Editing Salt March (section)

==Choice of salt as protest focus==
Initially, Gandhi's choice of the salt tax was met with incredulity by the Working Committee of the Congress,<ref>[[#Dalton|Dalton]], p. 100.</ref> [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] and Divyalochan Sahu were ambivalent; [[Sardar Patel]] suggested a land revenue boycott instead.<ref>"Nehru, who had been skeptical about salt as the primary focus of the campaign, realized how wrong he was&nbsp;..." [[#Johnson|Johnson]], p. 32.</ref><ref name="gopalgandhi">Gandhi, Gopalkrishna. [http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article388858.ece "The Great Dandi March – eighty years after"], ''[[The Hindu]]'', 5 April 1930</ref> ''[[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]]'', a prominent newspaper, wrote about the choice: "It is difficult not to laugh, and we imagine that will be the mood of most thinking Indians."<ref name="gopalgandhi" />

The British colonial administration too was not disturbed by these plans of resistance against the salt tax. The [[Governor-General of India|Viceroy]] himself, [[Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax|Lord Irwin]], did not take the threat of a salt protest seriously, writing to London, "At present, the prospect of a salt campaign does not keep me awake at night."<ref>Letter to London on 20 February 1930. [[#Ackerman|Ackerman]], p. 84.</ref>

However, Gandhi had sound reasons for his decision. An item of daily use could resonate more with all classes of citizens than an abstract demand for greater political rights.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gross|first=David M.|year=2014|title=99 Tactics of Successful Tax Resistance Campaigns|publisher=Picket Line Press|isbn=978-1490572741|page=64}}</ref> The salt tax represented 8.2% of the British Raj tax revenue, and hurt the poorest Indians the most significantly.<ref name="Gandhi & Dalton, 1996, p. 72">[[#GandhiDalton|Gandhi and Dalton]], p. 72.</ref>
Explaining his choice, Gandhi said, "Next to air and water, salt is perhaps the greatest necessity of life." In contrast to the other leaders, the prominent Congress statesman and future [[Governor-General of India]], [[C. Rajagopalachari]], understood Gandhi's viewpoint. In a public meeting at [[Tuticorin]], he said:

<blockquote>Suppose, a people rise in revolt. They cannot attack the abstract constitution or lead an army against proclamations and statutes&nbsp;... Civil disobedience has to be directed against the salt tax or the land tax or some other particular point&nbsp;– not that; that is our final end, but for the time being it is our aim, and we must shoot straight.<ref name="gopalgandhi" /></blockquote>

Gandhi felt that this protest would dramatise Purna Swaraj in a way that was meaningful to every Indian. He also reasoned that it would build unity between Hindus and Muslims by fighting a wrong that touched them equally.<ref name="A & DuVall, p. 83" />

After the protest gathered steam, the leaders realised the power of salt as a symbol. Nehru remarked about the unprecedented popular response, "it seemed as though a spring had been suddenly released."<ref name="gopalgandhi" />