Read the passage and answer the questions:

"Tomorrow we shall break the salt tax law"

On 5 April 1930, Mahatma Gandhi spoke at Dandi: When I left Sabarmati with my companions for this seaside hamlet of Dandi, I was not certain in my mind that we would be allowed to reach this place. Even while I was at Sabarmati there was a rumour that I might be arrested. I had thought that the Government might perhaps let my party come as far as Dandi, but not me certainly. If someone says that this betrays imperfect faith on my part, I shall not deny the charge. That I have reached here is in no small measure due to the power of peace and non-violence: that power is universally felt. The Government may, if it wishes, congratulate itself on acting as it has done, for it could have arrested every one of us. In saying that it did not have the courage to arrest this army of peace, we praise it. It felt ashamed to arrest such an army. He is a civilised man who feels ashamed to do anything which his neighbours would disapprove of. The Government deserves to be congratulated on not arresting us, even if it desisted only from fear of world opinion.

Tomorrow we shall break the salt tax law. Whether the Government will tolerate that is a different question. It may not tolerate it, but it deserves congratulations on the patience and forbearance it has displayed in regard to this party.

What if I and all the eminent leaders in Gujarat and in the rest of the country are arrested? This movement is based on the faith that when a whole nation is roused and on the march no leader is necessary.

[CWMG, VOL. 49]

Mahatma Gandhi illustrated his tactical wisdom by picking on salt monopoly. Which of the following statements are correct to prove this?

A. State monopoly over salt was deeply unpopular.
B. People were forbidden from making salt for even domestic use.
C. Salt was not an essential item.
D. Government destroyed the salt that it could not sell profitably.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
1. A, C, D only
2. B, C, D only
3. A, B, C only
4. A, B, D only

4

The correct statements to illustrate Mahatma Gandhi's tactical wisdom in picking on the salt monopoly are:

A. State monopoly over salt was deeply unpopular:
The British government's monopoly over salt production and distribution was widely unpopular among the Indian population. This discontent provided a strategic opportunity for Gandhi to mobilize people against this oppressive policy.

B. People were forbidden from making salt for even domestic use:
As part of the salt monopoly, the British government prohibited Indians from making their own salt, even for personal or domestic use. This restriction was a clear example of the oppressive and restrictive policies that Gandhi aimed to challenge through the Salt March.

D. Government destroyed the salt that it could not sell profitably:
The British authorities not only had a monopoly over salt but also controlled its production and distribution. As a form of protest, Mahatma Gandhi and his followers chose to march to the Arabian Sea to produce their own salt, highlighting the wasteful destruction of salt by the government as a symbol of resistance.

Therefore, the correct answer is: 4. A, B, D only