Talk:Bandh

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What's the difference between a bandh and a hartal? Could someone please go through and define all these specifically Indian-English protest terms such as bandh, hartal, dharna, gherao, so as to draw attention to what the differences are between them, and how (if at all) they differ from UK/American English words such as strike, sit-in, etc?

I follow protest news from around the world and regularly come across these terms in the English-language Indian press, and I'm interested in whether the distinct terms which are used reveal anything specific about how social movements operate in India. I find it interesting, for instance, that while a UK/US "strike" can only usually be called by a union or other occupational body, a bandh can be called by almost any social organisation; and also that bandhs often involve roadblocks and attempts to "enforce" the bandh by blockading, by various actions against people who are active during a bandh, etc.

Well, at least Bandh and Hartal mean the same thing. "Gherao" can be literally translated as "surround/envelope",and can also be used as a verb i.e. to "gherao" the police, meaning to physically surround them say for example in the context of a street protest.