The sculpture, by Devi Prasad Roy Choudhary (1899-1975), depicts the famous Salt Satyagraha / Salt March led by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 against oppressive salt taxes imposed by the British regime. Gandhi is shown wearing an Indian dhoti, a homespun shawl and sandals and carrying a walking stick.
The Salt March, also known as the Dandi March or Salt Satyagraha, was an act of civil disobedience in the form of a nonviolent protest, which took place in colonial India on March 1930. The march was initiated by Mohandas Gandhi in order to allow the extraction and production of salt from seawater as was the practice of the Bhartiya (Indian) people. British officials deemed such production to be illegal and repeatedly used force to stop it.
The 240-mile journey from Sabarmati to Dandi took 24 days, from 12 March to 5 April 1930. 79 marchers accompanied Gandhi on his march. Most of them were between the ages of 20 and 30. These followers hailed from almost all parts of the country. The march gathered more people as it gained momentum.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 – 1948) was the preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahatma, applied to him first in 1914 in South Africa, is now used worldwide.
Gandhi showed the world that you didn’t have to have a title, or authority or a military to change the world and make a difference. All you needed to do was believe in yourself, and to act according to your highest values. He demonstrated that oppressed peoples should not put up with their condition. They should stand up for their rights, but they should do it in a peaceful manner. Hate does not overcome hate. War does not overcome war. He was an example that peace can overcome hate.
Interestingly, social leaders who read his teachings also implemented his peaceful strategies of protest. He inspired Martin Luther King Jr in the United States, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Benigno Aquino of the Philippines and many other social leaders.
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