 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(May 2023) |
A human chain is a form of demonstration in which people link arms or hands as a show of political solidarity.
The chains can involve thousands of people, with the world record being claimed in 2020 by Bihar, India, which was estimated to include 51.7 million people across 18,000 kilometres (11,000 mi), to support the government's efforts towards environment conservation and eradication of social evils. [1]
| Date | Event | Location | Number of participants | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1982 | Embrace the Base | RAF Greenham Common Newbury, Berkshire, England | 30,000 (women) | Protested siting of American nuclear missiles in West Germany. |
| 1 April 1983 | 14-mile (23 km) human chain | Greenham to Aldermaston and the ordnance factory at Burghfield | 70,000 (40,000 – 80,000) | Protested siting of American nuclear missiles in West Germany. |
| May 25, 1986 | Hands Across America | United States | 5,000,000 | Charitable event to raise money to fight hunger and homelessness. |
| August 23, 1989 | Baltic Way | Estonia; Latvia; Lithuania | 2,000,000 | Called for the end of the Soviet occupation of the Baltic countries, and for the restoration of the independence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. |
| January 21, 1990 | Reunion Day | Lviv–Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR (now Ukraine) | 450,000 (according to Soviet militsiya); 3,000,000 (according to organizers) [2] | Marking the 71st anniversary of the Act Zluky, an agreement unifying the Ukrainian People's Republic and the West Ukrainian National Republic. |
| August 1997 | XII World Youth Day, 1997 | Paris, France | 400,000 | A 36 km ring surrounding Paris facing outwards, symbolically calling for peace. |
| 16 May 1998 | Jubilee 2000 Human Chain | Birmingham, UK | 70,000 – 100,000 | The first Chain demonstration by Jubilee 2000, a coalition of church and faith groups, overseas development agencies and others at the G8 Summit in Birmingham, UK, to highlight the indebted poverty of many poor countries and the need for the G8, World Bank and IMF to act to remit that debt. The Chain surrounded Birmingham city center including the International Convention Center. |
| September 8, 1999 | Protest against violence in East Timor | Lisbon | 300,000+ | A 20 km ring connecting the United Nations delegation and the embassies of Russia, China, UK, France and the US in Lisbon, calling for the end of violence in East Timor. [3] |
| February 28, 2004 | 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally | Taiwan | 1,000,000+ ( 2,000,000+ according to organizers) | Commemoration of the February 28 Incident and protest of People's Republic of China missiles aimed at Taiwan. |
| July 25, 2004 | Israeli Chain | Gush Katif (Jewish communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip, Israel), to the Western Wall, Jerusalem (90 kilometers) | 130,000 (according to police) | Opposing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Disengagement Plan which involves dismantling of Jewish communities and settlements of Gush Katif. |
| December 11, 2004 | 'No Confidence' campaign to the BNP-led alliance government | Teknaf to Tentulia, Bangladesh | 5,000,000+ and | The participants were supporters of 14 opposition parties led by the Bangladesh Awami League to express their 'No Confidence' campaign to the BNP-led alliance government and to demand fresh polls. [4] It was 1,050 km (652.4 miles) long. |
| May 1, 2006 | Great American Boycott | New York City. (Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn Bronx) | 12,000 (according to CNN ) [5] | Protesting H.R. 4437, a bill in Congress to toughen immigration checks. |
| February 25, 2008 | Gaza Chain | Gaza | 20,000 [6] | Protesting Israeli blockade of Gaza |
| September 1, 2008 | "Stop Russia" campaign [7] | Georgia | 1,000,000 (according to the Georgian authorities) [8] | Protesting Russian military intervention |
| October 24, 2008 | 2009 Tamil protests in India [9] | Chennai, India | 100,000 – 150,000 | Protesting the violence against Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Civil War. |
| December 13, 2008 | "Mumbai citizens form human chain to protest attacks" [10] | Mumbai, India | 60,000 | Protesting Against the terror attacks that took place in Mumbai on the 26th of November 2008 |
| January 28, 2009 | 2009 Tamil protests in Canada [11] | Toronto, Canada | 20,000 | Protesting the violence against Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Civil War. |
| June 9, 2009 | Green Chain, Iran's Presidential Election 2009 Iranian Election Protests | Tehran, Iran | 18,000 – 30,000 | In support of Mir-Hossein Mousavi [12] [13] |
| October 2, 2009 | Kerala CPM, 2009 ASEAN agreement Protest | Kerala, India | 200,000 | Protesting against the ASEAN and New Delhi free trade agreement |
| February 3, 2010 | Telangana JAC, Telangana Human Chain | Andhra Pradesh, India | The people of Telangana formed a 500 kilometers-long human chain all along the National Highway number 7 from Adilabad on the northernmost tip of the region to Alampur on the borders of Kurnool district, to press their demand for forming a separate state. [14] [15] | |
| December 10, 2012 | Human Chain for Human Rights. | Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India | 20,000 | 25 km long Human chain formed for Human Rights on Human Rights Day on December 10, 2012 by 20,000 tribal students of Kalinga Institute of Social Science (KISS) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India . [16] [17] |
| September 11, 2013 | Catalan Way Towards Independence | Throughout Catalonia | 1,600,000 [18] | 480 km long Human chain organized by the Assemblea Nacional Catalana for the independence of Catalonia. [19] |
| November 29, 2013 | Pro-European Union protests / Against Russian intervention | Various, largest from Ukraine to Subcarpathian Voivodeship. Also Lithuania – Latvia. | 2,000,000+ [20] [21] | Symbolic "linking" of Ukraine to the European Union [20] |
| June 8, 2014 | Human Chain For The Right to Decide of the Basque Country | Throughout Basque Country, [22] from Durango to Iruñea-Pamplona | 150,000+ | 123 km long Human chain organized by Gure Esku Dago for the Self-determination of the Basque Country. [22] |
| October 1, 2015 | Madhesh Human Chain [23] | Mechi to Mahakali, Hulaki Rajmarg, Nepal. | 1,500,000+ | The 2015 Human Chain for Madhesh Movement was an organised protest in Nepal for pressurizing the government of Nepal to withdraw the discriminatory policies being institutionalized in the constitution that came in effect on 20 September 2015. The Madheshis the residents and indigenous population of Madhesh, the southern plains of Nepal, created world record in creating 1155 km of human chain to draw attention of Nepal government. [24] |
| December 29, 2016 | Kerala LDF, 2016 Indian Bank Note Demonetization Protest | Kerala, India | 1,000,000+ (according to estimates made by the organizers) | Protesting against the demonetization of ₹500 (US$7.40) and ₹1,000 (US$15) banknotes [25] |
| 21 January 2017 | Support for Total prohibition | Bihar, India | 20,000,000 | The participants expressed support to implement and promote complete Prohibition of liquor and intoxicants in the territory of the State of Bihar and in favour of the law to be passed by Nitish Kumar Government by forming human chain of around 12,760 km across the state of Bihar. [26] [27] It was of the length of 11,292 km (7,017 mi). |
| June 10, 2018 | Human chain for Basque self-determination 2018 | Basque Autonomous Community, Spain | 175,000 | Advocacy for a right of the Basques to decide their political status. |
| 1 January 2019 | Vanitha Mathil (Women's wall) | Kerala, India | 3,000,000 –5,000,000 (women) | The women's wall was formed for a distance of around 620 kilometers from Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram to uphold gender equality and protest against gender discrimination. . |
| August 23, 2019 | Hong Kong Way | Hong Kong | 210,000 | Advocacy for withdrawal of the extradition bill and for democratic elections. The chain was nearly 50 km (30 mi) and stretched through Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. It was held on the 30th anniversary of the Baltic Way Chain of Freedom, a peaceful gathering that called for independence from Soviet Union. |
| October 27, 2019 | 2019–20 Lebanese protests [28] [29] | Lebanon coastline | 170,000 | Symbolize the unity of the Lebanese protesters against austerity, political corruption and sectarianism. It ran from Tripoli to Tyre. |
| January 26, 2020 | Manushya Maha Sringhala [30] [31] [32] | Kerala state | 6,000,000 – 7,500,000 | A 700 km long human chain was formed on Republic Day, across the state of Kerala in India. The chain was organized by the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) led Left Democratic Front. The chain was formed to swear an oath to protect the Constitution of India and to demand the withdrawal of the Citizenship Amendment Act and non-implementation of the National Register of Citizens. |
The Students' Islamic Movement of India is a banned terrorist organisation that was formed in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh in April 1977. The stated mission of SIMI is the "liberation of India" by converting it to an Islamic land, or Dār al-'Islām. The SIMI, an organisation of extremists has declared Jihad against India, the aim of which is to establish Dār al-'Islām by converting everyone to Islam.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electoral seats, and one of the national parties of India. The party was founded through a splitting from the Communist Party of India in 1964 and it quickly became the dominant faction.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest communist party in India. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur on 26 December 1925.
The National Democratic Alliance is a right-wing Indian political group led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was founded on 15 May 1998 and currently controls the government of India as well as the government of 19 Indian states and one Union territory.
The Other Backward Class (OBC) is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify communities that are "educationally or socially backward". It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with general castes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The OBCs were found to comprise 52% of the country's population by the Mandal Commission report of 1980 and were determined to be 41% in 2006 when the National Sample Survey Organisation took place. There is substantial debate over the exact number of OBCs in India; it is generally estimated to be sizable, but many believe that it is higher than the figures quoted by either the Mandal Commission or the National Sample Survey.
The All India Students' Federation (AISF) is the oldest student organisation in India, founded in 1936.
The Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) or SUCI(C) is an anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist communist party in India. The party was founded by Shibdas Ghosh, Nihar Mukherjee and others in 1948.
Popular Front of India (PFI) is an Islamic political organisation in India, that engages in a radical and exclusivist style of Muslim minority politics. Formed to counter Hindutva groups, it was banned by the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on 28 September 2022 for a period of five years.
Communism in India has existed as a social or political ideology as well as a political movement since at least as early as the 1920s. In its early years, communist ideology was harshly suppressed through legal prohibitions and criminal prosecutions. Eventually, communist parties became ensconced in national party politics, sprouting several political offshoots.
The Naxalite–Maoist insurgency is part of an ongoing conflict between left-wing extremist groups and the Indian government. The Naxalites are a group of communist supportive groups, who often follow Maoist political sentiment and ideology.
Alcohol is prohibited in the states of Bihar, Gujarat, Mizoram, and Nagaland. All other Indian states and union territories permit the sale of alcohol.
The Telangana protests 2004-2010 refers to the movements and agitations related to the Telangana movement that took place between the years 2004 and 2010. For the 2004 Assembly and Parliament elections, the Congress party and the TRS had an electoral alliance in the Telangana region to consider the demand of separate Telangana State. However, again in 2006, the then Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy categorically said that the state would remain united. This again resulted in statewide protests. In 2009, Union Minister of Home Affairs P. Chidambaram announced that the Indian government would start the process of forming a separate Telangana state, pending the introduction and passage of a separation resolution in the Andhra Pradesh assembly after an 11-day fast by K. Chandrashekar Rao. This again resulted in protests across both Andhra and Rayalseema as in a short time of the Home Minister's declaration, MLAs from the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions submitted their resignations in protest.
The state of Bihar has a number of bridges, extending from few metres to a few kilometres. The history of long bridges goes back to the British Empire when the site for the Koilwar bridge was surveyed in 1851. Since then a number of small and large bridges have crept up. Some are even largest of their kind. Mahatma Gandhi Setu, joining Patna and Hajipur was India's longest river bridge from 1982 to 2017.
Vanitha Mathil was a human chain formed on 1 January 2019 across the Indian state of Kerala to uphold gender equality and protest against gender discrimination. The wall was formed solely by women and extended for a distance of around 620 kilometres from Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram. Around three to five million women participated in the event.
The Citizenship Amendment Act (Bill) protests, also known as the CAA Protest, CAB Protest or CAA and NRC protests, occurred after the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was enacted by the Government of India on 12 December 2019. The move sparked a widespread national and overseas ongoing protests against the act and its associated proposals of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The protests first began in Assam and spread swiftly in other states such as Delhi, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura on 4 December 2019. Protests broke out rapidly across the country, although the concerns of the protesters vary.
Manushya Maha Sringhala was a human chain formed on 26 January 2020 across the Indian state of Kerala to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens. The chain was formed by approximately 6 to 7 million people and extended for a distance of 700 kilometres stretching north to south from Kasaragod to Kaliyikkavila.
No NRC movement was originated in West Bengal, after NRC Assam Draft List was published in 2018. It predated the anti-CAA protests and created the conditions for protests against the CAA to grow, especially in West Bengal. The NRC Assam Final Draft List, published on 30 July 2018, has excluded four million residents. The initial protests against NRC were organised by the Matua (Namashudra) community in West Bengal. On 1 August 2018, the members of the Matua community protested across the state, in places such as Dumdum, Sodepur, Titagarh, Palta, Halisahar, New Barrackpore, Madhyamgram, Barasat, Thakurnagar and Bhaybla in North 24 Parganas district and Chakdah, Bagula, Badkulla in Nadia district. They blocked the national highway-6 connecting Kolkata and Mumbai at Chandrapur in Howrah district. Sarva Bharatiya Namashudra Vikash Parishad promised to continue protests against NRC. They also blocked Railway traffic in various places in Bengal. Matua Mahasangha contended that NRC Assam would exclude millions of Matuas. The rail blockade by Matuas disrupted rail traffic in Sealdah division.
Nadeem Khan is a human rights activist in India serving as the National Secretary of Association for Protection of Civil Rights and Founder of UAH, actively contributing to its cause. His activism extends various communal violence incidents across India including the Bihar Communal Violence, Ram Navami Violence, and Kasganj violence of 2018. He also aligned the victims with others for sponsorship.