Civil Disobedience Movement
Salt Satyagraha, mass resistance and the struggle for Purna Swaraj, 1930–1934
What was the Civil Disobedience Movement?
The Civil Disobedience Movement was a major phase of India’s freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress. It called upon Indians to challenge colonial authority through organised, largely non-violent violations of unjust laws and refusal to cooperate with particular colonial demands.
Period
First major phase: 1930–1931; revived in 1932 and gradually discontinued in 1934.
Principal leader
Mahatma Gandhi, with Congress leaders and regional organisers.
Political goal
Purna Swaraj — complete independence — as declared by the Congress in 1929.
Symbolic beginning
The Dandi March and the breaking of the salt law in April 1930.
The movement connected the national demand for independence with everyday issues such as salt, land revenue, forest restrictions and foreign cloth.
Why did the movement begin?
The late 1920s saw growing dissatisfaction with British constitutional proposals and a stronger demand for complete independence. The failure to secure an acceptable political settlement contributed to the decision to launch a new mass campaign.
The British-appointed commission had no Indian members. Its arrival in India in 1928 prompted widespread protests.
Indian leaders debated constitutional reform, while disagreement persisted over the political future of India.
The Congress declared Purna Swaraj as its goal under Jawaharlal Nehru’s presidency.
Indians were called upon to observe the day and affirm the demand for complete independence.
Gandhi began the march to Dandi to challenge the salt laws.
Lahore Congress and the declaration of complete independence
The Congress session at Lahore in December 1929 was presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru. It marked a decisive shift in the Congress’s stated political objective towards Purna Swaraj, or complete independence.
Presidential leadership
Jawaharlal Nehru presided over the Lahore session.
Political objective
Purna Swaraj became the declared goal of the Congress.
26 January 1930
Independence Day was observed through public pledges and meetings across India.
Next step
The Congress authorised a civil-disobedience campaign under Gandhi’s leadership.
The Dandi March, 12 March–6 April 1930
Gandhi selected salt as the focus of civil disobedience because the colonial salt laws affected ordinary people across social and economic groups. The march transformed a simple commodity into a national symbol of resistance.
Gandhi wrote to Viceroy Lord Irwin, explaining grievances and warning of the intended campaign.
Gandhi left Sabarmati Ashram with 78 selected volunteers on the march to Dandi.
The march covered approximately 240 miles, passing through villages where Gandhi addressed local people.
Gandhi and the marchers reached Dandi on the Gujarat coast.
Gandhi broke the salt law by making salt from seawater, initiating a wider wave of civil disobedience.
Methods of civil disobedience
The campaign expanded beyond salt. Congress instructions and local conditions shaped the form of resistance in different regions.
Salt laws
- Making salt illegally
- Collecting or selling prohibited salt
- Challenging the colonial salt monopoly
Economic resistance
- Boycott of foreign cloth
- Picketing liquor shops
- Promotion of khadi and swadeshi
Revenue and forests
- Refusal to pay certain taxes or land revenue in some areas
- Defiance of forest restrictions
- Local resistance to colonial regulations
Political mobilisation
- Public demonstrations and processions
- Volunteer activity
- Non-violent law-breaking and courting arrest
How did the movement spread?
The Salt Satyagraha inspired regional campaigns. Participants adapted civil disobedience to local grievances, so the movement took different forms across India.
Gujarat
The Dandi March began in Gujarat. Salt-law violations and, in some areas, revenue resistance became important features.
North-West Frontier Province
Abdul Ghaffar Khan and the Khudai Khidmatgars mobilised people through a disciplined non-violent movement. Khan became known as the Frontier Gandhi.
Women
Women participated in picketing, demonstrations, salt-making and other campaign activities. Sarojini Naidu was prominent in the Dharasana Salt Works protest after Gandhi’s arrest.
Forest regions and peasants
In some regions, people challenged forest restrictions, taxes and revenue demands, linking national politics with local economic concerns.
Eastern India
Salt-law violations and anti-colonial mobilisation spread in coastal and other areas, with regional leaders adapting the campaign to local conditions.
Urban areas
Boycotts of foreign cloth, picketing, public meetings and demonstrations formed visible parts of urban participation.
Repression and the Dharasana protest
The colonial government responded with arrests, restrictions on public activity, press controls and force against demonstrators. Gandhi was arrested in May 1930, but the campaign continued under other leaders.
Gandhi was arrested before the planned protest at the Dharasana Salt Works.
Under the leadership of Abbas Tyabji and subsequently Sarojini Naidu, volunteers continued the protest. The brutal treatment of satyagrahis attracted international attention.
Thousands were arrested in the wider campaign, while the government imposed bans and restrictions on Congress activities.
The First Round Table Conference began in London without the Indian National Congress.
The Gandhi–Irwin Pact, 5 March 1931
Negotiations between Gandhi and Viceroy Lord Irwin led to an agreement in March 1931. The pact temporarily suspended the campaign and created a route for Congress participation in the next Round Table Conference.
Congress commitments
- Suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement
- Participate in the Second Round Table Conference
Government commitments
- Release political prisoners not convicted of violence, subject to the pact’s terms
- Withdraw certain ordinances and prosecutions
- Permit peaceful picketing
- Allow limited salt manufacture for personal use by people living near the coast
The Karachi Congress session in March 1931 endorsed the agreement while also adopting resolutions on fundamental rights and national economic policy. The execution of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on 23 March 1931 intensified public debate around the pact.
London conferences and the breakdown of negotiations
| Conference | Period | Congress participation | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Round Table Conference | November 1930–January 1931 | Congress did not participate. | Discussions on India’s constitutional future proceeded without Congress participation. |
| Second Round Table Conference | September–December 1931 | Gandhi attended as the Congress representative. | Disagreements over constitutional safeguards, representation and minority claims prevented agreement. |
| Third Round Table Conference | November–December 1932 | Congress did not participate. | Further constitutional discussions took place amid continued political repression and disagreement. |
Gandhi’s participation in the Second Round Table Conference followed the Gandhi–Irwin Pact. The conference did not resolve the major political disagreements between Congress and the British government.
Revival of Civil Disobedience in 1932
After the Second Round Table Conference failed to produce an acceptable settlement, Gandhi returned to India. Under the new Viceroy, Lord Willingdon, the government adopted a more repressive approach towards Congress and nationalist activity.
Gandhi returned to India after the inconclusive conference.
The government arrested Gandhi and other Congress leaders and imposed restrictions on Congress activities.
The Civil Disobedience Movement was revived. Boycotts, demonstrations, salt-law violations and other forms of resistance continued despite repression.
Gandhi shifted emphasis towards individual satyagraha and constructive work. The campaign was gradually wound down, and in 1934 Gandhi withdrew from the mass civil-disobedience strategy.
Representation, the Communal Award and the Poona Pact
In August 1932, British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald announced the Communal Award. It provided separate electorates for several communities and extended separate-electorate arrangements to the Depressed Classes. Gandhi opposed separate electorates for the Depressed Classes and began a fast in Yeravda Jail in September 1932.
The Communal Award was announced by Ramsay MacDonald.
Gandhi began a fast in opposition to separate electorates for the Depressed Classes.
The Poona Pact was concluded between representatives of the Depressed Classes led by B.R. Ambedkar and caste-Hindu leaders.
Separate electorates
Voters from a designated community elect representatives from that community through a separate electorate.
Poona Pact
Replaced the separate-electorate arrangement for the Depressed Classes with reserved seats in joint electorates, alongside an increased number of reserved provincial seats.
Achievements, limitations and legacy
Significance
- Turned the salt tax into a powerful symbol of colonial injustice.
- Mobilised participants across many regions and social groups.
- Expanded women’s participation in public political activity.
- Generated international attention through the Salt March and repression of satyagrahis.
- Strengthened the connection between complete independence and mass mobilisation.
Limitations
- Complete independence was not achieved during the campaign.
- Participation and intensity varied by region and social group.
- Government repression weakened organisational capacity.
- Round Table Conference negotiations failed to produce an agreed settlement.
- Political disagreements over representation and social justice remained unresolved.
Why does it matter for UPSC?
The movement demonstrates how a symbolic act can mobilise people around a national political demand. It also highlights the relationship between mass protest, negotiation, repression and debates over representation.
Key dates, people and concepts
| Date / term | Fact to remember |
|---|---|
| December 1929 | Lahore Congress declared Purna Swaraj; Jawaharlal Nehru presided. |
| 26 January 1930 | Independence Day observed following the Purna Swaraj declaration. |
| 12 March 1930 | Gandhi began the Dandi March from Sabarmati Ashram. |
| 6 April 1930 | Gandhi broke the salt law at Dandi. |
| November 1930 | First Round Table Conference began without Congress participation. |
| 5 March 1931 | Gandhi–Irwin Pact signed. |
| September–December 1931 | Gandhi attended the Second Round Table Conference. |
| January 1932 | Civil Disobedience revived amid a new wave of repression. |
| August 1932 | Communal Award announced. |
| 24 September 1932 | Poona Pact concluded. |
| 1934 | Mass civil-disobedience campaign discontinued. |
- The Lahore Congress session was held in December 1929, not 1930.
- The Dandi March began on 12 March and the salt law was broken on 6 April 1930.
- The Gandhi–Irwin Pact was signed on 5 March 1931.
- Gandhi attended the Second Round Table Conference, not the First.
- The Poona Pact was signed in September 1932, after the Communal Award.
- The mass movement was gradually discontinued in 1934, after its revival in 1932.
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