Gherao

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Gherao, meaning "encirclement," is a word originally from Hindi. It denotes a tactic used by labour activists and union leaders in India. Usually, a group of people would surround a politician or a government building until their demands are met, or answers given. This principle was introduced as a formal means of protest in the labour sector by Subodh Banarjee, the PWD and Labor Minister in the 1967 and 1969 United Front Governments of West Bengal, respectively.[1][2]

Owing to its popularity and intensity as a new method of labour action the word “gherao” was inducted into the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, 2004. Page 598 has the following entry: “Gherao: n (pl. gheraos). Indian; a protest in which workers prevent employers leaving a place of work until demands are met; Origin: From Hindi” and Subodh Banarjee was referred to as the Gherao minister.[3] In usage, the past tense of the verb, gheraoed, is more common[citation needed].

References

  1. ↑ West Bengal's Jyothi Basu - A political profile, Page 27
  2. ↑ Populist Governance
  3. ↑ A defiant rebel

See also


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