UPSC Prelims 2025 Q71: Gandhi's 'Sedition Has Become My Religion'
"Sedition has become my religion" was the famous statement given by Gandhiji at the time of
- the Champaran Satyagraha
- publicly violating Salt Law at Dandi
- attending the Second Round Table Conference in London
- the launch of the Quit India Movement
Answer: (b) publicly violating Salt Law at Dandi
Statement-wise explanation
- a: incorrect — The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was Gandhi's first satyagraha in India. It took up the grievances of indigo cultivators in Bihar against European planters. Gandhi disobeyed an order to leave the district, but he asked only for redress of a local wrong. He did not make an open declaration against British rule itself.
- b: correct — Gandhi said "Sedition has become my religion" during the Salt Satyagraha of 1930. He marched from Sabarmati Ashram with 78 volunteers, reached Dandi on 5 April and broke the salt law on 6 April 1930. That act began the Civil Disobedience Movement. He framed open, non-violent law-breaking against a rule he called a curse as a moral duty, which is why he called 'sedition' his religion.
- c: incorrect — Gandhi went to the Second Round Table Conference in London (September–December 1931) as the Congress's sole representative. He went under the Gandhi–Irwin Pact of 5 March 1931, which had suspended civil disobedience. This was a phase of negotiation, not defiance, and the conference ended without agreement.
- d: incorrect — The Quit India Movement was launched at the AICC session in Bombay on 8 August 1942. Its famous slogan was "Do or Die" (Karo ya Maro), not the sedition statement. That slogan is the one to link with 1942.
How to eliminate
This question is mostly recall: you have to tie the quote to 1930. Reasoning can still narrow it. 'Sedition' means open defiance of the state's authority. Champaran was a local agrarian protest, and the Round Table Conference was a negotiation during a truce. Neither fits a public declaration of rebellion against the government. That leaves Dandi and Quit India. Quit India already has its own famous slogan, "Do or Die", so it is the weaker fit. The Dandi March was a deliberate public breaking of a law, which matches 'sedition' as a chosen creed. Fact to remember: "Sedition has become my religion" belongs to the 1930 Salt Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience. "Do or Die" belongs to 1942.
Know more
Gandhi and sedition
Section 124A (sedition) was added to the Indian Penal Code in 1870. It punished bringing the government into 'hatred or contempt' or exciting 'disaffection' towards it. Colonial authorities used it against Tilak and later against Gandhi. In 1922 Gandhi was tried under 124A for his articles in Young India. In court he called the section 'the prince among the political sections' of the IPC and received six years' imprisonment.
By 1930, after the Lahore Congress resolution for Purna Swaraj (December 1929), Gandhi chose salt as the symbol of protest. The salt tax hit every Indian, rich or poor. Breaking that law in public was an open invitation to arrest, which is why he called sedition his 'religion'.
Key Gandhian moments and what to link with each
| Event | Year | Link it with |
|---|---|---|
| Champaran Satyagraha | 1917 | Indigo planters, Bihar; first satyagraha in India |
| Great Trial (Ahmedabad) | 1922 | Section 124A, Young India articles |
| Dandi March / Salt Satyagraha | 1930 | 78 marchers, ~240 miles (385 km); "Sedition has become my religion" |
| Gandhi–Irwin Pact | 5 March 1931 | Civil disobedience suspended; Congress agrees to attend RTC |
| Second Round Table Conference | 1931 | Gandhi sole Congress delegate |
| Quit India | 8 August 1942 | "Do or Die", Gowalia Tank, Bombay |
Sedition today
The Supreme Court upheld Section 124A in Kedar Nath Singh (1962), but limited it to incitement to violence or public disorder. In May 2022 the Court put pending sedition proceedings on hold. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024, drops the word 'sedition'. In its place, Section 152 punishes acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
In the news
The year 2025 marked the 95th anniversary of the Dandi March (12 March 2025), and the Prime Minister publicly paid tribute that day. Sedition law was also in the news, after the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita replaced Section 124A IPC.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Salt satyagraha: One option names the act of breaking the salt law at Dandi; know what the Salt Satyagraha was and when.
- Sedition: The quote turns on 'sedition', the colonial crime of exciting disaffection against the government.
- Civil disobedience movement: Helps place the quote within the right mass movement and phase of the national struggle.
- Gandhi-Irwin Pact: The 1931 pact preceded the Round Table Conference, one option; it shows that phase was a truce.
- Purna Swaraj: The 1929 Purna Swaraj goal set the stage for the 1930 campaign of open law-breaking.