Why did the salt laws become an important issue of struggle?

Explanation

(a) Poorest of poor Indian consume food that has salt as one of its prime ingredients.
British government levied tax on salt and making salt indigenously was forbidden. It was to become a big burden on the poor people of India.
(b) Some important points regarding salt law are as follows:
(i) The salt law gave a monopoly to the state in the manufacture and sale of salt. It was a commodity indispensible to rich and poor alike. It was a good tactic for mobilising for the salt law which was disliked in British India.
(ii) It was more oppressive tax. It deprived people of a valuable easy village industry and involved a great destruction of property that nature produces. Its destruction itself entailed national expenditure.
(iii) After a period of political passivity of Non cooperation movement, it was a perfect platform for relaunching a new phase of struggle. Salt law was the key tactic that was used for mobilisation of people.
(iv) Gandhiji declared a march to break salt law. He started his walking from Sabarmati ashram. He used the salt satyagraha to explain the power of civil disobedience ranging from breaking of laws.
(v)Gandhiji reached Dandi and picked a handful of salt on 6 April 1930. The entire country was expectant and activated. It was the inauguration of civil disobedience movement. It was an unsurpassed mass movement.