President of India's Congress Party Soni

MATWAD, INDIA: President of India's Congress Party Sonia Gandhi (R/lower) walks with party members and supporters as they take part in a renactment of the 'Dandi March' near the village of Matwad, some 310kms west of Ahmedabad, 05 April 2005. Hundreds have taken part in the march held to mark the 75th anniversary of the march undertaken by Mahatma Gandhi. On 12 March 1930, Mahatma Gandhi, aged 61 and wearing just a loincloth and a shawl, began walking staff in hand from Ahmedabad, capital of western Gujarat state, eastwards to the seaside village Dandi, 388 kilometres (241 miles) away.Gandhi and his band of 78 loyalists picked up more and more supporters as they wound through open countryside, villages and small towns, arriving in their thousands in Dandi on April 6 -- 24 days after they had set out from Ahmedabad. Watched by huge crowds, the icon of India's freedom movement broke the law by picking up a small lump of natural salt. With this simple act Gandhi ended the monopoly of the British authorities over salt production in India; by law, salt could only be produced by the government. He also effectively broke the back of the British empire. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP via Getty Images)