New Delhi, March 12 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid tribute to the participants of the historic Dandi March, marking the anniversary of the movement that became a defining moment in India’s struggle for independence.
In a message posted on X, the prime minister remembered the leaders and volunteers who took part in the march in 1930, led by Mahatma Gandhi as part of the broader civil disobedience movement against British rule.
“San 1930 mein aaj hi ke din Dandi March ki shuruaat hui thi. Ismein shaamil sabhi vibhutiyon ka shraddhapoorvak smaran,” Modi wrote, recalling the courage and sacrifice of those who joined the protest against colonial salt laws.
He also invoked a Sanskrit verse associated with the idea of truth and moral righteousness, writing, “Satyameva jayate naanritam satyena pantha vitato devayanah, yena akramanty rishayo hyaptakama yatra tat satyasya paramam nidhanam.”
The phrase “Satyameva Jayate,” meaning “Truth Alone Triumphs,” is drawn from the ancient Hindu scripture Mundaka Upanishad and later became India’s national motto.
The Dandi March began on March 12, 1930, when Mahatma Gandhi and a group of followers set out on a 24-day, nearly 390-kilometre march from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to the coastal village of Dandi in Gujarat. The march aimed to challenge the British monopoly on salt production and taxation, which had become a powerful symbol of colonial economic control.
On April 6, 1930, Gandhi symbolically broke the salt law by making salt from seawater at Dandi, an act that sparked widespread civil disobedience across the country and drew global attention to India’s independence movement.
Historians regard the march as one of the most influential acts of non-violent protest in the freedom struggle, inspiring thousands of Indians to join the movement and strengthening the campaign against British rule.
By recalling the event and its ideals, Modi’s message highlighted the enduring relevance of truth and non-violence in India’s national consciousness.
