The formula for a successful hartal

In order for a hartal to succeed a very precise recipe has to be followed. The ultimate goal is for the majority of citizens to boycot work, travel and other normal activities.
The decisions to call a hartal are made at meetings of the AL’s Presidium Committee or the BNP’s Steering Committee. After a hartal has been declared, the parties initiate pre-hartal activities for three or four days before. The student wings of the parties (the BNP’s Chatra Dal and the AL’s Chatra League) are usually the ones in charge of making this happen. Rallies are organized around university campuses and members of the armed cadres are present with the purpose of instilling an element of fear by letting off “cocktail” explosives. Also, on top of the student wings, different city wards carry out similar activities, staging rallies and setting off small explosions.


On the hartal day, students stage rallies starting on the campuses. The first task is marching close to police barricades and try to antagonize police personnel. Then, bombs are thrown towards the barricades causing the police to respond in force. And then the "fun" begins. Party activists have similar tasks all over the city, focusing on specific areas and streets. Violence include letting off bomb explosions, burning tires and ransacking rickshaws, CNGs, and cars. Buses are set on fire.

A large mass of people is also key to a successful hartal, therefore people are hired to participate. The hired hands generally come mainly from the slums via the mastaans, the middlemen. This practice is being used both by the AL and BNP.