Bandh

Bandh (Hindi: बंद), originally a Hindi word meaning 'closed', is a form of protest used by political activists in some countries like India and Nepal. During a Bandh, a political party or a community declares a general strike.^[1]

Often Bandh means that the community or political party declaring a Bandh expect the general public to stay in their homes and strike work. The main affected are shopkeepers who are expected to keep their shops closed and the public transport operators of buses and cabs are supposed to stay off the road and not carry any passengers. There have been instances of large metro cities coming to a standstill.^[2]

Bandhs are powerful means for civil disobedience. Because of the huge impact that a Bandh has on the local community, it is much feared as a tool of protest.^[3]

The Supreme Court of India tried to "ban" bandhs in 1998,^[4] but political parties still organize them. In 2004, the Supreme Court of India fined two political parties, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena for organizing a bandh in Mumbai as a protest against bomb blasts in the city.^[4] The state with the maximum Bandhs in India is West Bengal^[5] where the average number of bandhs per year is 40-50 (ranging from a couple of hours to a maximum of 2 days per bandh).

A nation-wide "Bandh" called July 5, 2010 by NDA and 13 non-UPA parties to protest fuel price hike, affected normal life across India, especially, in NDA and Left-ruled states.^[6]

In Nepal, frequencies of Bandh calls have increased due to political instability. Burglary, Forced closures, Arson attacks, Stoning and clashes between the Bandh organizers and the police are a common scenes during the period of closure.

Bharat Bandh was called by the opposition party NDA on 31st may 2012, to protest against the steep hike in petrol prices.^[7]

See also

• Strike action
• Gherao
• Hartal

References

This activism-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e