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Which of these statements are incorrect The Chipko Movement
(a) was an environmental movement to prevent cutting down of trees.
(b) raised questions of ecological and economic exploitation.
(c) was a movement against alcoholism started by the women (d) demanded that local communities should have control over their natural resources
(c) was a movement against alcoholism started by women.
Reason – Chipko movement was a non-violent movement protecting the tress. Villagers demanded that the forest should not be given to the outsiders and local communities should keep a check on the natural resources. The movement was against alcoholism in the southern district of Andhra Pradesh started by women is known as Anti-Arrack Movement. Women decided to put a ban on the sale of alcohol in their neighbourhood and to prevent violence.
Some of the statements below are incorrect. Identify the incorrect statements and rewrite those with necessary correction:
(a) Social movements are hampering the functioning of India’s democracy.
(b) The main strength of social movements lies in their mass base across social sections.
(c) Social movements in India emerged because there were many issues that political parties did not address.
(a) Social movements are hampering the functioning of India’s democracy.
Rewritten – Social movements involve a gradual and evolving process of coming together of different people from all walks of life with similar problem and raise voice against injustice.
(c) Social movements in India emerged because there were many issues that political parties did not address.
Rewritten – Social movements in India emerged to reduce the possibility of deep social conflict and alienation of groups from democracy. They raised many issues that concerned their social and political life like the dalits and the minority people to different political parties.
Identify the reasons which led to the Chipko Movement in U.P in early
1970s. What was the impact of this movement?
Chipko movement (1947-77) began in two or three villages of Uttrakhand when the forest department refused permission to the villages to fall ash tress for agriculture products and tools. The forest department allotted the same piece of land to some sports contractor for commercial use. Thus, the villagers protested against this decision of the government. This movement ignited by hugging the tress to prevent them from being cut down and linked the issue of environmental degradation. Sunderlal Bahuguna.
This movement showed that tribal
are mostly dependent upon forest products for their survival.
Impact of Chipko Movement:
1. This movement to ‘hug tress’ was one of the first grass root environment movements, which attracted national as well as the international attention.
2. This was not only a movement to save environment but also seen as a ‘feminist movement’ not only because of their active participation but also because deforestation was seen affecting women’s life in the hills in their search fuel and fodder.
3. Chipko Movement was not only a movement to save environment but it had a larger social base.
4. The government issued a ban on falling of tress in the Himalayan region for fifteen years.
5. Chipko Movement created awareness among the women of hilly regions as they became aware about their legal rights.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union is a leading organisation highlighting the plight of farmers. What were the issues addressed by it in the nineties and to what extent were they successful?
The Bharatiya Kisan Union was established in 1980. It is mainly active in Punjab and Western U.P. In 1986 Mahender Singh Tikait became its chief. Bharatiya Kisan Union is an organization highlighting the plight of the farmers. The state failed to take any action against the farmer for non-payment of bills because the farmers were fully involved in the moment. This movement was against the state and not against the landlords.
The BKU addressed many economic issues:
1. It demanded ending zonal recession on movement of food grains.
2. Electricity rate should be reduced.
3. Price of sugarcane and milk should be raised.
4. It demanded writing of government Levies payable by farmers of Punjab for provision of canals.
5. Adequate compensation in case of natural disaster.
6. Government should take the responsibility for selling the produce. Many demands of BKU were accepted by the government. In most of the cases government made concession. The Bharatiya Kisan Union familiarized the farmers with latest farming techniques, equipments, methods, etc. It inspired farmers to start small scale agro industries.
Right from the beginning BKU remained away from parties and did not align itself from any other political party thus it’s a non-political, secular and non-violent organization.
The anti-arrack movement in Andhra Pradesh drew the attention of the country to some serious issues. What were these issues?
In Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh were habitual of taking alcohol that is arrack. The habit of alcoholism was running the health of people and also financial conditions of people were ruined. Women and children were the worst sufferers of the ill effect of alcohol. Women in Nellore district came together and started Anti-arrack movement. Many wine shops were closed in Nellore. In 1992, women took out a big procession in Hyderabad to mark protest giant the sale of arrack. The slogan of Anti-arrack was - “Prohibition on the sale of arrack’. Issues raised in the Anti-arrack movement:
1. The core issue of the Anti-arrack movement aimed at the sale of alcohol (arrack).
2. Its demand touched upon the larger section of social, economic, political issue which has established a close nexus between crime and politics.
3. Women openly discussed the issues of domestic violence in the light of Anti- arra
ck movement of Andhra Pradesh. It drew the attention of the country to some series issues like domestic violence, se(x)ual ab(u)se at work and public places dowry, etc.
Would you consider the anti-arrack movement as a women’s movement? Why?
Anti-arrack movement in Andhra Pradesh was certainly a moment of women. In Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh women came together in a spontaneous local initiative to protest against arrack (local alcohol) and forced the closure of the wine shops. The news got spread very fast and the women of about five thousand villages got inspired and met together in meetings and passed resolution for complete prohibition of these alcohols and sent these resolutions to high district collectors and higher authorities. Due to women protest, arrack auctions in Nellore district were postponed 17 times. 1992 women took out a big procession in Hyderabad to protest against the sale of “arrack”. Women also raised the issue of domestic violence within family or outside. These campaigns contributed in the increase in social awareness and as well as shifted from legal reforms to open social confrontations. Consequently the women demanded equal representation to women in politics during the 90s, 73rd and 74th amendments granted reservations to women in local level and political offices. Hence, Anti- arrack movement became a huge part of the women’s movement.
Why did the Narmada Bachao Aandolan oppose the dam projects in the Narmada Valley?
In early 80’s. Development project was launched in the Narmada Valley of central India. The project consisted of 30 big dams, 135 medium sized and about 3 thousand small dam to be constructed on Narmada. Sardar Sarovar Project in the Madhya Pradesh was the biggest and important projects. Narmada Bachao Andolan was started in 1988-1989. Narmada Bachao Andolan opposed the dam project and questioned several ongoing development projects in the country:
1. The construction of the Narmada dam requires 245 to get submerged. It also required about two and a half lakh people from these villages in the construction.
2. It demanded that there should be a cost benefit analysis of the major development of projects due to construction of dams submerged around those 245 villages and relocation of the 2and half lakh population of the village.
3. The movement demanded proper rehabilitation of all those people who were affected due the construction of these projects.
4. The movement also questioned the nature of decision making process to be in a framing of Mega-scale development projects.
5. The NBA also demanded participation of local people in decision making and should also have effective control over natural resources.
6. Ultimately the government and the judiciary accepted the right to rehabilitation. The comprehensive National Rehabilitation Policy was formed by the government in 2003.
Do movements and protests in a country strengthen democracy? Justify your answer with examples.
In the whole world movements and protest are considered a part of democratic system. Movements and protest in peaceful manner strengthen the democratic system. But some critics of movements and protests are of a view that collective actions i.e., strikes, dharna, bandh and demonstrations, etc., disrupt the functioning of the government, delay in decision- making and destabilise the routines of democratic system.
Effective representation to different groups and their demand are ensured by popular movements and protests. Involvement of different groups in popular movement has broadened the participation of masses in a democratic system.
The studies of popular movement are very helpful in understanding the nature of democratic politics. These movements have proved very helpful in solving some problems of party-politics and thus these movements should be seen as an integral part of our democratic life.
Generally in these movements socially backward people and sections of the society participates or someone else on their behalf to readdress their grievances. These people have no voice in routine working of the democracy hence their voice can be put aloud through these movements.
In the interest of masses democratic politics requires a broad alliance of different disadvantage social groups. But under leadership of these movements such an alliance is not developing. Political parties are required to play an effective role in bringing the different social group together under common leadership. But in reality political parties are not playing proper and effective role because the relationship between popular movements and political parties has grown weaker over the years. At present, it is one big problem of Indian politics.
What issues did the Dalit Panthers address?
In Indian society, the word Dalit clearly indicates for backward and lower classes, whereas the fact is that no particular caste or class is included in the Dalit class. Dr Ambedkar played a very important role for the improvement of the Dalits. When in 1971, Indian Republican party was disintegrating in Maharashtra, another organization called Dalit Panthers emerged over there under the leadership of Raja Dhale and Namdev Dhasal.
Dalit Panthers was a militant organization of educated Dalit youths. Babu Rao Bagul, E.P. Soukamble gave direction to Dalit policies through their literature and art work and biographies. Dalit Panthers explicitly challenged caste system and Brahmanism
Dalit Panthers rose following issues for the development of the Dalits:
1. The Panthers aim was to unite the Dalit community and to bring them into their fold.
2. According to the manifesto of the Dalit Panthers, Dalit word includes scheduled caste and scheduled tribes, new Buddhist, economically backward workers, women, landlords, poor peasants and all those who were being exploited.
3. According to Dalit Panther’s manifesto, the main problems that dalits faced are lack of food, water and shelters, jobs, land and their unequal social status and atrocities on them.
4. According to them their problem could be solved by acquiring economic and political power.
5. Liberalization of scheduled caste is possible only with a basic change in the system through revolution.
6. They opposed the anti-dalit policy of the government.
7. Namdev and Dhale formulated a program for the betterment of the dalits in February in 1974 and this program is also known as the ‘Last Struggle’
8. Dalit Panthers described shiv sena fascist Hindu organization.
9. Dalit Panthers had concentrated on the problem of Dalit women, land disputes and retailing the Shiv Sena activities.
10. They demanded Dalitism. It was a demand for separate village settlements for Dalit where there could e no exploitation by superior people.
11. Dalit Panthers have full faith in constitutional methods.
Conclusion - No doubt Dalit Panthers played an important role for the betterment of Dalits in Maharashtra, but Dalit Panthers did not succeed in achieving their aims because of their disintegration in a short period. Some of its leaders left to join left Movement whereas others joined Congress.
Read the passage and answer questions below:
…., nearly all ‘new social movements’ have emerged as corrective to new maladies – environmental degradation, violation of the status of women, destruction of tribal cultures and the undermining of human rights – none of which are in and by themselves transformative of the social order. They are in that way quite different from revolutionary ideologies of the past. But their weakness lies in their being so heavily fragmented. …… …. …….a large part of the space occupied by the new
social movements seem to be suffering from .. various characteristics which have prevented them from being relevant to the truly oppressed and the poor in the form of a solid unified movement of the people. They are too fragmented, reactive, ad hocish, providing no comprehensive framework of basic social change. Their being anti-this or that (anti- West, anti-capitalist, anti-development, etc) does not make them any more coherent, any more relevant to oppressed and peripheralized communities. — RAJNI KOTHARI
(a) What is the difference between new social movements and revolutionary ideologies?
(b) What according to the author are the limitations of social movements?
(c) If social movements address specific issues, would you say that they are ‘fragmented’ or that they are more focused? Give reasons for your answer by giving examples.
(a) Almost all new social movements have emerged as corrective to new maladies i.e., environmental degradation, violation of the status of the women, destruction of tribal culture and undermining human rights – none of which are in and by themselves transformation of the social order. They are in the way quite different from revolutionary ideologies of the past.
(b) According to the author these social movements are not any more coherent, relevant, to oppressed and peripheralised communities. To some extent these are affected by party politics. All these according to him act as a barrier in social movements.
(c) If social movements address specific issues, they are fragmented because they are providing no comprehensive framework of basic social change i.e., Anti-arrack movement, Dalit Panthers, etc.
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