Explore the Civil Disobedience Movement and its key events, including Gandhi's Eleven Demands, the Salt Satyagraha, and the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. Learn about the impact on India's independence movement.

Understanding Gandhi's Eleven Demands for India's Freedom

• General Interest Demands:
  • Reduce expenditure on army and civil services by 50%.
  • Implement total prohibition.
  • Reform the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
  • Modify the Arms Act for public access to firearm licenses.
  • Release political prisoners.
  • Pass the Postal Reservation Bill.
• Specific Bourgeois Demands:
  • Adjust the rupee-sterling exchange to 1s 4d.
  • Provide textile protection.
  • Reserve coastal shipping for Indians.
• Specific Peasant Demands:
  • Reduce land revenue by 50%.
  • Abolish salt tax and end the government's salt monopoly.
• Significance: With no positive response from the government, Gandhi initiated the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Why the Salt Satyagraha Became a National Symbol

• Salt symbolized a universal grievance affecting the rural poor.
• It provided a practical and symbolic means of resistance linked to swaraj.

The Iconic Dandi March: A Turning Point in Indian History

• Plan and Execution:
  • Gandhi’s 240-mile march from Ahmedabad to Dandi violated the salt law.
  • He broke the law by picking up a lump of salt on April 6, 1930.
• Impact:
  • Nationwide civil disobedience campaigns against British laws.
  • Resignations from government jobs and increased organizational activities.

Nationwide Spread of the Salt Satyagraha

• Regional Movements:
  • Tamil Nadu: Anti-liquor campaigns led by C. Rajagopalachari.
  • Malabar: Police clashes during resistance led by K. Kelappan.
  • Bengal: Divided participation but significant arrests and violence.
• Specific Events:
  • Dharasana Raid: Brutal police repression of protesters.
  • United Provinces: Campaigns against tax collection.

Impact of the Civil Disobedience Movement

• Decline in imports of foreign goods.
• Widespread boycotts and loss of British revenue from taxes.
• Participation of women, students, workers, and tribals.