Gandhi’s Arrest Creates Sensation Worldwide – Part 14

The story thus far… Newspaper reporters from all over the world were there to report the progress of the Gandhi’s satyagraha. The march ended on April 5 at Dandi village. Gandhi and his selected followers went to the sea shore and broke the salt law by picking up salt left on the shore by the sea. Gandhi then gave a signal to all Indians to break the salt law and prepare to resist the police action in a nonviolent manner.


The government waited for some time before taking any action, and then at last retaliation began. Gandhi was left at liberty, but many other leaders were taken into custody. Jawaharlal, Mahadev Desai, and Gandhi’s son Devadas were the first to pick up salt to break the law and be sent to jail. In dealing with the breakers of the salt law, the police resorted to their usual brutal methods. The Indian National Congress was declared illegal. Some newspapers, threatened with censorship, suspended publication. The people held hartaals (strikes) and demonstrations, and mass arrests were made. Soon the jails were overflowing. The people remained nonviolent, lest Gandhi should call off the movement.

Gandhi then informed the Viceroy that he was going to raid the government salt works at Dharasana. Lord Irwin decided to act. Two English officers, with pistols, accompanied by many Indian policemen armed with rifles, arrived at Gandhi’s camp in the middle of the night. They woke Gandhi and said, “You are under arrest.”

Gandhi was taken to Yeravda Central Jail and was thus absent for the raid on the Dharasana salt deposits. The salt deposits were surrounded by barbed-wire fencing and protected by four hundred Indian policemen armed with steel-toed canes. A few British officers were in command of them.

Gandhi’s volunteers halted some distance away from the fence. Then a select group of them advanced towards the fence. Police officials ordered the volunteers to disperse but they ignored the warning. Suddenly the police rushed at them and rained blow after blow on the defenseless men. Not one of the volunteers even raised an arm to stop the blows. They fell down, some with broken skulls, some with broken shoulders, arms, or legs.


Representations were sent from all parts of the world to the British Prime Minister asking the government to release Gandhi and make peace with India. Even those who were cooperating with the British demanded the release of Gandhi. Gandhi proved to be more dangerous inside the jail than outside. While he sat quietly in Yeravda Jail, countrywide outbreaks of civil disobedience were greatly taxing the British. The jails were full. The government was in distress and finally, in 1931, had to release Gandhi, Nehru, and other leaders. As soon as Gandhi was out of prison he asked for an interview with the Viceroy, Lord Irwin.


Gandhi did not go to seek any favors. He wanted to negotiate on terms of equality. The meeting went on for many days and finally the talks culminated in a treaty, the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. It embodied compromises made by both sides. Irwin agreed to release all the political prisoners, and Gandhi promised to suspend civil disobedience and send a Congress representative to the Round Table Conference.

At the time, in London, the British government was holding a Round Table Conference on the future of India. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was a victory for nonviolent resistance. But some of Gandhi’s Congress followers thought that he had not gained much as a result of the pact.

Gandhi was designated as the sole representative of the Congress to the Round Table Conference. In August 1931 he sailed for London with a small party.

Gandhi went to England with the object of reaching an agreement with the British on a fair Constitution for India and also of winning the hearts of the British people. In his first object he failed, and in the second he met with great success. Gandhi spent 84 days in England and most of the time he was meeting and talking to people. Prime Minister Winston Churchill refused to see him but Gandhi captivated the hearts of many. He had tea with the King and Queen. When a reporter asked him if he thought he had been dressed well enough for such an august tea party, Gandhi replied, “The King had on enough for both of us.”

At the Round Table Conference nothing was conceded to India. The Conference played up the differences between Hindus and Muslims, and this only served to worsen communal tension in India. Gandhi returned with nothing except warm goodwill for India from the hearts of many English people.

At home, Gandhi found that the government had returned to the policy of repression. There were widespread arrests and seizure of property and bank accounts of people and organizations who were hostile to British interests.

Early in 1932 Gandhi wanted to meet the new Viceroy, Lord Willlingdon, but the Viceroy made it clear that the days of negotiations were over. Gandhi informed the authorities that he was again starting a civil disobedience movement.

The Viceroy thought it was a threat and had Gandhi arrested and lodged in Yeravada Central Jail. Several other leaders and many followers of Gandhi were also arrested and jailed.

— To be continued next week

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