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Article: 1947: the end of the Raj: thirty years of nonviolent protests led by Gandhi forced the British out of the Indian subcontinent, and gave birth to both India and Pakistan.
- Article from:
- New York Times Upfront
- Article date:
- January 30, 2006
- Author:
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Mohandas K. Gandhi bent down, grabbed a handful Jof salty mud, and held it up in the air. "With this," he declared, "I am shaking the foundations of the British empire."
It was April 6, 1930, and Gandhi, the 61-year-old Indian nationalist leader, had just completed a 240-mile walk from his home in Ahmedabad to the town of Dandi, on the Arabian Sea. What became known as the Great Salt March had begun 24 days earlier, as Gandhi and 78 followers set out on foot to protest British rule of India.
When they reached their destination, Gandhi, now surrounded by throngs of onlookers, took his muddy mixture and boiled it to make salt--an illegal act, since the ...