Salt March & Beginning of Civil Disobedience

Attempt the quiz above first, then review every question with its correct answer and a short explanation below.

1. Q1.The Salt March began from:

   • A.Sabarmati Ashram✓ Correct Answer
   • B.Dandi
   • C.Amritsar
   • D.Champaran

   Explanation: Gandhi began the Salt March from his Sabarmati Ashram near Ahmedabad.

2. Q2.The Salt March covered a distance of approximately:

   • A.240 miles✓ Correct Answer
   • B.50 miles
   • C.500 miles
   • D.1000 miles

   Explanation: Gandhi and his followers walked around 240 miles from Sabarmati to Dandi.

3. Q3.Gandhi's Salt March reached its destination, Dandi, on:

   • A.6 April 1930✓ Correct Answer
   • B.31 January 1930
   • C.11 March 1930
   • D.26 January 1930

   Explanation: The march concluded at Dandi on 6 April 1930, when Gandhi broke the salt law.

4. Q4.Gandhi's letter of 31 January 1930 to Viceroy Irwin contained:

   • A.Eleven demands, the most important being abolition of the salt tax✓ Correct Answer
   • B.A declaration of war
   • C.An offer to join the Legislative Council
   • D.A request for dominion status only

   Explanation: Gandhi laid out eleven demands, with abolition of the salt tax the most prominent, and gave a deadline before launching civil disobedience.

5. Q5.Why did Gandhi choose the salt tax as the central issue for launching civil disobedience?

   • A.Salt was consumed by rich and poor alike, making its tax a universally felt symbol of colonial control✓ Correct Answer
   • B.Salt was the most expensive commodity in India
   • C.Only the wealthy paid the salt tax
   • D.Salt production was entirely banned under British rule

   Explanation: Salt was a daily necessity for everyone, so the tax on it symbolised oppressive state control over a basic resource.

6. Q6.At Dandi, Gandhi broke the law by:

   • A.Manufacturing salt by boiling sea water✓ Correct Answer
   • B.Burning foreign cloth
   • C.Refusing to pay income tax
   • D.Boycotting council elections

   Explanation: Gandhi violated the government's salt monopoly by making salt from sea water at Dandi.

7. Q7.How many volunteers accompanied Gandhi on the Salt March?

   • A.78✓ Correct Answer
   • B.11
   • C.240
   • D.300

   Explanation: 78 volunteers marched with Gandhi from Sabarmati to Dandi.

8. Q8.The key difference between the Non-Cooperation Movement and the Civil Disobedience Movement was that, in the latter, people were asked to:

   • A.Break colonial laws in addition to refusing cooperation✓ Correct Answer
   • B.Only boycott council elections
   • C.Officially engage in armed violence
   • D.Restrict participation to urban workers only

   Explanation: Civil Disobedience went further than Non-Cooperation by asking people to actively break unjust colonial laws.

9. Q9.Gandhi's demand to abolish the salt tax was significant because it:

   • A.United people across class lines around a single, universally relatable grievance✓ Correct Answer
   • B.Was primarily a demand of industrialists
   • C.Concerned only agricultural taxation
   • D.Was unrelated to the broader independence struggle

   Explanation: Since everyone needed salt, the demand had appeal across social and economic classes.

10. Q10.If Viceroy Irwin had accepted Gandhi's eleven demands by the deadline of 11 March 1930, the stated consequence was that:

    • A.The Congress would not have launched the civil disobedience campaign✓ Correct Answer
    • B.The Salt March would still have proceeded regardless
    • C.India would have gained immediate independence
    • D.The Non-Cooperation Movement would have resumed

    Explanation: Gandhi had warned that failure to meet the demands by 11 March would lead to the launch of civil disobedience.