Solution of Chapter 7. Rise of Popular Movements (Politics In India Since Indepen Book)

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.

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.

(b) Social movements in India emerged because there were many issues that political parties did not address.

Identify the reasons which led to the Chipko Movement in U.P in early 1970s. what was the impact of this movement?

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 anti-arrack movement in Andhra Pradesh drew the attention of the country to some serious issues. What were these issues?

Would you consider the anti-arrack movement as a women’s movement? Why?

Why did the Narmada Bachao Aandolan oppose the dam projects in the Narmada Valley?

Do movements and protests in a country strengthen democracy? Justify your answer with examples.

What issues did the Dalit Panthers address?

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) I f 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.