Definitions for "Hartal"
India A general strike.
a democratic way of protest and I understand the feelings of the Tamil people who had been suppressed for so long
strike. Popularized by Gandhi as a form of civil disobedience, it's now common for shops in Bombay to be forcibly shut down by the local politician's goons at the slightest excuse.
a great opportunity to catch up on all that reading you felt you should do but kept putting off because there was no time