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The reenactment of the historic Dandi March of 1930 has concluded at Dandi, Gujarat, stirring a thousand memories of the original Dandi Yatra, led by Mahatma Gandhi. Just as the 1930 March, the reenactment also lasted 26 days and took the very same route taken by the Father of the Nation. And it was led by Mahatma’s sibling, his great-grandson, Tushar Gandhi.
The marchers walked 325 kilometers through 150 villages across six districts. The Dandi Yatra was one of the most stirring events in the run-up to India’s Freedom from the British rule of over two centuries. The Yatra was a brilliant idea of Mahatma Gandhi at a time the Freedom movement had suffered a setback because of the ghastly incident at Chauri Chaura. The Dandi March gave a fresh lease of life to the stalled Freedom movement.
This writer caught up with the Yatra a few days before its conclusion. It was in a village near Surat where the marchers had broken for a day for a well-earned rest after having covered most of the distance. As an April Sun beat down on them, the tired marchers of the "come again" historic Dandi Yatra sipped glasses of cold and refreshing buttermilk, the very thing the Mahatma would have ordered for the day.
A few marchers lay under a shamiana on this soporific noon, not sleeping, but listening to the soulful strains of "Vaishnava Janato" and "Raghupati Raaghava Raja Ram…Eswara Allah Tere Naam…" both favourites of the Father of the Nation. Among the marchers were quite a few Pakistanis who knew and indeed experienced the pain of Partition that Gandhji once said was possible only at his deathbed. He was almost prophetic and lived only 168 days since Partition, feeling soulless at the separation of his Muslim brethren whom he loved no less than the Hindus.
Amidst the rural background, a modern, state of the art van fitted with communication gadgets comes into view. There is hectic activity inside the vehicle. Marchers from India and abroad sit before latest models of Personal Computers provided with full Internet facilities and are busy sending messages about the March to friends and relatives across continents.
The Mobile Communication Van stands as the splendid symbol of the country’s progress – a far cry from the original Dandi Yatra days that had the Wireless Telegraph as the most modern communication facility of the period. Incidentally, Mahatma Gandhi used that facility extensively.
As one listens to Tushar Gandhi, it is as if the Mahatma’s soul is talking. "In the modern context, Bapu would have got a Platinum Card for the extensive use of the Telegraph," quips Mahatma’s grandson. "Whenever Bapu’s entourage reached a place with Telegraph facility, his personal secretary Mahadev Desai would break off to rush to the telegraph office with Babu’s written work for dispatch to various centres. Today, Bapu, the master communicator, would have used the Internet no less," muses Tushar Gandhi. "Bapu always wanted to be in touch with the masses, especially those in inaccessible remote, rural areas and had dreamt about complete rural connectivity. He always used communication as an effective tool to be in touch with the masses. Today, he would be the greatest user of the Internet as it would help him to be in touch with the people 24 X 7. Bapu was nothing if not a communicator par excellence", gushes Gandhi’s sibling.
Tushar Gandhi, is the Trustee of Mahatma Gandhi Foundation (MGF) based in Mumbai. MGF is the organiser of the reenactment of the Dandi Yatra that was flagged off from Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram on March 12 by Sonia Gandhi. The event is called "The International Walk for Peace, Freedom and Justice."
The 75th anniversary March has so truly served to recreate the spirit of the 1930s. The marchers took the same route, the same time and made the same three halts as Gandhiji made. The marchers spent the nights in tents and subsisted on frugal, vegetarian meals.
At the start of the historic Dandi March 75 years ago. Gandhiji set out from the Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad, at 6.30 am on March 12 and walked for about 250 miles to arrive in Dandi 26 days later, on April 6. He walked for 23 days, taking three days rest. In Dandi, he made salt, breaking the law. He was sent to jail. Gandhiji had vowed never to return to Sabarmati Ashram until India achieved Independence.
Gandhiji was assassinated on January 30, 1948, a few months after Independence on August 15, 1947. He never returned to Sabarmati after he left the ashram 18 years earlier.
The significance of Dandi March in 1930 was the imperative of uniting the people to fight for a worthy cause. The Mahatma believed in personal contact with the people to win over their hearts. This, he did all his life and the secret of his popularity was his ability to touch a chord with the ordinary man. The Dandi March served to galvanise the people to be prepared for the final assault to win freedom. The Mahatma’s strategy of being in constant touch with the masses helped him win friends and influence people.
Quite appropriately, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s UPA government has decided to declare the entire long stretch of the Dandi March from Ahmedabad to the tiny Dandi village in south Gujarat as "heritage path" to inculcate the "spirit of Dandi" for posterity.
**Freelance Writer, who participated in the Dandi March at Delad village camp near Surat, Gujarat
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