Hunger strikes, a tactic with roots reaching beyond India's borders, remain a potent tool in the country's political landscape. Anthropologist Sayantan Saha Roy of the University of Connecticut notes that hunger strikes are a global form of protest, not uniquely Indian. However, he explains that in India, where governments can become unresponsive, fasting is often perceived by protesters as the sole remaining avenue to compel action from those in power.
Historically, the hunger strike emerged as a shared language of democratic, anti-colonial resistance across the British Empire, adopted by suffragettes in Britain and nationalists in Ireland and India. Mahatma Gandhi transformed this tactic into an enduring moral and political act. His approach positioned fasting as an act of self-sacrifice that, as the protester's body weakens, intensifies moral and political pressure on authorities.
Recent examples highlight the continued use of this protest method. Activist Anna Hazare engaged in a 13-day fast in 2011 that energized an anti-corruption campaign. Irom Sharmila protested the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in India's northeast by refusing food for 16 years, requiring authorities to force-feed her. Social activist Medha Patkar has also undertaken prolonged hunger strikes demanding fair compensation and rehabilitation for those displaced by large dam projects.
Saha Roy emphasizes that the effectiveness of a hunger strike hinges on its audience. "Hunger strikes have to be performative to be persuasive," he states. "They're not just aimed at the state, but at the public, whose outrage can pressure those in power." He points to the Irish hunger strikes of the 1970s and 80s, where republican protesters sought to mobilize the Irish public by vividly demonstrating their suffering and willingness to die. In such cases, the hunger striker's body becomes a symbol of the state's perceived cruelty.
However, Saha Roy cautions that there is no guarantee of public or state response. "The body's weakening becomes a demonstration of suffering and a moral appeal," he notes, "but there's no guarantee the audience will respond, which is what makes hunger strikes such a precarious form of protest."
Environmental activist and education reform campaigner Sonam Wangchuk is among those who have recently employed this tactic, continuing his indefinite hunger strike. Such actions underscore the enduring, albeit risky, role hunger strikes play in Indian political activism, drawing on a legacy that stretches back to Gandhi.