From Potti Sriramulu to Sonam Wangchuk: Hunger strikes that changed India’s politics

‘Hunger strike’ or ‘fast unto death’ has been observed in the annals of India’s history as one of most crushing forms of non-violent protest, demanding immediate attention to a prevailing issue. Based in Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals of satyagraha, fasting has emerged as a potent tool to bring immediate attention to demand justice and influence opinion. The crux of the method lies on the simple idea: a person or a community purposefully goes into fasting for an indefinite period to pressurise the state for immediate action.