dharna
(in India) the practice of exacting justice or compliance with a just demand by sitting and fasting at the doorstep of an offender until death or until the demand is granted.
Origin of dharna
1- Also dhur·na [duhr-nuh] /ˈdʌr nə/ .
Words Nearby dharna
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use dharna in a sentence
The word dharna means ‘to place or lay on,’ and hence ‘a pledge.’
The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India | R. V. RussellAnother custom known as dharna is that of a suppliant placing a stone on the shrine of a god or tomb of a saint.
The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India | R. V. RussellIf a woman greatly desires a child she will go to a shrine and lay a stone on it which she calls the dharna or deposit or pledge.
An Indian custom of dharna is of similar significance, though less violent.
Ethics | John Dewey and James Hayden Tufts
British Dictionary definitions for dharna
dhurna
/ (ˈdʌnə, ˈdɑː-) /
(in India) a method of obtaining justice, as the payment of a debt, by sitting, fasting, at the door of the person from whom reparation is sought
Origin of dharna
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse