"Hartal" is a Gujurati word. "Har" means "everything" or "always"; "Tal" or "tala" means "to close". The word "hartal" means a day of mourning or protest, on which all the shops are shut and no-one goes to work or does any shopping. During India's struggle for independence Gandhi took up the hartal in the form of a one-day general strike and boycott of commercial activity during which people engaged in prayer and fasting. The hartal is still a common form of protest even today - in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, for example. Kashmir on 27 March 2002: During a hartal to demand the release of nonviolent activist Yasin Malek, all the shops are shut and the streets of the major cities are deserted. The hartal is a nonviolent method used in political conflict and participation is voluntary. It is distinguished from "bandh" or "bundh", a general strike which is enforced by the threat of violence against strike breakers. Such strikes are also common in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and may be designated by some people as a "hartal". We regard hartal as a nonviolent/"truth-forceful" way of tackling the economic causes of war, destruction of the environment and injustice. If we take a break from our everyday consumption and take time for prayer and fasting, we become aware of the part which we ourselves play in the injustice of the economic system. A hartal day of action during which many people refrain from consumption could be a powerful sign in political and economic life.
read more @ http://www.harthal.com/
courtesy hartal.org
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