"Peaceful Protest": A Difficult Oxymoron to Crack in History
"Peaceful Protest": A Difficult Oxymoron to Crack in History~ Daniel Asipita It is seldom to find protests that are absolutely peaceful and violence-free in the records of history. Protests recognized as the most peaceful in history had pockets of violence and casualties. In 1930, there was the Salt March, a major non-violent protest in India led by Mahatma Gandhi. It was directed against the British government's tax on salt, which greatly affected the poorest Indians. This protest lasted for two months, March and April of 1930. Gandhi led the demonstration against the repressive salt tax by marching through the western Indian state of Gujarat to the town of Dandi on the Arabian Sea coast. He set out on foot on March 12, accompanied by several dozen followers. After each day's march, the group stopped in a different village along the route, where larger crowds would gather to hear Gandhi rail against the unfairness of the tax on poor people. Hundreds more would join ...