85 years ago today news organizations around the world reported on the beginning of India’s Mahatma Gandhi’s Salt March.
Front page news from The Marion (Ohio) Star:
Some background on the story:
“The Salt March, which took place from March to April 1930 in India, was an act of civil disobedience led by Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) to protest British rule in India. During the march, thousands of Indians followed Gandhi from his religious retreat near Ahmedabad to the Arabian Sea coast, a distance of some 240 miles. The march resulted in the arrest of nearly 60,000 people, including Gandhi himself. India finally was granted its independence in 1947.”
— “Salt March”
History.com
The following silent film footage reminds us that Mohandas Gandhi, like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. years later, understood the power of news images during marches and protests. (In 1959 Dr. King would write: “While the Montgomery boycott was going on, India’s Gandhi was the guiding light of our technique of non-violent social change.”)
In April, as the Salt March neared its end, the following NEA (Newspaper Enterprise Association) image was published in the Marion Times-Mirror:
An excerpt from the photo caption:
“…dauntless Mahatma Gandhi, in his latest demonstration of protest against British rule. You see him above (indicated by arrow) as, with head bowed, he trudged among his loyal followers on their ‘parade of freedom.’”
