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Q46 (IAS/2015) History & Culture › National Movement (1857–1947) › Gandhian mass movements Official Key

Who of the following organized a march on the Tanjore coast to break the Salt Law in April 1930?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: B
Explanation

In April 1930, C. Rajagopalachari organised a march from Thiruchirapalli (Trichinopoly) to Vedaranniyam on the Tanjore (or Thanjavur) coast to break the salt law.[1] This march was part of the larger Civil Disobedience Movement that followed Gandhi's historic Dandi March. Rajaji had just been elected president of the Tamil Nadu Congress, and the march started on April 13 and reached Vedaranyam on April 28, 1930.[2] He was arrested on April 30, 1930.[3] This was a significant regional manifestation of the national movement against the British salt monopoly, and demonstrated the spread of Gandhian methods of non-violent protest across India. The Vedaranyam Salt Satyagraha became an important chapter in Tamil Nadu's contribution to the freedom struggle.

Sources
  1. [1] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 19: Civil Disobedience Movement and Round Table Conferences > Satyagraha at Different Places > p. 373
  2. [2] History , class XII (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 4: Advent of Gandhi and Mass Mobilisation > Vedaranyam Salt Satyagraha > p. 51
  3. [3] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 39: After Nehru... > Civil Disobedience Movement > p. 810
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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. Who of the following organized a march on the Tanjore coast to break the Salt Law in April 1930? [A] V. O. Chidambaram Pillai [B] C. Ra…
At a glance
Origin: Books + Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 2.5/10 · 7.5/10
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This is a textbook 'Sitter' found verbatim in Spectrum and NCERT. It tests the 'Regional Spread' of the Civil Disobedience Movement. If you missed this, your static core (Modern History) has dangerous gaps. No current affairs linkage required.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Did V. O. Chidambaram Pillai organize a march on the Tanjore coast to break the Salt Law in April 1930?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 5/5
"In April 1930, Rajagopalachari organised a march on the Tanjore coast to protest the salt law."
Why this source?
  • Explicitly names C. Rajagopalachari as the organiser of the April 1930 Tanjore coast salt-law protest.
  • Presents that event as a corrective to the multiple-choice option that included V. O. Chidambaram Pillai.
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"C. Rajagopalachari organized a march from Trichinopoly to Vedaranniyam on the Tanjore coast to break the salt law in April 1930."
Why this source?
  • States that C. Rajagopalachari organized the march from Trichinopoly to Vedaranniyam to break the salt law in April 1930.
  • Directly attributes the Tanjore-coast salt action to Rajagopalachari, not to V. O. Chidambaram Pillai.
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"He was arrested in April 1930 for leading a salt march from Trichinopoly to Vedaranniyam on the Tanjore coast."
Why this source?
  • Notes the answer as C. Rajagopalachari and records he was arrested in April 1930 for leading that salt march.
  • Links the Trichinopoly-to-Vedaranniyam march and the April 1930 timing to Rajagopalachari rather than V. O. Chidambaram Pillai.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 19: Civil Disobedience Movement and Round Table Conferences > Satyagraha at Different Places > p. 373
Strength: 5/5
“A brief survey of the nature of Civil Disobedience Movement in different parts of the subcontinent is given below. ● Tamil Nadu In April 1930, C. Rajagopalachari organised a march from Thiruchirapalli (Trichinapoly as it was called by the British) to Vedaranniyam on the Tanjore (or Thanjavur) coast to break the salt law. The event was followed by widespread picketing of foreign cloth shops; the anti-liquor campaign gathered forceful support in interior regions of Coimbatore, Madura, Virdhanagar, etc. Although, Rajaji tried to keep the movement non-violent, violent eruptions of masses and the violent repressions of the police began. To break the Choolai mills strike, police force was used.”
Why relevant

Explicitly states that C. Rajagopalachari organised a march from Trichinopoly to Vedaranniyam on the Tanjore coast in April 1930 to break the salt law (Tamil Nadu example).

How to extend

A student could use this as a regional attribution pattern (Rajaji as organiser) and check lists of regional leaders to see if VOC is named instead.

History , class XII (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 4: Advent of Gandhi and Mass Mobilisation > Vedaranyam Salt Satyagraha > p. 51
Strength: 5/5
“In Tamil Nadu, a salt march was led by Rajaji to Vedaranyam. Vedaranyam, situated 150 miles from Tiruchirapalli, where the march started, was an obscure coastal village in Thanjavur district. Rajaji had just been elected president of the Tamil Nadu Congress. The march started on April 13 and reached Vedaranyam on April 28, 1930. The Thajavur collector J.A Thorne had warned the public of severe action if the marchers were harboured. But the Satyagrahis were warmly welcomed and provided with food and shelter. Those who dared to offer food and”
Why relevant

Gives precise route and dates for the Tamil Nadu salt march (started April 13, reached Vedaranniyam April 28) and identifies Rajaji as leader.

How to extend

Compare these specific dates/route with any claims about VOC organising a Tanjore coast march in April 1930—if VOC is not linked to these dates/route, the claim is less likely.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 39: After Nehru... > Civil Disobedience Movement > p. 810
Strength: 4/5
“M.K. Gandhi formally launched the Civil Disobedience Movement on April 6, 1930 by picking a handful of salt after the completion of historic 'Dandi March' from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, thus breaking the salt law imposed by the Government. He was the major force behind the movement and inspired grass-root participation in the freedom struggle. C. Rajagopalachari led a salt march from Trichinopoly to Vedaranniyam on the Tanjore coast in Tamil Nadu, in support of the Civil Disobedience Movement. He was arrested on April 30, 1930. K. Kelappan, a Nair Congress leader, launched the Vaikom Satyagraha and marched from Calicut to Payanneer in defiance of salt laws.”
Why relevant

Also notes Rajagopalachari led a salt march to Vedaranniyam on the Tanjore coast and was arrested on April 30, 1930.

How to extend

Use the arrest/date detail to cross-check contemporaneous reports or leader lists from late April 1930 to see which leader was active at Vedaranniyam.

THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART III, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 11: MAHATMA GANDHI AND THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT > 3. The Salt Satyagraha A Case Study > p. 297
Strength: 4/5
“Where most Indians understood the significance of Gandhiji's challenge, the British Raj apparently did not. Although Gandhiji had given advance notice of his "Salt March" to the Viceroy Lord Irwin, Irwin failed to grasp the significance of the action. On 12 March 1930, Gandhiji began walking from his ashram at Sabarmati towards the ocean. He reached his destination three weeks later, making a fistful of salt as he did and thereby making himself a criminal in the eyes of the law. Meanwhile, parallel salt marches were being conducted in other parts of the country. Source 3”
Why relevant

States that parallel salt marches were being conducted in other parts of the country around Gandhi's Dandi March.

How to extend

A student could treat the Tamil Nadu march as one documented parallel and look for documentary patterns (one named leader per region) to test whether VOC appears as an organiser elsewhere.

India and the Contemporary World – II. History-Class X . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 2: Nationalism in India > The Independence Day Pledge, 26 January 1930 > p. 40
Strength: 3/5
“with the British, as they had done in 1921-22, but also to break colonial laws. Thousands in different parts of the country broke the salt law, manufactured salt and demonstrated in front of government salt factories. As the movement spread, foreign cloth was boycotted, and liquor shops were picketed. Peasants refused to pay revenue and chaukidari taxes, village officials resigned, and in many places forest people violated forest laws – going into Reserved Forests to collect wood and graze cattle. Worried by the developments, the colonial government began arresting the Congress leaders one by one. This led to violent clashes in many palaces.”
Why relevant

Describes widespread local acts of breaking salt law across many places and mass participation, indicating many localized leaders and actions.

How to extend

This suggests it is plausible other local leaders might have organised salt actions; a student should therefore seek region-specific records for VOC rather than assume national-level leadership.

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Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

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SIMILAR QUESTIONS

CDS-I · 2021 · Q59 Relevance score: 0.30

Who among the following socialist activists persuaded Gandhiji not to restrict the salt march protest to men alone ?

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Which one of the following is NOT correct about Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi Yatra or Salt March ?

NDA-I · 2014 · Q25 Relevance score: -3.22

The Salt Satyagraha called by Mahatma Gandhi saw the 1. violation of salt laws along coastal India 2. participation of women 3. upward swing when it came to the working class joining in Select the correct answer using the code given below:

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Consider the following statements about the Salt March : 1. The Salt March was deliberately ignored by the European media. 2. The Salt March was widely covered by the American and European press. 3. The Salt March was the first nationalist activity in which women participated in large numbers. 4. The Salt March impressed upon the British the urgent need to devolve more power to Indians. Which of the statements given above are correct?