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[March 12, 1930]
Do not be content with
merely wearing khadi and plying the spinning. wheel, thinking that you
have done all that you could do.
Take the case of your own village: For a population of 1,700, 850 maunds
of salt will be required. For 200 bullocks, 300 maunds of salt will be
required. That is, total of 1,150 maunds of salt will be required.
The Government levies a tax of Rs. 1-4 on one pukka maund of salt. Hence,
on 1,150 maunds, which is equal to 575 pukka maunds, you pay a tax of Rs.
720.
A bullock must be given two maunds of salt. In addition, there are 800
cows, buffaloes and calves in your village. If you give them salt, or if
the tanner uses salt for treating hides, or if you use salt as manure, you
would be paying that amount of tax in excess of Rs. 720.
Can your village afford to pay this amount in taxes every year? In India,
the average income of an individual is calculated at 7 pice or, in other
words, hundreds of thousands of persons do not earn even a single pice and
either die of starvation or live by begging. Even they cannot do without
salt. What will be the plight of such persons if they can get no salt X'
get it at too high a price?
Salt, which sells at 9 pies a maund in the Punjab, salt of which heaps and
heaps are being made or, the coast of Kathiawar and Gujarat, cannot be had
by the poor at leas than Re. 1-8-0 a maund. What curses the Government may
not be inviting upon itself from he poor for hiring men to throw this salt
into mud !
The poor destitute villagers do not have the strength to get this tax
repealed. We want to develop this strength.
A democratic State is one which has authority to abolish a tax which does
not deserve to be paid. It is one in which the people can determine l a
certain thing should or should not be paid.
We, however, do not possess such authority. Likewise, even our supposedly
great representatives do not have it. In the Central Legislative
Assembly, Pandit Malaviya said that the manner in which Sardar Vallabhbhai
was arrested could not be called just; that it was unjust and high-handed.
And this resolution was supported by Mr. Jinnah. To this the Government
official replied that their magistrate had acted in a manner befitted a
loyal subject, if he had acted otherwise, he would have been regarded as a
traitor. If, however, that is the case, this bearded person (Abbas Saheb)
and I should also be arrested, because I on my part openly make speeches
about preparing salt.
There are two ways of establishing such a government 'that of the big
stick and violence and that of non-violence or civil disobedience. We have
chosen the second alternative, regarding it as our dharma. And it is
because of this that we have set out to prepare salt after serving notice
on the Government to that effect.
I can understand there
being a tax on such things as the hookah, bidis and liquor. And if
I were an emperor, I would levy with your permission a tax of one pie on
every bidi. And if bidis are found too expensive, those
addicted to them may give them up. But should one levy a tax on salt?
Such taxes should now be repealed. We should make a resolve that we shall
prepare salt, eat it, sell it to the people and, while doing so, court
imprisonment, if necessary. If, out of Gujarat's population of 90 lakhs,
we leave out women and children, and the remaining 30 lakhs get ready to
violate the salt tax, the Government does not have enough accommodation in
jails to house so many people. Of course, the Government can also beat up
and shoot clown those who violate the law. But the governments of today
are unable to got to this extent. We, however, are determined to let the
Government kill us if it wishes.
The salt tax must be repealed now. The fact that a sea of humanity had
gathered and showered blessings upon us--for a distance of seven miles
from the Ashram to the Chandola lake-a sight for the gods to see-that
is a good omen. And, if we climb even one step, we shall readily be able
to climb the other steps leading to the place of Independence.
Navajivan,
16-3-30 |
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