gherao

/ ɡɛˈraʊ /

noun

1. a form of industrial action in India in which workers imprison their employers on the premises until their demands are met

Word History and Origins

Origin of gherao¹

from Hindi gherna to besiege

Example Sentences

They formed a chain and blocked Pathrabe’s door in a type of civil disobedience known as a gherao, or encirclement, a favorite tactic of Indian labor activists in the 1960s.

From Los Angeles Times

Some invoked gherao, a tactic borrowed from India in which workers barricade employers in their offices until wage demands are met.

From Time Magazine Archive

In more than 1,000 instances, the workers subjected their helpless employers to a special Bengali torture�the gherao.

From Time Magazine Archive