Civil Disobedience Movement: Salt March to Gandhi-Irwin Pact
July 19, 2026
TOPIC CLASSIFICATION
Subject: Indian History — Struggle for Independence (1919-1947) Sub-topic: Civil Disobedience Movement — Dandi March, Salt Satyagraha, Round Table Conferences, Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Mass Mobilisation, Women's Participation Mains GS Paper-I: Indian National Movement — phases (1929-1931), Gandhian methods, mass movements.
EXAMINER REASONING
The Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) is Mahatma Gandhi's most iconic mass movement — it broke the salt laws, mobilised millions, and shook the British Empire. Prelims tests: date of Dandi March (March 12, 1930 to April 6, 1930), distance (241 miles / 388 km), participants (78 followers), the salt law, Gandhi-Irwin Pact (March 1931), Karachi Resolution. Mains demands: (a) why salt — the symbolic and strategic choice of salt as the issue, (b) the stages — Dandi March → Salt Satyagraha → civil disobedience in other forms (forest laws, chowkidari tax, no-revenue), (c) the breadth of participation — women (Sarojini Naidu, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay), peasants, students, (d) Round Table Conferences — the 3 conferences and Gandhi's participation in the 2nd, (e) Gandhi-Irwin Pact — terms, criticism, (f) the Karachi Resolution (1931) — Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy. The examiner's favourite framing is: "Was the Civil Disobedience Movement a success or a compromise?"
Core Concept
Background — Why Salt?
Factor
Explanation
Symbolic
Salt was the most universal necessity — used by every Indian, rich and poor — taxing it was deeply unpopular
Strategic
The salt tax was an exclusively British policy (no Indian participation) — challenging it was legitimate civil disobedience
Gandhian method
Breaking the salt law was non-violent and dramatic — simple, powerful, media-friendly
Led salt satyagraha at Dharasana (inspected salt pans) — arrested
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
Led salt satyagraha in Bombay; arrested
Mithuben Petit
Parsi woman — violated salt law in Bombay
Thousands of rural women
Picketed liquor shops, participated in salt making — first mass political participation of women
Round Table Conferences (1930-1932):
Conference
Date
Gandhi's Participation
Outcome
1st RTC
Nov 1930 - Jan 1931
Did not attend (Congress was in jail)
Attended by Muslim League, Liberals, Princes — no consensus
2nd RTC
Sep - Dec 1931
Attended — as sole representative of Congress
Demanded full independence; Communal Award by Ramsay MacDonald; no agreement reached
3rd RTC
Nov - Dec 1932
Did not attend
Only 46 delegates; nothing achieved
Gandhi-Irwin Pact (Delhi Pact, March 5, 1931):
Aspect
Terms
Congress Demands
Released political prisoners; return of confiscated property; permit peaceful picketing; allow salt-making for personal use
Government Concessions
Withdrew ordinances; released prisoners (not Bhagat Singh); restored confiscated lands; salt-making permitted on coast
Congress Concessions
Suspended CDM; agreed to participate in 2nd RTC
What was NOT conceded
No release of Bhagat Singh (executed March 23, 1931); no commitment to Dominion Status; no inquiry into police excesses
Criticism
Many (including Nehru and Bose) felt Gandhi gave away too much — the CDM was suspended without achieving the main objective of Purna Swaraj
Karachi Session / Resolution (March 1931):
Aspect
Detail
Context
Held just after the Gandhi-Irwin Pact; Gandhi's moral authority was at peak
Key Resolutions
— Fundamental Rights Resolution — free speech, equality before law, universal suffrage, free primary education — National Economic Programme — relief to peasants, workers' rights, state control of key industries
Significance
First articulation of a social and economic agenda for independent India — influenced the Constitution's Directive Principles
Bhagat Singh's execution
March 23, 1931 — despite Gandhi having negotiated with Irwin for his commutation
Key Facts
Fact
Detail
Dandi March start date
March 12, 1930
Dandi March end date
April 6, 1930
Distance walked
241 miles (388 km)
Initial participants
78 followers
Gandhi-Irwin Pact
March 5, 1931
2nd Round Table Conference
Sep-Dec 1931
Karachi Congress Session
March 1931
Bhagat Singh executed
March 23, 1931 (15 days after Gandhi-Irwin Pact)
Dharasana Salt Works
May 21, 1930 — non-violent raid brutally suppressed (news went global)
PYQ Table
Year
Question
Type
2023
"Mahatma Gandhi's choice of salt as the symbol of Civil Disobedience was both strategic and symbolic. Explain."
Mains
2022
"The Civil Disobedience Movement saw unprecedented participation of women. Discuss."
Mains
2021
"The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was a compromise. Critically evaluate."
Mains
2020
"The Round Table Conferences failed to resolve India's constitutional issues. Why?"
Mains
2019
"The Karachi Resolution (1931) was a landmark in the articulation of social and economic rights. Discuss."
Mains
2018
The Dandi March covered a distance of how many miles?
Prelims
Statement Elimination Guide
Statement
Truth Value
Why?
"The Dandi March started from Sabarmati Ashram on March 12, 1930"
True
Gandhi and 78 followers walked from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi
"The Gandhi-Irwin Pact secured the release of Bhagat Singh"
False
Bhagat Singh was not included in the pact's terms — he was executed 18 days after the pact
"The Civil Disobedience Movement was limited to salt-making"
False
The CDM encompassed multiple forms — salt, forest laws, chowkidari tax, no-rent, boycott, liquor picketing
"Dharasana Salt Works attack was led by Gandhi"
False
Gandhi was arrested before Dharasana; the raid was led by Sarojini Naidu — non-violent protestors were brutally beaten (caught on camera)
"The Karachi Resolution included Fundamental Rights"
True
The 1931 Karachi session adopted a Fundamental Rights Resolution — precursor to the Constitution
Current Affairs Hook
2023-26: The 94th anniversary of the Dandi March (April 2024) — the government organised a commemorative event (on the original route). Salt remains politically relevant — the ban on salt exports (2024) for domestic price control echoes the symbolism of salt control. Non-violent protest as a method — the Gandhian CDM is studied globally (e.g., Civil Rights Movement in US, anti-apartheid in South Africa). Women's political participation — the CDM's mass mobilisation of women is relevant to contemporary debates on women's representation. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact's moral compromise — lessons for modern negotiations. Karachi Resolution's social agenda — resonates with the current debate on minimum government, maximum governance and welfare rights.
Interlinkages
→ Non-Cooperation Movement (GS-I): The CDM was the 2nd mass movement — lessons from NCM failure applied
→ Quit India Movement (GS-I): The 3rd mass movement (1942) — directly built on CDM experience
→ Constitutional Development (GS-II): Karachi Resolution (1931) → Fundamental Rights → Directive Principles of State Policy
→ Women in Freedom Struggle (GS-I): Sarojini Naidu, Kamaladevi — CDM as the moment of women's mass politicisation
→ Modern Protest Movements (GS-IV): Gandhian civil disobedience — ethics of non-violent protest, satyagraha
They were held in London — 3 sessions: 1930, 1931, 1932
"Gandhi attended all three Round Table Conferences"
Gandhi attended only the 2nd RTC (Sep-Dec 1931)
"The Salt March was the first civil disobedience action in India"
Gandhi led civil disobedience earlier — Champaran (1917), Kheda (1918), Ahmedabad mill strike (1918) — but CDM (1930) was the first nationwide movement
"The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed in Delhi"
True — also called the Delhi Pact (March 5, 1931)
Revision Snapshot
Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-31)
├── Background: Purna Swaraj (Lahore, Dec 1929)
├── Dandi March (Mar 12 - Apr 6, 1930): 78 followers, 241 miles → broke salt law
├── Spread: Salt Satyagraha, Forest Satyagraha, No-revenue, Boycott, Liquor picketing
│ └── Women: Sarojini Naidu, Kamaladevi, Mithuben Petit
├── Parallel: Chittagong Armoury Raid, Bhagat Singh execution (Mar 23, 1931)
├── Round Table Conferences (1930-32): 3 conferences, Gandhi at 2nd only
├── Gandhi-Irwin Pact (Mar 5, 1931): CDM suspended → 2nd RTC
│ └── Criticism: Bhagat Singh not saved; no Dominion Status; premature suspension
└── Karachi Session (Mar 1931): Fundamental Rights + Economic Programme
Source Notes
The Story of My Experiments with Truth — M.K. Gandhi
India's Struggle for Independence — Bipan Chandra
The Civil Disobedience Movement — Sumit Sarkar
Salt Satyagraha — Collected writings on the Dandi March
Gandhi-Irwin Pact — Correspondence between Gandhi and Irwin
The Round Table Conferences — British Parliamentary Papers
Women in India's Freedom Struggle — Collected biographies
Karachi Congress Resolution, 1931 — Full Text — INC archives
Judith Brown — Gandhi and Civil Disobedience
Dharasana Salt Raid — American press accounts (Webb Miller, AP)