(Part of a Force More Powerful Series)
By Steve York
30 min., 2000
In 1930, Indian nationalists were impatient with British foot-dragging on promises to move India toward self-rule, and appointed Mohandas Gandhi to lead “the final struggle for freedom.” Relying on the nonviolent methods he developed in South Africa, Gandhi led a 240-mile march to the seacoast, where he picked up a handful of sea salt and invited his countrymen to do the same – in open violation of the British monopoly on salt production. Millions followed his example. His campaign of civil disobedience – intentional law breaking and imprisonment – swept the country, forcing the British Viceroy to admit that his regime was losing control. Gandhi’s actions shattered Indian consent to foreign rule and set his country on the road to independence, which came in 1947. To future generations, Gandhi gave the weapon of nonviolent resistance, which is being continuously refined and developed.