Gandhi’s Eleven Demands

To carry forward the mandate given by the Lahore Congress, Gandhi presented eleven demands to the government and gave an ultimatum of January 31, 1930 to accept or reject these demands. The demands were as follows.

Issues of General Interest

1. Reduce expenditure on army and civil services by 50 per cent.
2. Introduce total prohibition.
3. Carry out reforms in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
4. Change Arms Act, allowing popular control of issue of firearms licences.
5. Release political prisoners.
6. Accept the Postal Reservation Bill.

Specific Bourgeois Demands

7. Reduce Rupee-Sterling exchange ratio to 1s 4d

8. Introduce textile protection.

9. Reserve coastal shipping for Indians.

Specific Peasant Demands

10. Reduce land revenue by 50 per cent.

11. Abolish salt tax and government’s salt monopoly.

With no positive response forthcoming from the government on these demands, the Congress Working Committee invested Gandhi with full powers to launch the Civil Disobedience Movement at a time and place of his choice. By February-end, Gandhi had decided to make salt the central formula for the Movement.