On a Textile and Temples tour of Gujarat, India, in January,
2015, salt ended up playing an interesting role linking the Little Rann of
Kutch’s wildlife sanctuary with India’s Independence from Britain. A short jeep ride from our stay at the
excellent Rann Riders Resort, led to a great sea of fabulous birds, including painted
storks, black ibis, egrets, geese and flamingos (in the distance). The magnificent birds were followed by wild
ass sightings. Driving on a bit led to a
salt bed where I proceeded to buy about a pound of salt crystals. What I did not know then, but know now, is
that today India is the world’s third largest producer of salt, after China and
the USA. But back in 1930, the British
had a monopoly on the salt trade and made it illegal for any Indian to produce
salt. This led to Mahatma Gandhi’s
famous 1930 salt march, which eventually led to India’s independence in 1947.
