In late 1929, the Indian National Congress committed itself to a new nationwide campaign of nonviolent lawbreaking (civil disobedience) against British rule. The goal was to turn popular support for independence into direct political pressure through disciplined mass action.
On March 12, 1930, Mohandas K. Gandhi left Sabarmati Ashram with a small group to begin a long walk to the sea. The march was designed to challenge the British monopoly on salt, a daily necessity, and to launch civil disobedience on an issue that affected rich and poor alike.
After reaching the coastal village of Dandi, Gandhi publicly violated the salt laws by making salt from seawater. This symbolic act was meant to show that unjust laws could be resisted without violence. It also encouraged similar actions across India as people made, bought, or sold illegal salt.
Inspired by Gandhi’s example, C. Rajagopalachari led a parallel salt march from Tiruchirappalli toward the east coast. By organizing a similar act of lawbreaking in the Madras Presidency, the campaign showed that the salt satyagraha could be adapted to different regions. It also helped draw broader participation beyond western India.
As the salt protest inspired wider boycotts and demonstrations, British authorities responded with arrests and force. In Peshawar, troops fired on unarmed protesters at Qissa Khwani Bazaar, becoming one of the period’s most notorious crackdowns. The episode highlighted both the movement’s reach and the risks faced by nonviolent demonstrators.
After warning the viceroy that he intended to target the Dharasana saltworks, Gandhi was detained in early May 1930. His arrest was meant to disrupt the next phase of civil disobedience, but it also drew more attention to the campaign. The movement continued under other leaders despite the crackdown.
On May 21, 1930, a large group of peaceful protesters marched toward the Dharasana saltworks under Sarojini Naidu’s leadership after Gandhi’s arrest. Police beat many marchers, and reports of the violence circulated internationally. The event reinforced the movement’s strategy: disciplined nonviolence paired with mass participation.
The British government convened the first Round Table Conference in London to discuss India’s constitutional future. The Indian National Congress did not participate because it was leading civil disobedience and many of its leaders were jailed. The absence of Congress limited the conference’s ability to produce a broadly accepted settlement.
On March 5, 1931, Gandhi and Viceroy Lord Irwin signed an agreement to ease tensions. Gandhi agreed to suspend the civil disobedience campaign, while the government agreed to release many prisoners and allow limited salt-making for domestic use. The pact was a turning point that temporarily shifted the struggle from street protest to negotiation.
Gandhi attended the second Round Table Conference in London as the Indian National Congress representative. The meetings exposed deep disagreements over power-sharing and communal representation (how different religious and social groups would be represented). The failure to reach agreement helped set the stage for renewed confrontation in India.
After Gandhi returned to India and the political situation worsened, Congress moved to revive civil disobedience in early 1932. On January 4, 1932, Gandhi was arrested and sent to Yerwada Jail, signaling a renewed cycle of protest and repression. British ordinances and bans on Congress activity aimed to weaken the movement’s organization.
On August 16, 1932, British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald announced the Communal Award. It expanded separate electorates (separate voting rolls) and included provisions for the “Depressed Classes” (now commonly called Dalits). The decision intensified disputes inside the nationalist movement about representation and social reform.
In September 1932, Gandhi began a “fast unto death” in Yerwada Jail to protest separate electorates for the Depressed Classes. Negotiations between Dalit leader B. R. Ambedkar and other leaders produced the Poona Pact on September 24, 1932, replacing separate electorates with reserved seats within a joint electorate. The pact reshaped how social justice demands and the independence struggle interacted during this period.
The third and final Round Table Conference met in London from November to December 1932. Neither the Indian National Congress nor Britain’s Labour Party took part, which reduced the conference’s political weight. Even so, these discussions helped shape later constitutional changes under the British Raj.
By 1934, after years of arrests, bans, and negotiations that did not deliver independence, Congress ended the Civil Disobedience Movement. The withdrawal marked a shift away from mass salt-law defiance toward other political strategies under continued British rule. The movement’s legacy endured: it showed the power of large-scale nonviolent action and helped keep independence demands at the center of politics.
Civil Disobedience Movement and the Salt Satyagraha (1930-1934)