March 12, 2014
Today, March 12th marks the 83rd anniversary of the start of the Salt Satyagraha or Dandi March. What better occasion to recall the apostle of non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi.
I was thrilled to discover original film footage of the Dandi march on Youtube.
On March 12th, 1930 Gandhiji set out with 78 volunteers to achieve the greatest feat of non-violent protest the world has known. In his speech on the eve of the Dandi March, Mahatma Gandhi said:
The 60-year Gandhiji led a group of 78 dedicated volunteers on a 388 km (241 mile) walk from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi where he publicly broke the salt laws. According to mkgandhi.org, "On 6 April, about two tolas of salt which was taken by him in the morning and also cleaned by him, was auctioned for Rs. 525/- to Seth Ranchhod Shodhan, a mill-owner of Ahmedabad." When a great man makes it, even the common place salt rises in value!
Last week, I posted about Nelson Mandela's qualities based on 16-1. Mahatma Gandhi typifies 16-2.
अहिंसा सत्यमक्रोधस्त्यागः शान्तिरपैशुनम्।
दया भूतेष्वलोलुप्त्वं मार्दवं ह्रीरचापलम्।।16.2।।
ahi.nsaa satyamakrodhastyaagaH shaantirapaishunam.h .
dayaa bhuuteshhvaloluptvaM maardavaM hriirachaapalam.h .. 16-2..
Harmlessness, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of crookedness, compassion to beings, non-covetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickle-ness . . .
When Mahatma Gandhi declared his intention to break the salt laws, even stalwarts like Sardar Vallabbhai Patel and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru couldn't quite understand what the point was. Yet, in the 24 days that it took the Satyagrahis to reach Dandi, the world's attention turned to this unbelievable protest. The British were forced to respond and this led to the Gandhi-Irwin pact in which the British Government agreed to (according to Wikipedia):
The best kick I got out of reading the Wikipedia entry was the reaction by Winston Churchill.
"...at the nauseating and humiliating spectacle of this one-time Inner Temple lawyer, now seditious fakir, striding half-naked up the steps of the Viceroy’s palace, there to negotiate and parley on equal terms with the representative of the King Emperor."
PS: Thanks to mkgandhi.org for all of my sourcing on the Dandi March above.The site is an invaluable resource for all aspects of Mahatma Gandhi's life and what has been written by him and about him.
Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post
Today, March 12th marks the 83rd anniversary of the start of the Salt Satyagraha or Dandi March. What better occasion to recall the apostle of non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi.
I was thrilled to discover original film footage of the Dandi march on Youtube.
On March 12th, 1930 Gandhiji set out with 78 volunteers to achieve the greatest feat of non-violent protest the world has known. In his speech on the eve of the Dandi March, Mahatma Gandhi said:
"I have faith in the righteousness of our cause and the purity of our weapons. And where the means are clean, there God is undoubtedly present with His blessings. And where these three combine, there defeat is an impossibility. A Satyagrahi, whether free or incarcerated, is ever victorious. He is vanquished only, when he forsakes truth and nonviolence and turns a deaf ear to the inner voice."
The 60-year Gandhiji led a group of 78 dedicated volunteers on a 388 km (241 mile) walk from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi where he publicly broke the salt laws. According to mkgandhi.org, "On 6 April, about two tolas of salt which was taken by him in the morning and also cleaned by him, was auctioned for Rs. 525/- to Seth Ranchhod Shodhan, a mill-owner of Ahmedabad." When a great man makes it, even the common place salt rises in value!
Last week, I posted about Nelson Mandela's qualities based on 16-1. Mahatma Gandhi typifies 16-2.
अहिंसा सत्यमक्रोधस्त्यागः शान्तिरपैशुनम्।
दया भूतेष्वलोलुप्त्वं मार्दवं ह्रीरचापलम्।।16.2।।
ahi.nsaa satyamakrodhastyaagaH shaantirapaishunam.h .
dayaa bhuuteshhvaloluptvaM maardavaM hriirachaapalam.h .. 16-2..
Harmlessness, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of crookedness, compassion to beings, non-covetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickle-ness . . .
When Mahatma Gandhi declared his intention to break the salt laws, even stalwarts like Sardar Vallabbhai Patel and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru couldn't quite understand what the point was. Yet, in the 24 days that it took the Satyagrahis to reach Dandi, the world's attention turned to this unbelievable protest. The British were forced to respond and this led to the Gandhi-Irwin pact in which the British Government agreed to (according to Wikipedia):
- Withdraw all ordinances and end prosecutions
- Release all political prisoners, except those guilty of violence
- Permit peaceful picketing of liquor and foreign cloth shops
- Restore confiscated properties of the satyagrahis
- Permit free collection or manufacture of salt by persons near the sea-coast
- Lift the ban over the congress.
The best kick I got out of reading the Wikipedia entry was the reaction by Winston Churchill.
"...at the nauseating and humiliating spectacle of this one-time Inner Temple lawyer, now seditious fakir, striding half-naked up the steps of the Viceroy’s palace, there to negotiate and parley on equal terms with the representative of the King Emperor."
PS: Thanks to mkgandhi.org for all of my sourcing on the Dandi March above.The site is an invaluable resource for all aspects of Mahatma Gandhi's life and what has been written by him and about him.
Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post
Thank you for posting information about Dandi March and also quoting our website www.mkgandhi.org as a source thus helping us in noble cause of propagating Gandhian philosophy of love, truth, peace and non-violence among the masses.
ReplyDeleteKeep updating this blog...You can use as many as information about Mahatma Gandhi from our website.