The Dandi March was launched against 1. State monopoly on manufacture...
**Explanation:**
The Dandi March, also known as the Salt March or Salt Satyagraha, was a significant event in the Indian independence movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. It was launched against the British Raj in India, specifically targeting the state monopoly on the manufacture and sale of salt, as well as the exorbitantly high salt tax imposed by the British government.
**1. State monopoly on manufacture and sale of salt:**
- The British Raj in India had established a state monopoly on the manufacture and sale of salt, which meant that only the government had the authority to produce and distribute salt.
- This monopoly allowed the British government to control the production and pricing of salt, limiting access to this essential commodity for the Indian population.
- The state monopoly on salt was seen as a symbol of British economic exploitation and domination over India, as it deprived Indians of their right to produce and trade salt freely.
**2. Exorbitantly high salt tax:**
- In addition to the state monopoly, the British government imposed an exorbitantly high salt tax on the Indian population.
- The salt tax was a significant burden on the poor and marginalized sections of society, who were heavily dependent on salt for their dietary needs.
- The high tax on salt made it unaffordable for many Indians, exacerbating their poverty and suffering.
- The imposition of such a high tax on an essential commodity like salt was seen as an unjust and oppressive measure by the British government.
**Both 1 and 2 are correct:**
- The Dandi March was launched to challenge and protest against both the state monopoly on the manufacture and sale of salt and the exorbitantly high salt tax imposed by the British government.
- Mahatma Gandhi and his followers marched for over 240 miles from Sabarmati Ashram to the coastal village of Dandi in Gujarat, where they would produce salt in defiance of the British monopoly and tax laws.
- The act of making salt on the shores of Dandi was a symbolic gesture of non-violent civil disobedience, aiming to mobilize the Indian population and draw attention to the unjust practices of the British government.
- The Dandi March played a crucial role in galvanizing the Indian independence movement and raising awareness about the need for self-reliance and freedom from British economic exploitation.
Therefore, both statements 1 and 2 are correct, and the correct answer is option C.
The Dandi March was launched against 1. State monopoly on manufacture...
- Gandhi wrote, ‘The salt monopoly is thus a fourfold curse. It deprives the people of a valuable easy village industry, involves wanton destruction of property that nature produces in abundance, the destruction itself means more national expenditure, and fourthly, to crown this folly, an unheard-of tax more than 1,000% cent is exacted from a starving people’.
- He further explained, ‘To prevent the use of salt that has not paid the tax which is at times even fourteen times its value, the Government destroys the salt it cannot sell profitably. Thus it taxes the nation’s vital necessity; it prevents the public from manufacturing it and destroys what nature manufactures without effort’.