In association with Tata Salt

There are some things that we learn in school but remember even after we leave the red brick walls behind. For me, it was learning about Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi March when I was in class 8. The salt satyagraha was a powerful moment in our history when the father of our nation embarked upon a 390 kilometres march from Sabarmati to Dandi with 78 of his trusted volunteers.

In his famous speech on 11th March 1930, Mahatma Gandhi invited every section of the society to come forward and participate in the civil disobedience movement to defy the taxes imposed by the British government on salt. And this year, as we commemorated the 91st anniversary of Dandi March, Gandhiji yet again shared an important message with his countrymen. But this time, it was for our struggle against the current world health crisis.  

Tata Salt took the noble responsibility of reminding us to stay patient and not lose hope in this crucial battle against the pandemic. The brand came up with an AR driven campaign called #NamakKeWaastey, for which they used a lifelike avatar of Gandhiji to come alive on our phone screens, and urge us to join a virtual march against COVID-19. 

In the AR filter, we could see Gandhiji standing with his lathi, and wearing a mask. On tapping the screens, we could even hear Gandhiji’s voice as he delivered a 30-second message on the importance of collectively practising social distancing and abiding by the guidelines of the health ministry to curb the spread of the virus. 

With global medical industries working so hard to generate the ultimate weapon to eradicate coronavirus, it’s only fair that we support them in their mission by wearing masks, carrying a sanitiser, and washing our hands properly. You can check out the filter here

This has been a hard time for us and this world has been working cohesively to defeat the deadly virus for a while now. But we shouldn’t forget that we still have a long way to go. This campaign by Tata Salt has been an engaging and innovative technology intervention. But most importantly, it has made us realise that while the nature of our struggle against independence might have changed, our spirits should not.