Question map
"Sedition has become my religion" was the famous statement given by Gandhiji at the time of
Explanation
The Second Civil Disobedience Movement was started by Gandhi on 12 March 1930 with his famous Dandi March, where he walked nearly 200 miles from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, a village on the Gujarat sea-coast, and made salt in violation of the salt laws.[1] This act was a symbol of the Indian people's refusal to live under British-made laws and therefore under British rule.[1] At this time, Gandhi declared that "The British rule in India has brought about moral, material, cultural, and spiritual ruination of this great country. I regard this rule as a curse. I am out to destroy this system of Government....Sedition has become my religion."[1] This powerful statement was made in the context of the Dandi Salt March, when Gandhi was publicly defying the British salt monopoly laws, marking a pivotal moment in India's freedom struggle.
Sources- [1] Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 15: Struggle for Swaraj > The Second Civil Disobedience Movement > p. 288
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Full viewThis is a classic 'Standard Text' reward question. The quote is verbatim from Bipin Chandra's Old NCERT (Chapter 15). It tests if you read the narrative flow of the Civil Disobedience Movement rather than just memorizing dates and locations from summary PDFs.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
- Statement 1: Did Mahatma Gandhi say "Sedition has become my religion" during the Champaran Satyagraha?
- Statement 2: Did Mahatma Gandhi say "Sedition has become my religion" when publicly violating the Salt Law at Dandi?
- Statement 3: Did Mahatma Gandhi say "Sedition has become my religion" while attending the Second Round Table Conference in London?
- Statement 4: Did Mahatma Gandhi say "Sedition has become my religion" at the launch of the Quit India Movement?
This snippet attributes the exact quote 'Sedition has become my religion' to Gandhi, but places it in the context of the Dandi (Salt) March and the Second Civil Disobedience Movement (1930).
A student can compare the event and year linked to this quote (Dandi, 1930) with the Champaran episode to check if the quote fits Champaran's time/place.
This snippet identifies Champaran Satyagraha as Gandhi's 1917 campaign and calls it the 'first battle of civil disobedience in India.'
Use the date/context (Champaran, 1917) against the Dandi/1930 dating from the quote to spot a temporal mismatch.
This snippet again describes Champaran as Gandhi's first great experiment in satyagraha in 1917 and explains its agrarian/indigo context.
A student can note the agrarian/indigo focus of Champaran (1917) versus the salt-tax focus of the Dandi episode where the quote is reported, suggesting different contexts.
This snippet places Gandhi in Champaran for much of 1917 and links his activities there to peasant demands and non-cooperation.
Combine this with the quote's reported association with the Salt Satyagraha to question whether Gandhi would have used that line during the Champaran peasant campaign.
This snippet lists methods of satyagraha, including non-payment of taxes and boycott, highlighting that civil disobedience (including salt protests) was an established tactic.
A student can use this to understand the types of campaigns Gandhi led (tax/salt versus indigo/tenure) and so judge which campaign contexts match the rhetorical line about 'sedition.'
- Contains a direct quotation attributing the words "Sedition has become my religion" to Gandhi.
- Explicitly places that declaration in the narrative of the Dandi March where Gandhi and followers made salt in violation of the salt laws.
- Links the quoted declaration to Gandhi's public action of breaking the salt law at Dandi, connecting words to the event.
This snippet includes the exact phrase "Sedition has become my religion" but places it in the account of the Dandi Salt March and the Second Civil Disobedience Movement (March 1930), not at the London conference.
A student can compare the date/context here (Salt Satyagraha, 1930) with the dates of the Second Round Table Conference to test whether the quote fits the London event.
States the Second Round Table Conference dates (September 7–December 1, 1931) and that Gandhi was the Congress's sole representative in London.
Use these definite dates to check temporal consistency with when the quote was reportedly made (if attributed to 1930, it cannot have been said in London in 1931).
Describes Gandhi's activities and positions at the Second Round Table Conference (November 1931) and frames his London role and views, giving context for what he was doing in London.
Compare the substantive topics Gandhi addressed in London (e.g., separate electorates) with the tone/content of the quoted line to see if the quote matches issues discussed at the conference.
Confirms Gandhi attended the Second Round Table Conference as Congress's sole representative and notes the concessions negotiated (release of prisoners, etc.), linking London attendance to negotiation and diplomacy rather than open civil disobedience.
A student could use this to argue that an emphatic declaration endorsing sedition seems out of place in the diplomatic/negotiation context of the London conference, prompting checking of original sources/dates.
Says negotiations at the conference broke down and upon return Gandhi found repression resumed and relaunched civil disobedience — connecting London attendance to subsequent civil disobedience activity in India.
A student can use this sequence (London → return → renewed repression/civil disobedience) to test whether the quote is more plausibly part of the Indian civil disobedience rhetoric after London rather than a London remark.
This snippet attributes the exact phrase "Sedition has become my religion" to Gandhi but places it in the context of the Second Civil Disobedience Movement (Dandi March, 1930).
A student could note this earlier dated usage (1930) and check timelines to see whether the phrase was used later (1942) or misattributed to the Quit India launch.
This snippet records Gandhi's public rhetoric around mid‑1942 (May) and the slogan 'Do or Die' used in the Quit India context, showing the language he actually used then.
Compare the known slogans and quoted lines from mid‑1942 to see if 'Sedition has become my religion' appears among documented Quit India statements.
This snippet gives the date and basic facts of the Quit India launch (August 1942) and notes Gandhi was immediately jailed, indicating limited opportunities for long public speeches at the launch.
Use the August 1942 date to search contemporaneous reports/speeches from the Quit India launch to confirm which phrases Gandhi used right before incarceration.
This snippet explains the sequence (Cripps Mission → Gandhi decided on Quit India → August 1942 launch), providing a clear temporal frame distinguishable from 1930 events.
Use this timeline to separate Gandhi's 1930 Dandi March statements from 1942 Quit India statements when evaluating attribution of the quote.
- [THE VERDICT]: Sitter for Old NCERT readers; Trap for summary-readers. Source: Modern India (Bipin Chandra, Old NCERT), p. 288.
- [THE CONCEPTUAL TRIGGER]: The evolution of Gandhi's legal philosophy—from 'Loyalist' (WW1) to 'Cooperator' to 'Seditionist' (1930).
- [THE HORIZONTAL EXPANSION]: Map the 'Defining Quote' to the Movement: (1) Champaran (1917): 'I have disregarded the order... in obedience to the higher law of our being, the voice of conscience.' (2) Non-Cooperation (1920): 'Swaraj in one year.' (3) The Great Trial (1922): 'To preach disaffection... has become almost a passion with me.' (4) Quit India (1942): 'Do or Die' / 'Ordered Anarchy'.
- [THE STRATEGIC METACOGNITION]: Do not just memorize the 'Launch Date' of a movement. Memorize the 'Moral Stance' or the 'Legal Argument' Gandhi used to justify breaking the law in that specific phase.
Champaran was Gandhi's first major experiment in satyagraha in India and is the event named in the statement.
High-yield for chronology questions on Gandhi's early nationalist work; links to agrarian protest, emergence of civil disobedience tactics, and later campaigns. Mastering this helps answer questions on the origins and evolution of Gandhian methods and identify which events belong to which phase of his leadership.
- Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 15: Struggle for Swaraj > Champaran Satvagraha (1917) > p. 266
- THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART III, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 11: MAHATMA GANDHI AND THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT > 2. The Making and Unmaking of Non-cooperation > p. 289
The quoted phrase is recorded in the context of Gandhi's Dandi (Salt) March, not Champaran.
Critical for distinguishing major Gandhian campaigns by date and slogan; useful for source-attribution and quotation questions, and for essays contrasting early and later phases of non-cooperation and civil disobedience.
- Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 15: Struggle for Swaraj > The Second Civil Disobedience Movement > p. 288
- THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART III, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 11: MAHATMA GANDHI AND THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT > Why the Salt Satyagraha? > p. 298
Satyagraha's techniques—truth, non-violence, non-payment of taxes and boycott—frame both Champaran and Salt campaigns and explain the tactics behind quoted rhetoric.
Core concept across modern Indian history questions; mastering its elements aids analysis of protests, legislative responses, and continuity across Gandhi's campaigns, enabling comparison and source-based answers.
- Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 15: Emergence of Gandhi > Gandhi's Technique of Satyagraha > p. 315
- THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART III, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 11: MAHATMA GANDHI AND THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT > 1. A Leader Announces Himself > p. 287
The Dandi March involved Gandhi deliberately violating the salt law at Dandi to symbolically challenge British rule.
High-yield: central event in the Civil Disobedience Movement; explains use of symbolic, everyday commodities to mobilise masses and illustrate Gandhian tactics. Useful for essays, source-based questions and cause–effect analysis on methods of struggle.
- Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 15: Struggle for Swaraj > The Second Civil Disobedience Movement > p. 288
- India and the Contemporary World – II. History-Class X . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 2: Nationalism in India > 3.1 The Salt March and the Civil Disobedience Movement > p. 39
- THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART III, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 11: MAHATMA GANDHI AND THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT > 3.1 Dandi > p. 296
Civil Disobedience was formally launched in March–April 1930 with organised mass defiance, including making salt and urging people to violate salt laws.
Important for chronology and thematic linkage with Non-Cooperation; helps answer questions on continuity of nationalist strategies, mass mobilisation, and leadership decisions in the freedom movement.
- Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 15: Struggle for Swaraj > The Second Civil Disobedience Movement > p. 288
- Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 19: Civil Disobedience Movement and Round Table Conferences > Civil Disobedience Movement the Salt Satyagraha and Other Upsurges > p. 372
- India and the Contemporary World – II. History-Class X . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 2: Nationalism in India > 3.1 The Salt March and the Civil Disobedience Movement > p. 39
The state's monopoly and tax on salt affected every household, making salt an effective focus to mobilise widespread support.
Explains selection of economic grievances for political mobilisation; connects colonial economic policy to popular protest, useful for analysing reasons behind protest targets and their social reach.
- THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART III, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 11: MAHATMA GANDHI AND THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT > 3.1 Dandi > p. 296
- 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
The phrase is linked to Gandhi's leadership of the Civil Disobedience movement and the Dandi March rather than to his visit to London in 1931.
High-yield for chronology-based questions: distinguishing where and when famous political statements were made helps answer source-based and timeline questions. Connects to topics on protest tactics and famous slogans in the freedom movement and helps eliminate distractor options that misplace quotes or events.
- Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 15: Struggle for Swaraj > The Second Civil Disobedience Movement > p. 288
- 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. 41
The 'Independence Pledge' of Jan 26, 1930. While the Dandi quote is famous, the Pledge text is equally high-yield: 'We believe that it is the inalienable right of the Indian people... to have freedom... if any government deprives a people of these rights... the people have a further right to alter it or to abolish it.'
Tone Analysis: (A) Champaran was about a specific agrarian tax/indigo issue, not 'Sedition' (overthrowing the state). (C) Round Table Conference was a diplomatic negotiation; you don't declare 'Sedition is my religion' while sipping tea with the Viceroy. (D) Quit India was desperate ('Do or Die'). The phrase 'Sedition has become my religion' implies a calm, deliberate, moral choice to violate law—which perfectly matches the theatrical, symbolic nature of the Salt March.
GS-2 (Polity & Governance): Connect this historical quote to the modern debate on Section 124A (Sedition) of the IPC. Gandhi's 1922 and 1930 statements are the primary historical arguments used by civil liberties groups against the colonial nature of the Sedition law today.