Consider the following statements about the Salt March (Dandi March) of 1930 and select the correct combination of true statements.

Introduction / Context:
The Salt March, also known as the Dandi March, was a landmark event in the Indian freedom struggle. Led by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930, it began the Civil Disobedience Movement and focused on the British monopoly over salt. The march attracted national and international attention and brought new social groups, including many women, into active participation in the nationalist movement. This question asks you to evaluate several statements about its impact and coverage.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Statement 1: The Salt March was deliberately ignored by the European media.
• Statement 2: The Salt March was widely covered by the American and European press.
• Statement 3: The Salt March was the first nationalist activity in which women participated in large numbers.
• Statement 4: The Salt March impressed upon the British the urgent need to devolve more power to Indians.
• We must judge which of these statements accurately reflect historical evidence.

Concept / Approach:
To answer this question, we should recall what historians say about the international reaction to the Salt March and its social composition. It is well established that foreign journalists followed the march closely and that newspapers in Europe and the United States reported it widely, so Statement 2 is correct while Statement 1 is clearly false. Women had participated in earlier movements, but the Salt March and the broader Civil Disobedience Movement marked the first time that women came out in such large numbers across India, making Statement 3 broadly correct in the exam context. Statement 4 is more interpretative; while the march put moral pressure on the British, it did not immediately convince them to devolve power, and their initial response was repression rather than concessions.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
NCERT and other widely used history books emphasise that the Salt March was widely reported abroad and that it inspired sympathetic coverage in international media, contradicting any claim that it was ignored. They also highlight the participation of women picketing liquor and foreign cloth shops during Civil Disobedience as an unprecedented phenomenon. Constitutional devolution, on the other hand, came later through the Government of India Act 1935 and was not an immediate result of the Salt March alone. These points confirm that Statements 2 and 3 are correct, while 1 and 4 are not.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• 1, 2 and 4: Includes Statement 1, which directly contradicts the well documented foreign media coverage of the march, and incorrectly treats Statement 4 as certainly true.
• 2, 3 and 4: Incorrectly accepts Statement 4 and mixes a correct reading of 2 and 3 with an overstatement about British willingness to devolve power.
• 3 and 4 only: Drops Statement 2 even though foreign press coverage was extensive and wrongly accepts Statement 4.
• 1 and 3 only: Retains the clearly wrong Statement 1 and omits Statement 2, which is correct.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent error is to think that because the British disliked the march, European media must also have ignored it, but the opposite is true: Western journalists found it highly newsworthy. Another mistake is to interpret every famous movement as if it immediately forced the British to devolve power, ignoring the long and stubborn resistance of the colonial state. Keeping these nuances in mind helps you correctly evaluate such multi statement questions.

Final Answer:
Correct answer: 2 and 3 only.