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Glite Dictionary
hartal

hartal

9.9
A large protest in South Asia where people stop work and shops close
  • noun
  • Indian
translation icon : hartal
  • The government urged citizens to stay calm during the nationwide hartal.

Examples

  • Shops and offices remained closed throughout the hartal organized by the trade unions.

  • Many commuters were stranded because of the hartal that brought public transport to a halt.

  • The workers organized a hartal to demand better wages.

  • Many shops were closed during the hartal yesterday.

  • During the hartal, all shops and schools remained closed to show solidarity with the protesters.

  • The citizens organized a hartal to demand better working conditions from the government.

  • As tensions rose, the political party called for a hartal to express their discontent with the new policy.

Synonyms

to strike
vshartal
133 3.2

To stop work as a protest to get better pay

is a wider stoppage involving whole communities rather than only workers in South Asia
work stoppage
vshartal
9 4.2

A time when workers stop working to protest about pay or conditions

is a general public stoppage often used as political protest in South Asia

How Disruptive

strike
442 3.7
hartal
  • Indian
9.9
sit-in
16 4.9
demonstration
272 3.2
petition
  • Formal
216 4.1

Surface Forms

hartal singular
hartals plural

Etymology

Hartal comes from Gujarati, where it meant 'closing shops' as a public protest. A helpful way to remember hartal is to think of the English word 'halt', because a hartal makes shops, services and transport stop.