A historical figure held his right arm raised continuously in protest for decades, causing the arm to become physically fused and fixed in a vertical position.
"There is a—I can't remember his name, but there is a famous historical figure, as I call him, who held his right—I think it was his right arm up in protest of some event, right? You see this picture, right? And decades later, his arm is basically fused vertically. Okay, your body will adapt." (said at 1:00:04)
The speaker accurately describes the phenomenon of Ūrdhvabāhu Hindu ascetics (most notably Swami Amar Bharati), who raise and hold one arm continuously aloft vertically as an ascetic practice/protest for decades, resulting in severe physical joint fusion and atrophy over time. However, the speaker frames this as a protest of an 'event', whereas in Hindu ascetic traditions such as Ūrdhvabāhu, keeping the arm continuously raised is a religious austerity (tapas) dedicated to devotion (e.g., to Shiva or world peace) rather than a secular protest of a specific event.
- context: Awkward one-armed babas: Ūrdhvabāhu Hindu Ascetics in Western Imagination (Open MIND 2021)
"These ūrdhvabāhu ascetics keep one or both of their arms held perpetually aloft as part of their austerity. They thereby maim themselves in the process." (abstract, passage verified)
openalexfull study (doi)