to face British batons without raising a hand. Each ready to leave their families in jail and fight for economic and political freedom. The British arrested 60,000 Indians and Gandhiji himself was arrested on the 4^th of May, a little after midnight.

The Dandi March was more than just a call to revolt. It also outlined Gandhiji's philosophy. In one stroke Gandhiji transformed the elite-led Congress Party and turned it into the representative of the nation's millions. The Congress as we know it, a broad-based and secular party, was Gandhiji's gift. The Congress Party's fight moved from one of only political freedom to one that incorporated the right to economic freedom and development for all. From the drawing rooms of urban India, the focus of the Congress Party moved to India's villages, where ninety percent of its population lived. Gandhiji identified the social and economic backwardness of our rural areas as the main issues that the Congress needed to tackle. His fight for the right of the dalits, his championing of women's participation in public life and above all leading always by the example of simple living, honesty and truth made him to the acknowledged Mahatma of the nation. He never preached before he had practiced. It was this absolute commitment to principle that endeared him to the masses and brought into the Congress its philosophy of the middle path. One that believed in the right of every human being irrespective of caste, colour, gender or creed.

By launching the civil disobedience movement, represented by the Dandi March as its first act, Mahatma Gandhi hit the colonial rulers where it mattered most. The boycott of British textiles and other goods was meant not just to hurt the British economy, it was also meant to empower our weavers in rural areas. Gandhiji's emphasis on the wearing of Khadi was more than just symbolic. His idea was to get the Congress Party to relate to the real masses of India. By wearing what the common man wore, he created the politics of identification with the real India. The fight was for freedom from colonialism and the right of control our own resources. The fight for Gandhiji was a moral fight. One that went beyond mere political expediency. It is this moral vision of his that allowed the Congress to become the agent of social change and freedom from oppression. The 60,000 and more people that filled British jails as the march progressed, is testimony to the success of Gandhiji's aims.

Today the lessons to be learnt from Dandi are two-fold. First, we must remember that poverty, caste and gender discrimination have not been eradicated in India. The fight continues and for it to finally succeed, we have to ensure that the fundamentals of good governance remain the interests of the people. Gandhiji pointed out how the heart and the inequalities of India lay in its rural areas. He wanted to see our villages prosper and at the same time do away with the social evils of caste and gender discrimination. Today, we are once again looking at the rural sector. And the Congress Party has taken the lead in ensuring that this sector gets the attention that it deserves. The Congress has also tried to put in place policy measures that help empower women. Gandhiji made us come to terms with the needs of the common man and today the Congress's slogan, Congress ka haath, Aam Admi ke saath is representative of the ethos first created by Gandhiji.

Secondly, we must remember that the strength of Indian culture is closely intertwined with the many diverse cultures and religions that make up the composite India that we know. Its many languages, religions and cultures make it home to the diversity of humanity. His total commitment to truth and justice, to equality for all and above all his belief that all religions worked towards the same path. Gandhiji championed this pluralism in India by creating a sense of the wider India. His belief in his own religion allowed him to promote the idea of secularism as an idea that did not imposed religion on the state or allow the state to impose on religion.

The Congress party by recreating this historic journey is also recreating the principled vision of Gandhiji. The fact that Gujarat has seen the worst communal violence since independent India makes it imperative that a broad based and secular party like the Congress reawakened communal harmony through the message of Gandhiji. Smt. Sonia Gandhi led the March herself and was joined by many senior leaders. The March organized jointly by the Gandhi Foundation and the Congress Party, is divided into six stages and will end in the first week of April. During their walk, the Congress workers, foreigners and other Gandhian followers will interact with the villagers they pass through. They will clean up the villages and preach the message of peace, non-violence, and communal harmony. They will also seek to educate the youth of our country on the fundamental importance of Gandhian ideology. A message of peace, communal harmony and equality for all. Let us never forget that Gandhiji gave us India as we know it by sacrificing his life for his beliefs.