Dandi March Image: Mahatma Gandhi's Salt Satyagraha started on 12th March, 1930
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' today to celebrate 75 years of India's Independence. PM Modi flagged off a 241-mile march from the famous Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi in Gujarat's Navsari district. Dandi March also known as Salt March or the Salt Satyagraha, was a nonviolent civil disobedience movement led by Mahatma Gandhi on 12th March 1930, against the salt monopoly of the British colonial rulers.
PM Modi took to Twitter and wrote: "12th March is a special day in India's glorious history. On that day in 1930, the iconic Dandi March led by Mahatma Gandhi began...from Sabarmati Ashram we will commence Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav, to mark 75 years since Independence." The Prime Minister has encouraged "people from all sections of society" to participate in the Padyatra today.
'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav': 5 things to know
- It is a 25-day march
- The padayatra will cover 241 miles from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi in Navsari
- The march will end on April 5
- Eighty-one people will participate in the padayatra; several groups will join on the way to Dandi
- To ensure participation of citizens in Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav, a number of programmes will be organised
Dandi March of Mahatma Gandhi: 91st anniversary
Political leaders and people from all sections of society have been paring tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and tweeting about his Salt Satyagraha, which was the turning point of India's Independence movement. Here's a look at the Twitter buzz:
What Mahatma Gandhi said on the eve of Salt Satyagraha
- "Let there be not a semblance of breach of peace even after all of us have been arrested"
- "We have resolved to utilize all our resources in the pursuit of an exclusively non-violent struggle"
- "A Satyagrahi, whether free or incarcerated, is ever victorious. He is vanquished only when he forsakes truth and non-violence and turns a deaf ear to the inner voice"
- "If, therefore, there is such a thing as defeat for even a Satyagrahi, he alone is the cause of it. God bless you all and keep off all obstacles from the path in the struggle that begins tomorrow"