The Salt Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience: Dandi, Dialogues and After (Class 12 History)
Updated 15 October 2026 · Fact-checked
After the Lahore Congress adopted Purna Swaraj in 1929, Gandhi began the Salt March from Sabarmati on 12 March 1930 and broke the salt law at Dandi. Salt was a daily necessity taxed by a hated state monopoly. The march drew world attention, mass participation of women, and forced the British to begin talks on sharing power.
Follow the steps from Purna Swaraj to the Salt March (dashed orange) to Dandi; salt was chosen as a taxed daily necessity everyone needed.
Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.
Understand The Salt Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience
Why this topic matters. The Salt Satyagraha is NCERT's case study in Theme 11 and carries 8-mark questions: its reasons and outcomes, why salt, its significance, and its place in the wider Civil Disobedience Movement. NCERT section 3 (3.1-3.2), Sources 3-6, and the outline of 1935-1947 in section 3.2 and 4.
1. Re-entering politics (1928-30).
- After non-cooperation, Gandhi focused on social reform. In 1928 he blessed the all-India campaign against the all-White Simon Commission and the Bardoli peasant satyagraha, without leading them.
- December 1929, Lahore Congress: Jawaharlal Nehru elected President (the baton passes to the young); commitment to 'Purna Swaraj' (complete independence).
- 26 January 1930: 'Independence Day' observed with flag-hoisting and patriotic songs; Gandhi asked that meetings be held at the same minute everywhere, announced by drums, and the day spent in constructive work (spinning, service of 'untouchables', Hindu-Muslim reunion, prohibition). The pledge declared the people's right to alter or abolish a government that oppressed them.
2. Why salt? (tactical wisdom).
- Salt was indispensable in every household, yet people were forbidden to make it, even for home use, and had to buy it at a high price.
- The state monopoly over manufacture and sale was deeply unpopular; targeting it could mobilise wider discontent.
- Gandhi's own case (Source 3): the tax was sometimes fourteen times the value of salt; the government destroyed salt it could not sell profitably (on the Konkan coast and at Dandi); he called it a 'fourfold curse': it took away an easy village industry, destroyed what nature produced in abundance, cost the nation money to destroy it, and imposed a tax of more than 1,000 per cent on a starving people.
3. The march (3.1).
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Before March 1930 | Advance notice to Viceroy Lord Irwin, who failed to grasp its significance |
| 12 March 1930 | Gandhi leaves his Sabarmati ashram for the sea |
| 5 April 1930 | Speech at Dandi: 'Tomorrow we shall break the salt tax law' (Source 4) |
| 6 April 1930 | Satyagrahis pick up natural salt; about three weeks after setting out |
- Parallel salt marches in other parts of the country.
- Other streams: peasants broke forest laws, factory workers struck, lawyers boycotted courts, students left government institutions.
- Repression: nearly 60,000 arrested, including Gandhi.
- Speeches en route: at Wasna he told upper castes that swaraj required serving untouchables and unity of Hindus, Muslims, Parsis and Sikhs.
- Police reports: meetings well attended by all castes and by women; officials resigning; the District Superintendent wrote he was 'calm and collected' and gathering strength.
- Time magazine first mocked his 'spindly frame' and doubted he would finish; within a week it called him 'Saint' and 'Statesman'.
- At Dandi he said the movement rested on the faith that when a whole nation is roused no leader is necessary.
4. Three reasons the Salt March mattered (3.2).
1. It first brought Gandhi to world attention: wide coverage in the European and American press.
2. It was the first nationalist activity in which women participated in large numbers; Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay persuaded Gandhi not to limit protests to men, and herself courted arrest.
3. It forced the British to realise that the Raj would not last forever and that they must devolve some power.
5. Dialogues: Round Tables and the Pact.
| Event | Outcome |
|---|---|
| First Round Table Conference, London, November 1930 | Without Gandhi: an exercise in futility |
| Gandhi released January 1931; talks with Irwin | Gandhi-Irwin Pact (March 1931): civil disobedience called off, prisoners released, salt manufacture allowed along the coast; criticised by radicals since no commitment to independence, only an assurance of talks |
| Second Round Table Conference, late 1931 | Gandhi represented Congress; his claim to speak for all India was challenged by the Muslim League, the Princes, and B.R. Ambedkar (for the lowest castes); inconclusive |
| After 1931 | Civil disobedience resumed; new Viceroy Lord Willingdon deeply unsympathetic |
Separate electorates debate (Sources 5-6): Gandhi argued that separate electorates for the 'Untouchables' would ensure them 'bondage in perpetuity' and that untouchability itself must be destroyed. Ambedkar replied that the Depressed Classes, kept dependent and blocked from rising, needed some share of political power to protect themselves. Present both views as NCERT does.
6. What followed.
- 1935 Government of India Act: some form of representative government; 1937 elections on a restricted franchise: Congress ministries in eight of 11 provinces.
- September 1939: Second World War; Congress offers support in return for a promise of independence; refused; ministries resign in October 1939; individual satyagrahas in 1940-41.
- March 1940: Muslim League resolution for autonomy of Muslim-majority areas; a three-way struggle of Congress, League and British.
- 1942: Cripps Mission fails over the Defence Member issue, leading to Quit India (August 1942).
Key quotations
Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.
The salt monopoly is thus a fourfold curse
Mahatma Gandhi (Source 3, Collected Works, Vol. 49): Explaining why salt was chosen as the symbol of protest.
Summarises the economic case against the salt tax.
Tomorrow we shall break the salt tax law
Mahatma Gandhi at Dandi, 5 April 1930 (Source 4): The day before he made salt on the seashore.
Announces deliberate, non-violent law-breaking.
He is gathering more strength as he proceeds
District Superintendent of Police (NCERT section 3.1): A police report on the march's progress.
Even official sources record the growing support.
Separate electorates to the “Untouchables” will ensure them bondage in perpetuity
Mahatma Gandhi at the Round Table Conference (Source 5): Opposing separate electorates for the Depressed Classes.
Gandhi's side of the debate with Ambedkar.
The Salt Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience: key facts
- Run-up
- 1928 Simon Commission protests and Bardoli satyagraha (blessed by Gandhi)
- December 1929 Lahore Congress: Nehru President; goal of Purna Swaraj
- 26 January 1930 'Independence Day': flags, drums, constructive work
- The pledge claimed the right to alter or abolish an oppressive government.
- Why salt
Necessity indispensable in every household Ban people forbidden to make it, even for home use Price bought at a high price under a state monopoly Waste salt destroyed where it could not be sold profitably Tax at times fourteen times its value, over 1,000 per cent - Gandhi's 'fourfold curse' (Source 3).
- The march
12 March 1930 Gandhi leaves Sabarmati 5 April 1930 Dandi speech 6 April 1930 salt made at Dandi Afterwards parallel marches; nearly 60,000 arrested, Gandhi among them - Lord Irwin had advance notice but missed its significance.
- Why it mattered
World attention European and American press coverage Women first nationalist activity with women in large numbers (Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay) British realised the Raj would not last forever and power must be devolved - NCERT's three reasons.
- Dialogues
- November 1930 First Round Table Conference, without Gandhi
- 1931 Gandhi-Irwin Pact: civil disobedience off, prisoners freed, coastal salt-making allowed
- Late 1931 Second Round Table: claim challenged by the League, the Princes, Ambedkar
- 1935 Government of India Act
- 1937 Congress ministries in eight of 11 provinces
- The Pact gave no commitment to independence, only an assurance of talks.
How to answer The Salt Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience questions
Expect 8-mark questions on the reasons and outcomes of the Salt Satyagraha, Gandhi's use of salt to mobilise discontent or the significance of the Dandi March; a 3-mark question on why the Salt March was notable; 4-mark sources such as 'Why the Salt Satyagraha?' or the Dandi speech; and 1-mark items on Lahore 1929, Irwin and the Round Tables.
- 1Give the background: Lahore 1929, Purna Swaraj, Independence Day.
- 2Explain why salt: necessity, monopoly, tax and destruction; Gandhi's tactical wisdom.
- 3Narrate the march with dates and parallel protests.
- 4Use sources: police reports, Time magazine, the Dandi speech.
- 5State the three reasons for its significance.
- 6Add outcomes: arrests, Round Tables, Gandhi-Irwin Pact and its critics.
- 7Conclude: it widened participation and made the British accept that power must be shared.
The Salt Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience in real life
The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.
Choosing a symbol everyone understands
Suppose a citizens' group wants to protest against unfair taxes. Instead of a complex budget issue, it picks a tax on drinking water, which every family pays and every family needs.
Why is such a choice effective, and how did Gandhi use the same idea at Dandi?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- A universal necessity touches every household, rich or poor.
- Salt was indispensable, but people could not make it and had to buy it at a high price.
- By breaking the salt law, Gandhi turned a widely felt grievance into a national protest.
Answer: A simple, universal grievance unites people across classes; salt let Gandhi mobilise wider discontent against British rule.
Memory hook: Pick what every kitchen needs.
Non-violent law-breaking and public opinion
Imagine a peaceful march, announced in advance to the authorities, that walks for three weeks while reporters from many countries follow it.
Why might the authorities hesitate to arrest the leader, and what does the Dandi speech say about this?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Arresting a peaceful leader in full view could turn opinion against the government.
- At Dandi Gandhi said the government had not arrested 'this army of peace', perhaps from fear of world opinion.
- He added that when a whole nation is roused, no leader is necessary.
Answer: Publicity and non-violence made repression costly; the government's hesitation itself showed the movement's strength.
Memory hook: The world was watching the walk.
Tricks to remember The Salt Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience
Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.
12-3 to 6-4
Left on 12 March, salt on 6 April: 'twelve-three to six-four'.
Use it when: Dates of the Dandi March.
W-W-D significance
World attention, Women, Devolution: 'World Women Demand'.
Use it when: Three reasons the Salt March was notable.
Four curses of salt
Industry lost, nature's salt destroyed, destruction costs money, 1,000 per cent tax: 'Lost, Destroyed, Paid, Taxed'.
Use it when: Gandhi's fourfold curse.
The Salt Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience: solved examples
Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.
Example 1: Purna Swaraj · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
At which Congress session was 'Purna Swaraj' adopted as the goal, with Jawaharlal Nehru as President?
(a) Lucknow, 1916
(b) Nagpur, 1920
(c) Lahore, December 1929
(d) Karachi, 1931
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Lahore, end of December 1929 (1 mark).
Answer: (c) Lahore, December 1929
Example 2: Why salt? · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level
Why did Gandhi choose the salt law as the target of his campaign in 1930? (3 marks)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Indispensable in every household (1 mark).
- Making salt forbidden; bought at a high price; state monopoly deeply unpopular (1 mark).
- Tactical: a grievance shared by all could mobilise wider discontent; tax and destruction of salt (1 mark).
Answer: Salt was indispensable in every Indian household, yet a state monopoly forbade people from making it even for domestic use and forced them to buy it from shops at a high price. This monopoly was deeply unpopular. Gandhi also pointed out that the tax was sometimes fourteen times the value of the salt and that the government destroyed salt it could not sell profitably. By picking a grievance felt by rich and poor alike, he showed tactical wisdom: breaking the salt law could mobilise a wider discontent against British rule.
Example 3: Assertion and reason: Lord Irwin · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): Lord Irwin did not stop the Salt March before it began.
Reason (R): Although Gandhi had given advance notice of the march, Irwin failed to grasp its significance.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- NCERT says most Indians understood the challenge but the Raj apparently did not (1 mark).
Answer: (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
Example 4: The Gandhi-Irwin Pact · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
What were the terms of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, and why did radical nationalists criticise it? (3 marks)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Background: Gandhi released in January 1931; long meetings with Irwin (1 mark).
- Terms: civil disobedience called off; prisoners released; salt manufacture allowed along the coast (1 mark).
- Criticism: no commitment to independence, only an assurance of talks (1 mark).
Answer: After the First Round Table Conference of November 1930 proved futile without him, Gandhi was released in January 1931 and held several long meetings with Lord Irwin. Under the resulting Gandhi-Irwin Pact, civil disobedience was called off, all prisoners were released and salt manufacture was allowed along the coast. Radical nationalists criticised it because Gandhi could not obtain any commitment to political independence for Indians, only an assurance of talks towards that possible end.
Example 5: Source-based: the Dandi speech · 4 marks · Source-basedHarder board level
Read the source (summarised for this page from Gandhi's speech at Dandi, 5 April 1930, in NCERT) and answer.
Gandhi said he had not been sure the government would let him reach Dandi. That he had arrived was due to the power of peace and non-violence. The government could have arrested them all; by not doing so, perhaps out of fear of world opinion, it had shown it was ashamed to arrest an army of peace, and deserved some praise. Next day they would break the salt law. Even if every leader were arrested, the movement would continue, because a whole nation on the march needs no leader.
(i) When and where was this speech made? (1)
(ii) What does Gandhi say helped him reach Dandi? (1)
(iii) What does the speech reveal about how Gandhi saw the colonial state and his movement? (2)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- (i) 5 April 1930 at Dandi (1 mark).
- (ii) The power of peace and non-violence (1 mark).
- (iii) State sensitive to world opinion and shame; he praised its restraint ironically; movement rested on a roused nation, not leaders (2 marks).
Answer: (i) On 5 April 1930 at Dandi, the day before he broke the salt law. (ii) The power of peace and non-violence, which he said was universally felt. (iii) Gandhi saw the colonial state as powerful but answerable to opinion: it could have arrested the marchers, yet held back, perhaps from fear of world opinion, and so could be shamed by non-violent action. His praise of its 'patience and forbearance' is partly ironic, putting it on the moral defensive. He saw his movement as a mass awakening that did not depend on him or other leaders, so arrests would not stop it, which is what happened when nearly 60,000 were later arrested.
Example 6: Long answer: reasons and results · 8 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
"The Salt March was a small act with very large consequences." Examine the reasons for the Salt Satyagraha and assess its outcomes. (8 marks)
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Background: Lahore 1929, Purna Swaraj, 26 January 1930 (1 mark).
- Why salt: necessity, monopoly, price (1 mark).
- Gandhi's case: tax, destruction, fourfold curse (1 mark).
- The march: dates, parallel marches, other protests (1 mark).
- Evidence of support: police reports, Time, Wasna speech (1 mark).
- Outcomes: world attention; women (1 mark).
- Outcomes: British realisation; Round Tables; Pact and its limits; arrests (1 mark).
- Judgement (1 mark).
Answer: At the Lahore Congress of December 1929, presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress committed itself to Purna Swaraj, and 26 January 1930 was observed as Independence Day. Gandhi then chose to break the salt law.
The choice was shrewd. Salt was indispensable in every household, yet a state monopoly forbade people from making it and forced them to buy it at a high price. Gandhi argued that the tax was sometimes fourteen times the salt's value and that the state destroyed salt it could not sell; he called the monopoly a fourfold curse that destroyed a village industry and nature's bounty at national expense and exacted a tax of over 1,000 per cent from a starving people.
Despite advance notice, Lord Irwin did not grasp the challenge. Gandhi left Sabarmati on 12 March 1930 and made salt at Dandi on 6 April. Parallel marches followed; peasants broke forest laws, workers struck, lawyers and students boycotted. Police reports noted large crowds of all castes and of women and many officials resigning; Time magazine, which first mocked him, soon called him a saint and statesman. On the way, at Wasna, he linked swaraj to serving untouchables and to unity of all communities.
The results were large. The march brought Gandhi to world attention; it was the first nationalist activity in which women took part in large numbers, encouraged by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay; and it forced the British to realise that the Raj would not last for ever and that power must be devolved. Nearly 60,000 were arrested, including Gandhi. The Round Table Conferences began; the Gandhi-Irwin Pact of 1931 released prisoners and allowed coastal salt-making, though it brought no promise of independence and the Second Round Table ended inconclusively.
The statement is therefore valid: a fistful of salt became a nationwide movement that changed both the scale of nationalism and British thinking about the future of India.
Where students lose marks in The Salt Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience
The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.
Mistake: Wrong dates for the march
Confusing start, speech and end.
Wrong working
The Dandi March began on 26 January 1930.
Right working
26 January 1930 was Independence Day; the march began on 12 March and salt was made on 6 April 1930.
Do this: Jan = pledge, March = march, April = salt.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Listing reasons for salt without the tactic
Missing the political logic.
Wrong working
Gandhi chose salt because it was cheap.
Right working
Salt was indispensable, its making forbidden and the monopoly hated, so it could mobilise wider discontent.
Do this: Necessity + monopoly + mobilisation.
Usually costs: 1-2 marks.
Mistake: Giving only one significance
Stopping at world attention.
Wrong working
The Salt March was important because newspapers reported it.
Right working
World attention, mass participation of women, British realisation that power must be devolved.
Do this: W-W-D.
Usually costs: 2 marks.
Mistake: Overstating the Gandhi-Irwin Pact
Ignoring its limits.
Wrong working
The Pact promised India independence.
Right working
It gave only an assurance of talks; radical nationalists criticised it.
Do this: Always add the criticism.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Exam tips
- Asked in: 2023 board paper 61/1/1 Q30(a) (8 marks, reasons and outcomes of the Salt Satyagraha); 2025 board paper 61/5/1 Q30(a) (8 marks, salt law used to mobilise wider discontent); 2025 board paper 61/7/1 Q30(b) (8 marks, the Salt March as a symbol of resistance); 2025 board paper 61/4/1 Q30(b) (8 marks, significance of the Dandi March); 2026 board paper 61/1/1 Q30(b) and 61/3/1 Q30(b) (8 marks, reasons and results of the Salt March); 2023 board paper 61/4/1 Q27 (3 marks, the Salt March as a notable event); 2025 board paper 61/2/1 Q33 and sample paper 2024-25 Q33 (4-mark source, 'Why the Salt Satyagraha?'); 2025 board paper 61/6/1 Q20 (1 mark, Lahore 1929). Answers here are our own.
- For 8 marks, use 4+4: reasons (why salt, background) and outcomes (three significances, arrests, dialogues).
- Quote Gandhi's 'fourfold curse' and the Dandi speech.
- Use NCERT's sources: police reports and Time magazine.
- Present the Gandhi-Ambedkar debate neutrally, giving both arguments.
Practice questions on The Salt Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience
Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.
Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
The socialist activist who persuaded Gandhi not to restrict the salt protests to men was:
(a) Sarojini Naidu
(b) Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
(c) Annie Besant
(d) Aruna Asaf AliHint
She herself courted arrest.
Answer
(b) Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay.
Q2 · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level
Name the three parties that challenged Gandhi's claim at the Second Round Table Conference that the Congress represented all of India. (2 marks)
Hint
A party, a group of rulers, a thinker.
Answer
The Muslim League (for the Muslim minority), the Princes (who said the Congress had no stake in their territories), and B.R. Ambedkar (who argued Gandhi and the Congress did not represent the lowest castes).
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
How did the American magazine Time change its view of Gandhi during the Salt March, and what does this show about using newspapers as sources? (3 marks)
Hint
Spindly frame to saint and statesman.
Answer
At first Time scorned his looks, writing of his 'spindly frame', claimed he sank to the ground after the second day and doubted he could go much further. Within a week, seeing the huge popular following, it wrote that the British were desperately anxious and saluted him as a saint and statesman using Christian acts against men with Christian beliefs. This shows that newspaper accounts reflect the opinions of those who produce them and can change with events, so historians must read them carefully and compare them with other sources.
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Explain the positions of Gandhi and Ambedkar on separate electorates for the Depressed Classes. (3 marks)
Hint
Sources 5 and 6.
Answer
Gandhi opposed separate electorates: he believed they would perpetuate the stigma of untouchability, keep the 'Untouchables' segregated from other Hindus and ensure their bondage in perpetuity; what was needed was the destruction of untouchability itself. Ambedkar argued that the Depressed Classes could not sustain themselves in the struggle for existence: their religion branded them as unfit for ordinary contact, they depended economically on high-caste Hindus, and every door to rise was being bolted. So some share of political power, through separate representation, was a paramount necessity for their protection.
Q5 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was welcomed by all sections of nationalists.
Reason (R): Under the Pact, prisoners were released and salt manufacture was allowed along the coast.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.Hint
Radical nationalists?
Answer
(d) A is false but R is true: radical nationalists criticised the Pact for securing no commitment to independence.
Q6 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Suppose you are a woman in a coastal Gujarat village in April 1930. Explain why joining the salt protest might matter both to your household and to the national movement. (3 marks)
Hint
Daily need; first mass participation of women.
Answer
For my household, salt is a daily necessity that we are forbidden to make from the sea near us and must buy at a high price, so breaking the law challenges a burden we feel every day. For the movement, the Salt March was the first nationalist activity in which women took part in large numbers; Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay had persuaded Gandhi to include women, and many courted arrest by breaking the salt or liquor laws. My participation would show that nationalism reached homes, not just meetings, and police reports were already noting women in the crowds.
Q7 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
NCERT argues that the Salt March made the British accept that their rule in India was not permanent. Using events from 1930 to 1937, assess this claim. (4 marks)
Hint
Round Tables, Pact, 1935 Act, 1937 ministries.
Answer
The claim has strong support. Soon after the march the British convened the Round Table Conferences in London; the first, in November 1930, proved futile without Gandhi, showing they now needed him. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact of March 1931 treated the Congress leader as a negotiating partner, released prisoners and allowed coastal salt-making. The Government of India Act of 1935 promised some form of representative government, and after the 1937 elections Congress ministries governed eight of 11 provinces. But the realisation was partial: the Pact gave no commitment to independence, the Second Round Table was inconclusive, and Willingdon resumed repression. So the march began a process of devolving power rather than ending the Raj.
Test your recall
Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.
1.Who was elected Congress President at Lahore in 1929?Show answer
Jawaharlal Nehru.
2.From where did the Salt March begin?Show answer
Gandhi's ashram at Sabarmati.
3.How many people were arrested in the wake of the Salt March?Show answer
Nearly 60,000.
4.When was the First Round Table Conference held?Show answer
November 1930, in London.
5.Which Viceroy followed Irwin and was deeply unsympathetic to Gandhi?Show answer
Lord Willingdon.
6.In how many provinces did the Congress form ministries after 1937?Show answer
Eight out of 11.
The Salt Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience: frequently asked questions
What was the Salt Satyagraha?
Gandhi's march from Sabarmati to Dandi (12 March-6 April 1930) to break the British salt law, which began the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Why did Gandhi choose salt?
Salt was needed in every home, but people were forbidden to make it and had to buy it at a high price under a hated state monopoly, so it could unite people against British rule.
What was the significance of the Salt March?
It brought Gandhi to world attention, drew women into the movement in large numbers, and made the British realise they would have to devolve power.
What was the Gandhi-Irwin Pact?
An agreement of March 1931 by which civil disobedience was called off, prisoners were released and salt manufacture was allowed along the coast.