What is "gherao"

n. (context India English) A protest in which a group of people surrounds a politician, building, etc. until demands are met. vb. (context India transitive English) To surround for this purpose.

Gherao, meaning "encirclement," is a word originally from Hindi/Bengali/Marathi. It denotes a tactic used by labour activists and union leaders in India. Usually, a group of people would surround a politician or a government building until their demands are met, or answers given. This principle was introduced as a formal means of protest in the labour sector by Subodh Banarjee, the PWD and Labor Minister in the 1967 and 1969 United Front Governments of West Bengal, respectively.

Owing to its popularity the word “gherao” was added to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary in 2004. Page 598 has the entry: “Gherao: n (pl. gheraos). Indian; a protest in which workers prevent employers leaving a place of work until demands are met; Origin: From Hindi” and Subodh Banarjee was referred to as the Gherao minister. In usage, the past tense of the verb, gheraoed, is more common.