It usually takes a lot for the government to get moving in India.

But in the case of Pooja Chauhan of Rajkot city in the western Indian state of Gujarat, it actually took a lot less.

A lot less clothes, that is.

Frustrated by the indifference to her complaints of dowry harassment by her husband and in-laws, a young lady Pooja Chauhan stripped to her undergarments and walked down a busy road in Rajkot in protest on Wednesday, July 4.

This novel form of protest certainly got the attention of the Gujarat government, which swung into action – after news reports emerged – and arrested Pooja Chauhan’s husband, mother-in-law and two relatives.

The Central Government has also ordered an inquiry into the circumstances that led Pooja Chauhan to take the “less is more” path to draw attention to her plight.

The inquiry will also focus on the police action – or is it inaction – in dealing with the woman’s earlier complaints.

Dowry is a serious problem in India, with women often harassed and sometimes physically tortured and burnt for not bringing “enough” dowry in the form of cash, gold etc at the time of marriage.

Indeed, Gujaratis (as residents of Gujarat are known) have taken the lead in fashioning novel forms of protest against injustice.

Mahatma Gandhi who devised the potent weapon of Satyagraha to oust the British from India also hailed from Gujarat.