GUNTUR: In a move to instill patriotism among the people, Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) has installed Dandi March statues on the eve of Republic Day in the district on Thursday. The statues, which are a first in the State, were inaugurated by Minister for Municipal Administration Adimulapu Suresh and Chief Adviser to the government Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy.
Lauding GMC for installing the statues of freedom fighters, Sajjala said that the Dandi March statues will remain as an inspiration for the public and the officials as well. He called upon the youth to draw inspiration from the freedom struggle. He patted the GMC mayor Manohar Naidu and commissioner Chekuri Keerthi for taking up the Dandi march freedom fighters statues project. Meanwhile, Adimulapu Suresh said, “The Dandi March statues are a great symbol of unity.” District collector Venugopala Reddy, GMC Mayor Kavati Manohar Naidu, public representatives and officials were also present.
Significance of Dandi March
Dandi Satyagraha or Salt Satyagraha was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi and held great significance in the freedom struggle. The twenty-four-day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April in1930 as a direct action campaign of tax resistance and non violent protest against the British salt monopoly. It inspired more people to follow Gandhi’s example and succeeded in giving a much-needed strong inauguration to the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Gandhi started this march with 78 of his trusted volunteers. The march spanned 385 kilometers from Sabaramati Ashram to Dandi in Gujarat. Growing numbers of Indians joined them along the way. When Gandhi broke the British Raj salt laws at the inauguration of the march, it sparked large scale acts of civil disobedience against the salt laws by millions of Indians.