The Romance of Salt

Contents: I. Salt March to Dandi: Prologue. 1. The Ashramites of Sabarmati. 2. The choice of weapons. 3. The girding of loins. 4. The medium and the message. 5. The final countdown. 6. The March to Dandi. Epilogue. II. Salt\'s March through history: 1. The stuff of life. 2. Salt through history. 3. Salt wars. 4. Dead sea, live seas. 5. Superstition and myth. 6. The way of all flesh. 7. Literature, art and the Cellars market. 8. See how it runs. 9. Ladies of salt. 10. Giving life to life. Select bibliography.

"When Mahatma Gandhi set off for the historic Dandi March on 12 March 1930, why did he choose salt as a symbol of British imperialism? Why did the East India Company throttle, then kill the salt industry in Bengal and Orissa? Why did the British build a hedge which stretched over 3000 km just to thwart salt smuggling?

Salt, that innocuous substance we dismiss as common salt, has played an uncommon role in the history of mankind. Wars have been fought over it, kings and emperors have enriched their treasuries by imposing tax on it, odes have been written about it, it even played a role in the French Revolution. Myths and superstitions have grown around it, babies are baptised with it and evil spirits are banished by it.

The Romance of Salt takes you on a fascinating journey through history featuring this magical substance. You will never look at a salt shaker in the same way again." (jacket)