A Pinch of Salt Rocks An Empire

Chapter - 4

On March 11, 1930 the evening prayer meeting was attended by 10,000 people. Gandhiji felt that it was the "opportunity of a lifetime" to launch the struggle. He said, "I have faith in the righteousness of our cause and the purity of our weapons. And when the means are clean, God is present with His blessings..... God bless you all and keep off all obstacles from the path in the struggle that begins tomorrow. Let this be our prayer."
He concluded: "In all probability this will be my last speech to you. Even if the government allows me to march tomorrow morning, this will be my last speech on the sacred banks of the Sabarmati. Possibly, these may be the last words of my life here."
The city of Ahmedabad was nearly deserted that night as word spread that Gandhiji was to begin his march the next morning. Almost the whole population and thousands from all over India and even outside the country who had come to the city were at the Sabarmati ashram to see the beginning of the march. Hundreds of thousands of people lined both sides of the route the marchers were to take.
As Gandhiji appeared, a frail figure slightly bent and carrying a long bamboo stick tipped with iron for support, a shiver of excitement ran through the crowd. His head appeared big for his tiny body. His upper lip was covered with a moustache turning white and many of his teeth were missing. But there was a certain beauty about his gentle face, inner nobility and strength of character stamped on it.
He was dressed in his usual coarse khadi dhoti. He wore spectacles with a steel frame and a cheap watch dangled from a string round his waist. He had long ago decided not to waste a minute, knowing that time was important to him.
The seventy-eight satyagrahis included people from all the provinces of India and even from Nepal, though, of course, Gujarat had the largest representation. There were two Muslims and a Christian. Some of the marchers were rich, some poor. Some were educated, some illiterate. But all were fired by the common ideal of seeing a free India. Among the marchers were three generations of the Gandhi family< - Gandhiji, his son, Manilal, and grandson, Kantilal.
Gandhiji at 61 was the oldest of the marchers. The youngest was 18.
On the list was Abbas. Abbas Tyabji, a retired judge of the Baroda High Court, now more than 75 years old, recalls how overjoyed he was because he thought that he had been selected. He rushed to meet Gandhiji, but the Mahatma laughed and said, "It is not you, my friend, but young Abbas of the ashram who is to go with me."
Hearing this, Abbas Tyabji was downcast, but Gandhiji said, "Don't be disappointed that you are not included in the first batch of satyagrahis. There is another honour in store for you. If I am arrested, you shall lead the march to Dandi." Abbas Tyabji was happy to hear this. Later he led the march on the Dharasana Salt Works and was arrested.
Ratnaji, who still lives at the Sabarmati ashram, has this tale to tell. Gandhiji knew that all the inmates of the ashram were eager to accompany him to Dandi, but when selecting the band of satyagrahis he kept in mind their family and domestic circumstances. Ratnaji, a weaver, his father-in-law, Ramjibhai, and a brother-in-law, Harakhji, were among those selected. But when his other brother-in-law also wanted to be included, Gandhiji said, "No, I cannot include you. It is not proper for every man in the family to leave. You must stay back to take care of the women, the children and the aged."
After prayers, Gandhiji and his band of satyagrahis left the ashram at dawn. The first night halt was 20 kilometers away. On both sides of the road, along the entire stretch, were rows of people. Many of them had been standing for hours to have darshan of Gandhiji. Those who could not find standing place in the streets through which the satyagrahis marched were perched on house tops and trees.
Policemen were out in force, but the discipline of the crowd and the marchers was such that there was no danger of any disorder. "We are marching in the name of God," Gandhiji said.
At Aslali, Gandhiji told the people, "The soldiers of the first batch had burnt their boats the moment the march began." He vowed not to return to the Sabarmati ashram until the Salt Act was repealed and Swaraj won. He defied the British Government to arrest him.
At a nearby village, Gandhiji was sad to see no spinning wheel and he urged the people to wake up from their sleep if they wished to win independence. "If you do not wake up, you will be looted by other people, if not Englishmen."