Ministry of Culture

Dandi Memorial

The National Salt Satyagraha Memorial, Dandi, Gujarat, India

The 'National Salt Satyagraha Memorial', Dandi, Gujarat, India is conceived as an experiential journey recreating the spirit and the energy of the 1930 Dandi March led by Mahatma Gandhi, and taking the visitors to the Monument step-by-step in order to visualise and understand the history of the iconic Dandi March and the methodology of Satyagraha, which finally led to India’s Independence from the British colonial rule.

National Salt Satyagraha Memorial' is a project of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, advised by a High Level Dandi Memorial Committee (HLDMC), designed, coordinated and implemented by IIT Bombay in association with an International Design Team.

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In April, 2006, the Ministry of Culture constituted a Gandhi Heritage Sites Panel under the Chairmanship of Shri Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Ex-Governor of West Bengal. The Panel submitted its report to the Ministry on 26th November, 2008 which was accepted by the Government. The Report identified 39 core sites and a Master List consisting of 2000 sites visited by Mahatma Gandhi with the recommendation that the 39 Core Sites as well as some more important sites from the Master List required to be preserved for posterity. The Panel recommended the setting up of a “Gandhi Heritage Sites Mission” with a fixed term of 5 years

Broadly, the Mission’s tasks were envisaged as :

The identification, collation and assessment of information on ‘Gandhi Heritage’ material for its management and deployment.
The determination of conservation methodology and priorities, for
- The holdings: documents and objects, particularly from the points of view of archival storage and musicology.
- The physical structures and sites, and guidelines for their subsequent maintenance.
The dissemination of material, based on relevant information from (i) and (ii), through :
- A web-based portal
- Publications, audio/visuals (CDs, digital prints etc.)
- The “communication” through the core sites while specifying – where necessary – function and use and significance of the site.

The Government of India established the Gandhi Heritage Sites Mission on 29th July, 2013. Shri Sailesh Kumar Bandopadhaya has been nominated as Chairman of the Mission with Shri Prof. Tridip Suhrud, Shri Kartikeya Sarabhai, Dr. Sudarshan Iyengar, Shri Anupam Mishra, Prof. Shahid Amin and Prof. Venu Madhav Govindu as Members.

The Mission Secretariat is to be headed by a Joint Secretary to Government of India who will act as Secretary to the Mission. The Mission will have its headquarters at New Delhi. In order to strengthen links with State Governments and to coordinate the implementation of the Mission’s projects, the Zonal Cultural Centers (North, South, East, West and Central Zone) under the Ministry of Culture, will be associated with the Mission.

Following up on one of the recommendations of the Gandhi Heritage Sites Panel, the Gandhi Heritage Portal has been set up by the Government of India. The portal is hosted on the Ministry’s website and has been designed and developed by the Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust (SAPMT), Ahmedabad. The Trust also maintains the Portal. Documents related to Mahatma Gandhi in India and abroad are being compiled and placed on the Portal which will serve as an Electronic Library of Gandhiji’s life and achievements. The central objective of the Portal is to preserve and perpetuate his invaluable heritage with proper research and in an authentic manner. The Ministry of Culture has released a corpus fund of Rs. 7.5 crore to SAPMT, Ahmedabad. The Portal was launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 2nd September, 2013.

The Gandhi Heritage Sites Mission will take up projects related to its terms of reference. Rs.26.82 crores has been sanctioned for the Mission spread over a period of 5 years i.e. upto the 31.3.2026

State-wise/Countries-wise List of 39 Core Sites

State/Countries Name	Sites Name
Bihar	Champaran – Courtroom in Motihari Sadaqat Ashram, Patna
Delhi	Dr. Ansari’s Residence St. Stephens College Valmiki Colony Bakhtiar Chisti’s Dargah at Mehrauli Kingsway Camp
Gujarat	Porbandar and Rajkot Sites (Childhood period) Sabarmati Jail – Cell where interned Kochrab/Sabarmati venues Court Room, Ahmedabad Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad Bhatgam, Surat
Himachal Pradesh	Manorville, Simla
Kerala	Vykom
Maharashtra	Juhu Cottage Mani Bhawan, Mumbai Maganwadi, Sevagram Sevagram Cottage Bajajwadi,Wardha Navbharat Vidyalaya, Wardha Yeravda Jail (Cell), Pune Parna Kuti, Pune Aga Khan Palace, (Prison Cell) Pune Dr. Mehta’s Nature Cure Clinic, Pune
Tamil Nadu	Tilak Ghat, Chennai Building of Dakshin Bharat Hindi Venue in Madurai – where took to loin cloth
Uttarakhand	Kausani
West Bengal	Sodepur, Kolkata Beliaghata, Kolkata ‘Step Aside’, Darjeeling ‘Natun Bari’, ‘Shyamoli’ and ‘Santiniketan Griho’ in Santiniketan The Study in Raj Bhawan, Kolkata
London	20, Baron’s Court Road, West Kensington Kingsley Hall
South Africa	Johannesburg – 11, Albemarle Street Phoenix – ‘Sarvoday’ Tolstoy Farm

The Mission will function through Committees which will supervise, guide and assist in conservation initiative, maintenance, or preservation initiative and the creation of a database of tangible, literary and visual Gandhi Heritage. Committees as recommended by the Panel have been constituted which are as follows :

Conservation Committee – chaired by Shri Kartikeya Sarabhai.
Archival Committee – chaired by Prof. Shahid Amin.
Gandhi Heritage Sites Database Committee – chaired by Dr. Sudarshan Iyengar.
Museum Committee – chaired by Shri Anupam Mishra.
A Finance Committee has also been constituted which will be headed by Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, Ministry of Culture.

Mission

Dandi Memorial

The National Salt Satyagraha Memorial, Dandi, Gujarat, India

Broadly, the Mission’s tasks were envisaged as :

State-wise/Countries-wise List of 39 Core Sites

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