Mahatma Gandhi illustrated his wisdom by picking on salt Monopoly.
(a) State monopoly over salt was unpopular.
(b) People were forbidden from making salt even for domestic use.
(c) Salt was not an essential item
(d) People were not compelled to buy salt at high price
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (a) and (b) only
(a) State monopoly over salt was unpopular. Correct. The salt law was one of the most widely disliked laws in British India, and the state monopoly over salt was deeply unpopular; this is why picking on it showed Gandhiji’s tactical wisdom.
(b) People were forbidden from making salt even for domestic use. Correct. People were forbidden from making salt even for domestic use.
(c) Salt was not an essential item Incorrect. The opposite is true: in every Indian household, salt was indispensable, so the monopoly touched everyone.
(d) People were not compelled to buy salt at high price Incorrect. Since they could not make it, people were compelled to buy salt from shops at a high price.
NCERT (2026-27): “3.1 Dandi … Soon after the observance of this ‘Independence Day’, Mahatma Gandhi announced that he would lead a march to break one of the most widely disliked laws in British India, which gave the state a monopoly in the manufacture and sale of salt. His picking on the salt monopoly was another illustration of Gandhiji’s tactical wisdom. For in every Indian household, salt was indispensable; yet people were forbidden from making salt even for domestic use, compelling them to buy it from shops at a high price. The state monopoly over salt was deeply unpopular; by making it his target, Gandhiji hoped to mobilise a wider discontent against British rule.” |