Hartal

Today is hartal in Trivandrum. For those who don't know hartal implies you should stay at home. They are usually declared by politival parties. Are there hartals in other parts of the world? Why can't they plan hartals close to the weekend? So we can have a looong weekend? Mondays or Fridays would be fine. Apparently 2 people got involved in a scuffle in Bheemapalli. This led to the chain of events which has resulted in the hartal. What would have happened had the persons hugged each other instead?