In an effort to amend the salt tax without breaking the law, on March 2, 1930 Gandhi wrote to the Viceroy, Lord Irwin: “If my letter makes no appeal to your heart, on the eleventh day of this month I shall proceed with such co-workers of the Ashram as I can take, to disregard the provisions of the Salt Laws. I regard this tax to be the most iniquitous of all from the poor man’s standpoint. As the Independence movement is essentially for the poorest in the land, the beginning will be made with this evil.”
On March 12, 1930, Gandhi and approximately 78 male satyagrahis set out, on foot, for the coastal village of Dandi some 240 miles from their starting point in Sabarmati, a journey which was to last 23 days. Virtually every resident of each city along this journey watched the great procession, which was at least two miles in length. On April 6th he raised a lump of mud and salt (some say just a pinch, some say just a grain) and declared, “With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire.” He then boiled it in seawater to make the commodity which no Indian could legally produce–salt.
The website of the 75th anniversary walk writes:
Mahatma Gandhi Foundation, India, invites you to join an “International Walk for Peace, Justice and Freedomâ€Â, from 12th March to 7th April, 2005; to commemorate the epic event. We give you the opportunity to relieve the Great Salt March as it happened 75 years ago. Come walk in the footsteps of Gandhi and his band of marchers, camp at the places where they camped during the original march, hear inspirational and informative talks by contemporaries of Gandhiji and eminent historians, watch feature films and documentaries on the life of Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian Freedom Movement.
See shows depicting India’s rich cultural and folk art heritage every evening as you rest after walking down the same road as the one taken by the original marchers. Interact with the simple rural folk of Gujarat.
We invite you to participate in an event that will be a physical challenge, a spiritual experience and an opportunity to do something good for a cause or to help a charity of your choice.
For you die hard Salt March fans, Cafepress is selling official gear. Even though the clothes aren’t made from homespun fabric, I think Gandhi would have approved…right? I think it would be awesome if some woman sported this outfit while marching toward the sea:
Thanks for trivializing the outrageous salt laws and the protest by your last couple of sentences. “For you die hard Salt March fans… Even though the clothes aren’t made from homespun fabric, I think Gandhi would have approved
right? I think it would be awesome if some woman sported this outfit while marching toward the sea.” Someone with an Indian name (Apu for crying out loud) and Indian heritage should be more respectful.
Sorry, Abhi, not Apu! Indian. Even for someone not Indian, those last lines were lame.
yeah? well i think that pink OUTFIT is lame. your comment is amazing. you were so upset, you initially got his name wrong AND you seemed to miss what’s REALLY trivial.
ABHI’s words were fine. commodifying history so egregiously? not fine. a bib? a pink sweatshirt?? a played-out trucker hat???
are you kiddding me?
i don’t care where 33% of the proceeds go, THAT Cafe Press shmatha is where the trivia’s at. and who cares what someone’s name is or where that name might be from? think, then post. sheesh.
Dear But,
For fans of my sarcasm it should have been obvious what I was doing. Hopefully it is a tiny part of the reason they read SM. Let me give you the factual boring translation of my commentary:
Who in their right mind would consider themselves to be a “fan” of the Salt March? You can’t be a “fan” of a historical event like you can of a ballgame. Thus I was poking fun at the fact that Cafepress was selling Salt March “gear.” As Anna pointed out 33% of the proceeds are kept aside which is why I didn’t completely blast them. In addition I included a black and white picture of the actual Salt March so that you could contrast their humble clothing to the gaudy pink jogging suit of today. This was a commentary on the extent of contemporary materialism as opposed to that of Gandhi’s era.
Now, would you rather I have written all that, or my two simple lines? If you prefer “all that” then you’d do better to stick to the Op-ed pages of mainstream news.
And for the record my name is Abhishek. Thank you, come again.
damn, Abhi, I just bought you that sweatsuit for your birthday. I wonder if I can exchange it for this instead.
Sarcasm 101
DesiDancer, That depends upon which one of us will end up wearing the gift. 😉
it does compliment your ensemble nicely…
Yeesh, this mass-marketing-tragedy-for-profit fad needs to end. Apparently since (approximately) every single person in the United States bought 5 of those yellow Livestrong bracelets, everyone needs to stake their claim in the goldmine. And what started as a good cause – all the proceeds from the Livestrong bracelets go to charity – has devolved into big business to the point where most of these places take a huge chunk of the proceeds for themselves. 33%? Give me a break.
And at least make something that looks half-decent. Seriously, Salt March Trucker Hats? If I see Ashton Kutcher sporting one of these, I may just stick my head in the oven.
Von Kach?
I’m not sure how you pronounce “Kach,” but the way I think you say it makes me laugh in the “I’m 12 years old” kind of way when I imagine it on a hat.