Whether the hartals or strikes are called by the Left, right or centrist parties, Kerala perhaps is the only state where they are bound to have a total impact.
While last month's Sangh Parivar sponsored all-India bandh over the Amarnath issue last month caused little disruption in BJP-ruled Gujarat, it did cripple normal life in Kerala where the saffron party is yet to prove its electoral clout.
Statistics on shutdowns compiled by the portal hartal.com show that calling this form of protest was not the preserve or political parties or trade unions. A couple of months ago it was the turn of traders to force a commercial shutdown as part of their campaign against entry of big retail chains in the state.
The cause for hartals could be different as chalk and cheese. The visit of former US president Bill Clinton to India sparked a Naxalite hartal a few months ago, while political parties vied with each other in calling hartal against the execution of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
Trade union leaders say they call strikes or protests only on genuine grounds, that too with advance notice so as to minimise hardship to people. Hartal in Kerala is actually reincarnation of the 'Bandh' which was banned by the Kerala high court on the basis of a public interest litigation several years ago.
On Wednesday, shops and business establishments remained closed and buses, taxis and autorickshaws kept off the roads. Banking services, however, were hit all over the country.
Image: A security officer walks past empty bank counters | Photograph: Raveendran/AFP/Getty Images
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