Salt Satyagraha was a campaign of non-violent protest against the British salt  tax in colonial India which began with the Salt March to Dandi on March 12,  1930. It was the first act of organized opposition to British rule after Purna  Swaraj, the declaration of independence by the Indian National Congress. Mahatma  Gandhi led the Dandi march from his Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, Gujarat to  produce salt without paying the tax, with growing numbers of Indians joining him  along the way. When Gandhi broke the salt laws in Dandi at the conclusion of the  march on April 6, 1930, it sparked large scale acts of civil disobedience  against the British Raj salt laws by millions of Indians.


						

							
The political and social milieu of India was in turmoil following the formation  of the Simon Commission for drawing up a constitution for India and the  subsequent rejection of the Nehru Report. Gandhi requested the Viceroy, Lord  Irwin, to mellow his stance in dealing with the constitutional crisis. On March  2nd 1930, Gandhi wrote a letter to the Viceroy wherein he highlighted an 11  point Charter of Demands. This included a considerable reduction in the  Pound-Sterling-Rupee exchange rate, curtailing of military budget, a fifty  percent reduction in land revenue, preservation of indigenous textile machinery,  abolition of Salt Tax and releasing political prisoners. The British government  did not react favorably to any of the propositions made by the Congress. The  political segment of the country took no time to realize that the British  government would not relent to any kind of persuasions. Anti British sentiments  flared up as never before and the launch of a civil disobedience movement became  inevitable. On February 15th, the Congress Working committee gave the authority  to Gandhi and his followers to initiate the civil disobedience. The first step  in this direction was the Dandi March.