Bandh

The Supreme Court of India ruled against any sort of hooliganism in the name of 'bandh' 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 government of West Bengal also banned bandh often conducted by the communist party of India. [5] Supreme Court permits only voluntary closure of establishments during Bandhs.[6]

Bandh was a common phenomenon by political parties in many states where they are in opposition.[7] The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and 13 non-UPA parties called for a nationwide bandh on 5 July 2010, to protest a fuel price hike. This bandh prevented Indians from carrying out day-to-day tasks, especially in states that were ruled by the NDA and the left.[8] In Nepal, calls for bandhs have increased due to political instability.

Bharat bandh was called by the opposition party NDA on 31 May 2012, to protest against a steep hike in petrol prices.[9]

On 20 September 2012, the BJP and otherparties called for a nationwide bandh in response to economic reforms undertaken by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram. Chief among their grievances were the cut in subsidies for diesel and cooking gas and the decision to allow foreign investors to own majority stakes in the retail sector, including supermarkets and department stores.[10]

One noteworthy incident is of bandh after the Akshardham Temple attack in Gujarat, in September 2002; it was the first time in history that a nationwide bandh was called after a tragic incident. All of India remained closed, from small tea stalls to the commodity and other stock markets at the Bombay Stock Exchange.

In 2016, the states of Kashmir, Gujarat, and Karnataka were most badly affected by frequent bandhs and strikes.

On 1 January 2018, Buddhists, as well as some Hindu dalit and Sikh people were violently attacked by Hindutva ideological people at Koregaon Bhima in Pune district, Maharashtra. But the Maharashtra government and the state police did not take any action against the culprits i.e. Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote. So on 3 January 2018, Prakash Ambedkar called on the people of Maharashtra to call "Maharashtra Bandh". This call to shut down Maharashtra received a huge response from the people and the bandh was a success. The bandh was seen across Maharashtra including Mumbai. More than 50% Maharashtrian people supported or participated in the bandh.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

• Gherao
• Hartal
• Strike action
• Political activism in Kerala

• Johari, J. C. (1982). Comparative Politics. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi. ISBN 8120704681. Chapter 20: Techniques of Pressure Politics. pp. 393–410.