Freedom's Turning Point: The Dandi March

Dhiraj Chakravorty Junior Division Individual Website

India was a colony of the British Empire, before becoming an independent nation. Behind the independence movement was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, otherwise known as Mahatma Gandhi, or Bapu (Father), who followed nonviolence as a way of attaining independence. I studied about the Salt March and how it became a turning point in Indias independence movement, when Gandhi decided to oppose the Salt Act. Gandhi nonviolence movement influenced Martin Luther King Jr.; they both had the power to reach their goals without bloodshed. I researched Gandhis biographies, books and articles about Salt Act, Salt March and events leading up to Indias independence. They provided a wider perspective of the man himself and his achievements. I learned what Gandhi and others did during that time, enlightening me on how people lived then. Gandhi fought for salt even though he had no use of it. He used salt as a weapon due to widespread impact it had on peoples lives. I found an interview with C.K. Nair, who participated in the Salt March. He spoke about the march and how Gandhi inspired people to join his nonviolent movement against the British. I found a speech by Gandhi on the day before the march, where he said that it may be the last time he is speaking to the people. Working up to the state competition, I continued my research on the subject with a shift in approach. I looked up people who could provide me information about the historical context of the Dandi March. I connected with professors, history students and professionals. My biggest achievement was an interview with the Director of Gandhi Memorial Center, Washington DC, who provided me helpful information on the significance

of the march. Their library provided me new primary sources of information. In parallel, I continued my research and found newspaper articles published during 1930-s, which provided insight into those times. Category selection was essential for presenting my project. By building a website, I was able to layout the sequence of events chronologically and present them in an attractive manner. I posted pictures, provided multimedia content, and presented an overall picture of Gandhi, his civil disobedience movement, the Salt March and Indias independence. I was familiar with building graphical presentations; a bit of learning Weebly helped me in creating my project. Until the Salt March, the independence movement was in full steam, but lacked significant impacts. Gandhi had commenced his nonviolence approach, but was looking for a turning point to trigger a radical transformation. He decided to break the law without any violence and face consequences. His achievement was not in defying the law; rather, it was in announcing he would, and marching twenty-five days to provide plenty of time to generate attention. The Salt March at Dandi was that turning point; it spawned number of similar protests. Thousands were arrested; the civil disobedience movement became more aggressive and reached new heights. Gandhi and his nonviolent movement played a significant part in orchestrating Indias independence in 1947.