A prominent wielder of this weapon was Mohandas K. Gandhi in India. Held in high esteem by hundreds of millions of people, he used fasting to exert a strong influence on India’s Hindu masses. Describing the result of his fast to settle an industrial dispute between mill laborers and mill owners, Gandhi said: “The net result of it was that an atmosphere of goodwill was created all round. The hearts of the mill-owners were touched . . . The strike was called off after I had fasted only for three days.”

Mohandas K. Gandhi used fasting as a powerful tool for political or social ends