Editing Salt March (section)

==Satyagraha==
{{main|Satyagraha}}
Gandhi had a long-standing commitment to nonviolent civil disobedience, which he termed ''satyagraha'', as the basis for achieving Indian sovereignty and self-rule.<ref>"Gandhi's ideas about satyagraha and swaraj, moreover, galvanised the thinking of Congress cadres, most of whom by 1930 were committed to pursuing sovereignty and self-rule by nonviolent means." [[#Ackerman|Ackerman]], p. 108.</ref><ref>[[#Dalton|Dalton]], pp. 9–10.</ref> Referring to the relationship between ''Satyagraha'' and ''Purna Swaraj'', Gandhi saw "an inviolable connection between the means and the end as there is between the seed and the tree".<ref>''Hind Swaraj'', [[#GandhiDalton|Gandhi and Dalton]], p. 15.</ref> He wrote, "If the means employed are impure, the change will not be in the direction of progress but very likely in the opposite. Only a change brought about in our political condition by pure means can lead to real progress."<ref>Forward to the volume of Gokhale's speeches, ''"Gopal Krishna Gokahalenan Vyakhyanao"'' from [[#Johnson|Johnson]], p. 118.</ref>

Satyagraha is a synthesis of the Sanskrit words ''Satya'' (truth) and ''Agraha'' (insistence on). For Gandhi, satyagraha went far beyond mere "passive resistance" and became strength in practicing nonviolent methods. In his words:

<blockquote>Truth (satya) implies love, and firmness (agraha) engenders and therefore serves as a synonym for force. I thus began to call the Indian movement Satyagraha, that is to say, the Force which is born of Truth and Love or nonviolence, and gave up the use of the phrase "passive resistance", in connection with it, so much so that even in English writing we often avoided it and used instead the word "satyagraha"&nbsp;...<ref>''Satyagraha in South Africa, 1926'' from [[#Johnson|Johnson]], p. 73.</ref></blockquote>

His first significant attempt in India at leading mass satyagraha was the [[Non-cooperation movement (1909–22)|non-cooperation movement]] from 1920 to 1922. Even though it succeeded in raising millions of Indians in protest against the British-created [[Rowlatt Acts|Rowlatt Act]], violence broke out at [[Chauri Chaura incident|Chauri Chaura]], where a mob killed 22 unarmed policemen. Gandhi suspended the protest, against the opposition of other Congress members. He decided that Indians were not yet ready for successful nonviolent resistance.<ref>[[#Dalton|Dalton]], p. 48.</ref> The [[Bardoli Satyagraha]] in 1928 was much more successful. It succeeded in paralysing the British government and winning significant concessions. More importantly, due to extensive press coverage, it scored a propaganda victory out of all proportion to its size.<ref>[[#Dalton|Dalton]], p. 93.</ref> Gandhi later claimed that success at Bardoli confirmed his belief in satyagraha and [[Swaraj]]: "It is only gradually that we shall come to know the importance of the victory gained at Bardoli&nbsp;... Bardoli has shown the way and cleared it. [[Swaraj]] lies on that route, and that alone is the cure&nbsp;..."<ref>''Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi'' 41: 208–209</ref><ref>[[#Dalton|Dalton]], p. 94.</ref> Gandhi recruited heavily from the [[Bardoli Satyagraha]] participants for the Dandi march, which passed through many of the same villages that took part in the Bardoli protests.<ref>[[#Dalton|Dalton]], p. 95.</ref> This revolt gained momentum and had support from all parts of India.