- Hartal
Hartal (also hartaal) is a term in many
Indian languages forstrike action , used often during theIndian Independence Movement . It is mass protest often involving a total shutdown of workplaces, offices, shops, courts of law as a form ofcivil disobedience . In addition to being ageneral strike , it involves the voluntary closing of schools and places of business. It is a mode of appealing to the sympathies of a government to change an unpopular or unacceptable decision. [ [http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2003/08/10/fea04.html] ]Hartal was originally a Gujarati expression signifying the closing down of shops and warehouses with the object of realising a demand.
MK Gandhi , the Indian national leader fromGujarat organised a series of anti-British general strikes which he called "hartals", thereby institutionalizing it. In Bangladesh a hartal is a constitutionally recognised political method for articulating any political demand. [ [http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/H_0074.htm] ]In
Sri Lanka , it is often used to refer specifically to the1953 hartal of Ceylon. Hartals are still common inIndia ,Bangladesh and in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.Fact|date=July 2007In
Malaysia , the word "hartal" was used to refer to various general strikes in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, such as the All-Malaya hartal of1947 and thePenang hartal of1967 .The word hartal in India is also used in humorous sense to mean abstaining from work. Another variant which is common in Hindi-speaking regions is the "bhukh hartal" which translates as hunger strike.
ee also
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Gherao
*Bandh References
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