Hartal is a term in many Indian languages for strike action, used often during the Indian Independence Movement. It is mass protest often involving a total shutdown of workplaces, offices, shops, courts of law as a form of civil disobedience. In addition to being a general strike, it involves the voluntary closing of schools and places of business. It is a mode of appealing to the sympathies of a government to change an unpopular or unacceptable decision.[1] The article describes the languages spoken in the Republic of India. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... The Indian Independence Movement incorporated the efforts by Indians to liberate the region from British, French and Portuguese and form the nation-state of India. ... It has been suggested that Civil and social disobedience be merged into this article or section. ... A general strike is a strike action by an entire labour force in a city, region or country. ...

Hartal was originally a Gujarati expression signifying the closing down of shops and warehouses with the object of realising a demand. MK Gandhi, the Indian national leader from Gujarat organised a series of anti-British general strikes which he called hartals, thereby institutionalizing it. In Bangladesh a hartal is a constitutionally recognised political method for articulating any political demand.[2] GujarātÄ« is an Indo-Aryan language, part of the greater Indo-European language family. ... Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) (Devanagari: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी), called Mahatma Gandhi, was the charismatic leader who brought the cause of Indias independence from British colonial rule to... Gujarāt (GujarātÄ«: , IPA: ,  ) is the most industrialized state in the Republic of India with 19. ...

In Sri Lanka, it is often used to refer specifically to the 1953 hartal of Ceylon. Hartals are still common in India, Bangladesh and in northern and eastern Sri Lanka. 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Hartal 1953 was a demonstration of the tremendous power of the masses in action. ...

The word hartal in India is also used in humorous sense to mean abstaining from work. The word is not pronounced the way it is written in the Roman script. Another variant which is common in Hindi-speaking regions is the bhukh hartal which translates as hunger strike.