The Salt Tax And The Light Of The World
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"The Salt Tax and the Light of the World" by Sandra Herrmann
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The Salt Tax and the Light of the World
by Sandra Herrmann
Matthew 5:13-20
In 1930, Mohandas Gandhi sent a letter to the British Viceroy, who was the ruler of India according to the British empire, asking him to start the process by which India would be allowed to rule itself. In it he told the Viceroy, "If my letter makes no appeal to your heart, on the eleventh day of this month I shall proceed with such coworkers of the Ashram as I can take to disregard the provisions of the Salt Laws. I regard this tax to be the most iniquitous of all from the poor man's standpoint. As the independence movement is essentially for the poorest in the land, the beginning will be made with this evil."
The Viceroy refused his request to do away with the Salt Tax, and so on March 12, 1930, Gandhi and 78 of his male followers began the 240-mile march to the sea. By the time he and his followers got there, thousands were following his progress, and a large crowd gathered at the seaside to hear what he had to say.
What he had to say was essentially this: salt is essential for life, especially in hot climates, and temperatures in the south of India can go as high as 120 degrees at mid-day. Salt is used not only in the diet, but as a preservative -- where people have no electricity, foods need to be dried with salt or pickled (which involves immersing the food item in brine, a salt and vinegar formula) for future use. The British, however, had cornered the market on salt, imposing a tax on every bit of salt made. This tax made salt too expensive for the poorest of the poor, and thus handed down a death sentence on those people. Therefore, what Gandhi did next was illegal: He picked up a bit of salt and powdered it between his fingers. In other words, he had "made salt" in defiance of the Salt Tax law. The British were waiting, and he was arrested and jailed. His actions were considered contrary to the "public peace."
Did the Viceroy know that the poor could not afford the tax on salt? Perhaps not, though the thousands of people who sat on the sidewalks begging might have been a clue. But they used phrases every day that reflect the importance of salt.
A man is "worth his salt" if he does a good job. The very word "salary" is from the Latin for "salt," a reflection of the fact that part of a Roman soldier's pay was in the form of salt. When marching in the hot Mediterranean world, a man sweats heavily under all that armor with a pack on his back. It is necessary to replace the salt lost through sweat.
A person is said to be "below the salt" if his or her status seats them closer to the foot of the table than where the salt is placed. The higher-status folks are seated toward the host's end of the table and get first dibs on the salt. Those "below the salt" must wait their turn and take the chance that those above will not use it all.
The phrase "the salt of the earth" is not original with Jesus. A generous and dependable person has been known by this phrase for millennia.
On the other hand, the words of someone who is undependable are "taken with a grain of salt."
And of course every Brit, having spilled salt, with throwing some of it over the left shoulder to avoid the bad luck that is sure to follow. (Though it is doubtful that Gandhi would ever have thrown away even a single grain, since it is so vital to life where he lived.)
Down in the British kitchens, salt was and is the cleanser of choice for cast iron pans and Dutch ovens. When the food was done, the cook would salt the pan heavily and set it aside. The salt kills any bacteria that cling to the iron. When it comes time to wash up, hot water, a stiff brush, and the salt scours the pan, leaving a clean, burnished surface that allows for low-oil or oil-free cooking.
Even when bathing, the Brits had learned that bath salts and salt scrubs help to scrub away dead skin, dirt, and bacteria, leaving healed skin clean and pink.
Baptismal water traditionally contains salt -- both to purify the water and to mark the person as belonging to God. Salt has been used from ancient times in marking those who are dedicated to God and/or the service of God.
So yes, the British surely knew, when they made the Salt Tax, that they would make a good deal of money from it, because everyone everywhere needs salt every day. The hotter the climate and the harder one works, the more salt is needed. As for the burden on the poor of India, this is how empires keep their underlings "in order" by "preserving the peace" (no pun intended). So rather than give in on this one tax law, they arrested Gandhi and jailed him.
They had not counted on the backlash that would ensue. Across India, riots broke out, violence reigned (on both sides) and eventually -- over a decade later -- the British relinquished India to self-rule. This is another power of salt, unforeseen at the time.
Sandra Herrmann is a retired United Methodist pastor living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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StoryShare, February 9, 2014, issue.
Copyright 2014 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
"The Salt Tax and the Light of the World" by Sandra Herrmann
* * * * * * *
The Salt Tax and the Light of the World
by Sandra Herrmann
Matthew 5:13-20
In 1930, Mohandas Gandhi sent a letter to the British Viceroy, who was the ruler of India according to the British empire, asking him to start the process by which India would be allowed to rule itself. In it he told the Viceroy, "If my letter makes no appeal to your heart, on the eleventh day of this month I shall proceed with such coworkers of the Ashram as I can take to disregard the provisions of the Salt Laws. I regard this tax to be the most iniquitous of all from the poor man's standpoint. As the independence movement is essentially for the poorest in the land, the beginning will be made with this evil."
The Viceroy refused his request to do away with the Salt Tax, and so on March 12, 1930, Gandhi and 78 of his male followers began the 240-mile march to the sea. By the time he and his followers got there, thousands were following his progress, and a large crowd gathered at the seaside to hear what he had to say.
What he had to say was essentially this: salt is essential for life, especially in hot climates, and temperatures in the south of India can go as high as 120 degrees at mid-day. Salt is used not only in the diet, but as a preservative -- where people have no electricity, foods need to be dried with salt or pickled (which involves immersing the food item in brine, a salt and vinegar formula) for future use. The British, however, had cornered the market on salt, imposing a tax on every bit of salt made. This tax made salt too expensive for the poorest of the poor, and thus handed down a death sentence on those people. Therefore, what Gandhi did next was illegal: He picked up a bit of salt and powdered it between his fingers. In other words, he had "made salt" in defiance of the Salt Tax law. The British were waiting, and he was arrested and jailed. His actions were considered contrary to the "public peace."
Did the Viceroy know that the poor could not afford the tax on salt? Perhaps not, though the thousands of people who sat on the sidewalks begging might have been a clue. But they used phrases every day that reflect the importance of salt.
A man is "worth his salt" if he does a good job. The very word "salary" is from the Latin for "salt," a reflection of the fact that part of a Roman soldier's pay was in the form of salt. When marching in the hot Mediterranean world, a man sweats heavily under all that armor with a pack on his back. It is necessary to replace the salt lost through sweat.
A person is said to be "below the salt" if his or her status seats them closer to the foot of the table than where the salt is placed. The higher-status folks are seated toward the host's end of the table and get first dibs on the salt. Those "below the salt" must wait their turn and take the chance that those above will not use it all.
The phrase "the salt of the earth" is not original with Jesus. A generous and dependable person has been known by this phrase for millennia.
On the other hand, the words of someone who is undependable are "taken with a grain of salt."
And of course every Brit, having spilled salt, with throwing some of it over the left shoulder to avoid the bad luck that is sure to follow. (Though it is doubtful that Gandhi would ever have thrown away even a single grain, since it is so vital to life where he lived.)
Down in the British kitchens, salt was and is the cleanser of choice for cast iron pans and Dutch ovens. When the food was done, the cook would salt the pan heavily and set it aside. The salt kills any bacteria that cling to the iron. When it comes time to wash up, hot water, a stiff brush, and the salt scours the pan, leaving a clean, burnished surface that allows for low-oil or oil-free cooking.
Even when bathing, the Brits had learned that bath salts and salt scrubs help to scrub away dead skin, dirt, and bacteria, leaving healed skin clean and pink.
Baptismal water traditionally contains salt -- both to purify the water and to mark the person as belonging to God. Salt has been used from ancient times in marking those who are dedicated to God and/or the service of God.
So yes, the British surely knew, when they made the Salt Tax, that they would make a good deal of money from it, because everyone everywhere needs salt every day. The hotter the climate and the harder one works, the more salt is needed. As for the burden on the poor of India, this is how empires keep their underlings "in order" by "preserving the peace" (no pun intended). So rather than give in on this one tax law, they arrested Gandhi and jailed him.
They had not counted on the backlash that would ensue. Across India, riots broke out, violence reigned (on both sides) and eventually -- over a decade later -- the British relinquished India to self-rule. This is another power of salt, unforeseen at the time.
Sandra Herrmann is a retired United Methodist pastor living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
*****************************************
StoryShare, February 9, 2014, issue.
Copyright 2014 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
