Swami Nigamanand Saraswati (August 2, 1976 - June 13, 2011) was a Hindu seer who began his fast

Hunger strike

A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...

 to death on February 19, 2011 to save the river Ganges from pollution caused by illegal mining. He died on on June 13 (the 68th day of his fast).

Early life

Swami Nigamanand was born Swaroopam Kumar Girish in Ladari village of Darbangha in Bihar. According to his father, he left home at the age of 18 in search of truth.

Works

On October 28, 1995, Swaroopam Kumar Girish alias Swami Nigamanand left his house at the age of 18 in “search of truth”. He just left a letter for his parents. He did not divulge where he was going, but after three years his parents came to know that Nigamanand was living at Matri Sadan Ashram in Haridwar, run by Swami Shivanand Saraswati, a native of Darbhanga.