Class 12 Sociology Notes Chapter 8 (Social movements) – Social Change and Development in India Book

Alright, let's get straight into Chapter 8: Social Movements from your 'Social Change and Development in India' textbook. This is a vital chapter, not just for understanding Indian society but also frequently tested in government exams. We'll break it down systematically.

Chapter 8: Social Movements - Detailed Notes

1. What is a Social Movement?

• Definition: A social movement is a sustained, organised collective effort aimed at bringing about or resisting social change. It involves people acting together over time, often outside established political institutions, to pursue shared goals or express shared grievances.

• Key Elements:

  • Collective Action: Involves a group of people acting together.
  • Organisation: Requires some level of structure, leadership, and coordination (can be formal or informal).
  • Sustained Effort: Not just a one-off protest; it continues over a period.
  • Objectives/Ideology: A shared set of beliefs, goals, and vision for change (or resistance to change).
  • Methods/Strategies: Employ various tactics like protests, demonstrations, lobbying, petitions, civil disobedience, awareness campaigns, etc.
  • Social Change Orientation: Aims to alter social structures, norms, policies, or power relations.

• Distinction: It's important to distinguish social movements from riots (spontaneous, less organised, often short-lived) or simple trends/fashions. Social movements have a purpose and continuity.

2. Why Do Social Movements Occur? (Theories)

While the NCERT doesn't delve deeply into complex theories, understanding the underlying reasons is helpful:

• Relative Deprivation Theory: Movements arise when people feel deprived of something they believe they are entitled to, especially when they compare their situation to others or to their own past/expected future. It's the perceived gap between expectations and reality that matters.
• Resource Mobilisation Theory: Argues that grievances alone are not enough. Movements need resources – leadership, organisation, communication networks, money, media access, support from influential allies – to succeed.
• Political Process Theory: Emphasises the role of the political environment. Movements emerge and succeed when political opportunities open up (e.g., weakening of state control, divisions among elites, increased political rights).
• New Social Movement (NSM) Theory: Explains movements arising in post-industrial societies (though relevant to India too). These often focus on issues beyond class, such as identity (gender, ethnicity), quality of life, human rights, and environmental concerns. They often have decentralised structures and involve participants from the educated middle class.

3. Social Movements and Social Change

• Social movements are both agents and outcomes of social change.
  • Agents: They actively challenge existing norms and structures, pushing for reforms or revolutions. Examples: Anti-caste movements challenged the caste hierarchy; environmental movements pushed for policy changes.
  • Outcomes: Broader social, economic, or political changes can create grievances or opportunities that lead to the formation of new movements. Example: Globalisation led to anxieties and movements focusing on livelihoods or cultural identity.

4. Types of Social Movements (Focus on Indian Context as per NCERT)

The NCERT classifies movements primarily based on the issues they address and the social groups involved:

• (a) Ecological/Environmental Movements:

  • Focus: Protection of the environment, sustainable development, challenging destructive development projects, rights of communities dependent on natural resources.
  • Examples:
    • Chipko Movement (Uttarakhand): Famous for villagers (especially women) hugging trees to prevent commercial felling. Highlighted ecological balance and local communities' rights over forests.
    • Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA): Protested against the construction of large dams on the Narmada river, raising issues of displacement, rehabilitation, environmental impact, and the development model itself. Questioned the 'cost-benefit' analysis of large projects.
  • Significance: Brought environmental concerns into mainstream political discourse, highlighted the conflict between development paradigms and local livelihoods/ecology.

• (b) Class-Based Movements:

  • Focus: Addressing economic exploitation, inequality, and rights based on class position.
  • i. Peasant Movements:
    • Historical Context: Colonial era (Indigo revolt, Deccan riots), Post-Independence (Tebhaga, Telangana movements demanding land reforms, fair prices, relief from debt).
    • Issues: Land tenure, rent, forced labour, moneylending exploitation, access to credit, remunerative prices for produce, subsidies, opposition to land acquisition.
    • Nature: Varied from demanding specific reforms to radical calls for land redistribution.
  • ii. Workers' Movements:
    • Historical Context: Emerged with industrialisation in cities like Bombay, Calcutta, Madras. Early focus on better wages and working conditions.
    • Issues: Wages, job security, working hours, social security, right to form unions, privatisation, impact of globalisation on labour.
    • Organisation: Primarily through Trade Unions, often affiliated with political parties. Strikes are a major tool.

• (c) Caste-Based Movements:

  • Focus: Challenging caste hierarchy, discrimination, untouchability, demanding social justice, equality, representation, and dignity.
  • i. Dalit Movements:
    • Historical Context: Long history of struggle against untouchability and oppression. Leaders like Jyotirao Phule, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar provided ideological foundations.
    • Issues: Abolition of untouchability, access to education, employment, political representation (reservations), land rights, combating atrocities, cultural assertion, self-respect.
    • Examples: Satnami movement (Central India), Adi Dharma movement (Punjab), Mahar movement (Maharashtra), Dalit Panthers (more radical phase in the 1970s). Contemporary movements focus on implementing constitutional safeguards and fighting subtle forms of discrimination.
  • ii. Backward Class/OBC Movements:
    • Focus: Gaining recognition, challenging upper-caste dominance, demanding reservations in government jobs and education.
    • Key Moments: Kaka Kalelkar Commission, Mandal Commission and the subsequent protests for and against implementation of its recommendations.
  • iii. Upper Caste Movements: Sometimes emerge as a reaction, opposing policies like reservations.

• (d) Tribal Movements:

  • Focus: Asserting tribal identity, autonomy, rights over land and forests ('jal, jangal, zameen'), resisting displacement due to development projects, opposing exploitation by outsiders (moneylenders, traders, contractors).
  • Historical Context: Numerous uprisings during colonial rule (Santhal Rebellion, Munda Rebellion under Birsa Munda).
  • Post-Independence Issues: Demand for separate states (Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh), protection of cultural identity, implementation of protective legislation (like PESA), rehabilitation for displaced populations. Often overlap with ecological and class issues.

• (e) Women's Movements:

  • Focus: Gender equality, challenging patriarchy, fighting violence against women (dowry, domestic violence, rape), demanding legal reforms, political representation, reproductive rights, economic opportunities.
  • Phases: Early phase linked with social reform movements and the nationalist movement. Post-independence phase (especially from the 1970s onwards) saw autonomous women's groups emerge, focusing on issues like violence, personal laws, representation, and challenging patriarchal structures in all spheres.
  • Diversity: The movement is diverse, reflecting differences in class, caste, religion, and region among women.

5. Features of Social Movements (General)

• Ideology and Objectives: Provide direction and justification.
• Leadership: Crucial for mobilisation, strategy, and articulation of demands.
• Organisation: Formal or informal structures for coordination.
• Strategies and Tactics: Vary widely – persuasion, protest, non-cooperation, legal action.
• Life Cycle: Often conceptualised as having stages: emergence, coalescence (mobilisation), bureaucratisation (formalisation), and decline (success, failure, repression, co-optation). (Though not always linear).

6. Significance in India

• Deepened democracy by providing avenues for participation outside electoral politics.
• Gave voice to marginalised and oppressed groups.
• Influenced public policy and legislation (e.g., environmental laws, laws against domestic violence, reservations).
• Raised awareness about critical social issues.
• Contributed to the ongoing process of social transformation in India.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. Which of the following is a defining characteristic of a social movement?
   (a) Spontaneous and short-lived outburst
   (b) Sustained collective action with shared objectives
   (c) Individual acts of charity
   (d) Government-sponsored development program

2. The Chipko Movement in Uttarakhand is primarily associated with:
   (a) Workers' rights
   (b) Anti-caste struggle
   (c) Ecological protection and forest rights
   (d) Demand for a separate state

3. Which theory of social movements emphasizes the importance of leadership, organisation, and communication networks for success?
   (a) Relative Deprivation Theory
   (b) Resource Mobilisation Theory
   (c) Political Process Theory
   (d) New Social Movement Theory

4. The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) primarily raised concerns regarding:
   (a) Caste discrimination in villages
   (b) Low wages for industrial workers
   (c) Displacement and environmental impact of large dams
   (d) Religious conversions

5. Movements like the Tebhaga and Telangana struggles are examples of:
   (a) Tribal movements
   (b) Peasant movements
   (c) Women's movements
   (d) Environmental movements

6. The Dalit Panthers, emerging in the 1970s, were associated with:
   (a) Promoting traditional caste occupations
   (b) A more assertive and radical phase of the Dalit movement
   (c) Supporting the construction of large dams
   (d) Demanding rights for industrial workers

7. Which commission's recommendations led to widespread protests regarding reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs)?
   (a) Sarkaria Commission
   (b) Kothari Commission
   (c) Mandal Commission
   (d) Shah Commission

8. 'New Social Movements' are often characterised by their focus on:
   (a) Purely economic class struggle
   (b) Issues of identity, quality of life, and human rights
   (c) Overthrowing the state through violent means only
   (d) Preserving traditional hierarchies

9. The struggle for the creation of states like Jharkhand is best classified as a:
   (a) Peasant Movement
   (b) Workers' Movement
   (c) Tribal Movement
   (d) Ecological Movement

10. Which statement accurately reflects the relationship between social movements and social change?
    (a) Social movements only occur after social change has happened.
    (b) Social change completely prevents the formation of social movements.
    (c) Social movements are agents of social change, and social change can also trigger movements.
    (d) Social movements have no significant impact on social change.

Answer Key:

1. (b)
2. (c)
3. (b)
4. (c)
5. (b)
6. (b)
7. (c)
8. (b)
9. (c)
10. (c)

Remember to supplement these notes by reading the original NCERT chapter thoroughly. Pay attention to the specific examples and case studies mentioned, as questions often draw directly from them. Good luck with your preparation!