The Worth of Salt

Ahead of Independence Day, CE takes a look at the story of this white, grainy substance that has divided nations, dictated trade, stirred revolutions, and made your dinner more palatable

- Krishna P S

Common, unassuming, unpretentious, and yet, paramount. Nations have waged wars over it, governments have fallen, thousands have died, and many have rebelled—all over this white, grainy substance. Salt.

One of the earliest seasonings discovered by humankind. Thanks to its diverse uses and preservative qualities, salt quickly became a necessity, vital to everyday life.

And so, it was weaponized time and again. For Indians and Pakistanis, who will celebrate Independence Day on August 15 and 14, respectively, salt was a crucial symbol of resistance during the non-cooperation movement against British colonial rule.

"Next to air and water, salt is perhaps the greatest necessity of life," Mahatma Gandhi once explained to a skeptical Congress Working Committee, justifying his choice of the salt tax as the first target of the Satyagraha movement.