Chapter 4. Social and Political Movements
Q.6. Choose the correct option from the given options and complete the sentences.
1. _________ is the main demand of farmers movement.
(A) Right to cultivate on the forest land
(B) To get the right price for agricultural product
(C) Protection of consumers
(D) Building of dams
2. To increase agricultural production and become self-sufficient with regard to food grains _________ was initiated.
(A) Water revolution
(B) Green revolution
(C) Industrial revolution
(D) White revolution
3. _________ is known as ‘Waterman of India’.
(A) Dr. Rajendrasinh Rana.
(B) Medha Patkar
(C) Anna Hazare
(D) Disha Ravi
Q.7. State whether the following statements are true or false. Give reasons for your answers.
1. Movements are not important in a democracy.
Ans. The above statement is False.
Reasons:
(1) A movement, is a collective action and requires an active participation of people.
(2) The necessary information about social issues is provided to the government by the leaders and activists of the movement. This further helps the government in forming policies.
(3) Also as the Right to Protest is considered an important right.
(4) In a democratic system, existence of movements is an indicator of healthy democratic system.
Thus, movements are important in democracy.
2. Movements do not need a strong leadership.
Ans. The above statement is False.
Reasons:
(1) A movement is a collective action which requires active participation of people. Every movement requires a leadership, to keep the movement active.
(2) The leaders of the movement as well as the participating people provide the necessary information to the government.
(3) The leaders are responsible for deciding the objectives of the movement, programme of action, strategy of agitation, etc.
(4) A strong leadership can make the movement effective.
Thus, movements require a strong leadership.
3. Consumer movement came into existence.
Ans. The above statement is True.
Reasons:
(1) Consumers face different problems on account of the changing nature of social and economic systems.
(2) Some of these problems include adulteration, increased cost of items, frauds in weight and measures, etc.
Therefore the Consumer Protection Act, that came into existence in 1986 led to the emergence of the consumer movement in India. It works to protect consumers from various types of fraud.
4. The Green revolution divided the farmers into rich farmers and poor farmers.
Ans. The above statement is True.
Reasons:
(1) The Green Revolution was aimed at increasing agricultural production and achieving self-sufficiency in food grains.
(2) However, it did not benefit poor farmers.
Thus, it created a divide between the rich and poor farmers.
Q.8. (A) Explain the following concepts.
1. Tribal movement
Ans.
(1) The right of the tribal people on forest resources for their livelihood was deprived by the British government in the pre-independence period.
(2) This led to an uprising among various tribes in the country including Kolam from Chhota Nagpur, Gond from Orissa, Koli, Bhilla and Ramoshi from Maharashtra, Santhal and Munda from Bihar, known as tribal movement. Since then the tribal struggle has continued.
(3) The tribal movement mainly demanded their right over forests. They were of the opinion that they should be allowed to collect products of forests and also have a right to cultivate on forest land.
2. Workers’ movement
Ans.
(1) The latter half of the 19th century saw the rise of textile industry and railway companies in India. The workers demanded solutions to issues faced like unstable employment conditions, contract labour, financial insecurity, absence of legal protection, unlimited working hours, insecurity at the workplace, health hazards, etc.
(2) The railway workers went on strike in 1899 for the fulfilment of their demands.
(3) Later, in 1920 the first organisation, named All India Trade Union Congress was established for resolving the issues of workers. The workers’ movement became more active and organised several agitations in the post-independence period around 1960s and 1970s.
(4) However, from 1980s, these movements started getting disintegrated. They were mainly affected by globalisation.
3. Consumer movement
Ans.
(1) Consumers face different problems on account of the changing nature of social and economic systems.
(2) Some of these problems include adulteration, increased cost of items, frauds in weight and measures, etc.
(3) Therefore, the Consumer Protection Act, that came into existence in 1986 led to the emergence of the consumer movement in India.
(4) It works to protect consumers from various types of fraud.
(B) Complete the activity.
1. Complete the following diagram.
Ans.
Q.9. Answer in brief.
1. Explain the activities/role/functions of environmental movement.
Ans.
(1) Environmental degradation is a serious problem at both, national and international level.
(2) Significant international cooperation is seen in this field, with movements mainly aimed at reducing or preventing environmental degradation.
(3) The environmental movements in India take up issues like protection of bio-diversity, protecting different sources of water, protection of forests and green belt. Also preventing pollution of rivers and reducing the use of chemicals and their ill-effects etc.
(4) For e.g. Dr. Rajendrasinh Rana brought about ‘Water revolution’ in Rajasthan. He formed an organisation ‘Tarim Bharat Sangh’ which worked for building eleven thousand Johacl in hundreds of villages.
2. Explain the nature of farmers’ movement in India.
Ans.
(1) The farmers’ movement started in India when the farmers organised themselves against the anti-agricultural policies of the British colonial government. For e.g. Farmer’s movements in Bardoli, Champaranya, etc. These movements were inspired by the thoughts of Mahatma Phule, Justice Ranade and Mahatma Gandhi.
(2) The reforms in agriculture including the tenancy laws and laws relating to tilling of the land slowed down the farmers’ movement. Later, the Green Revolution, which was aimed at increasing agricultural production and achieving self-sufficiency in food grains, did not benefit poor farmers. Thus, It created a divide between the rich and poor farmers.
(3) This dissatisfaction among the poor farmers led to the beginning of farmers’ movement which then became more active and effective.
(4) Some of the demands of the farmers’ movements included appropriate pricing of agricultural products, giving the status of an industry to agriculture, accepting the recommendations of Swaminathan Commission, debt relief, debt cancellation, implementation of national policy for agriculture, etc.
(5) Some of the important farmers’ organisations in India include Shetkari Sanghatana, Bharatiya Kisan Union and All India Kisan Sabha.
3. For which reforms were the women’s movement in the pre-independence period fighting?
Ans.
(1) The women’s movements of the pre-independence period were driven by the progressive men of that period.
(2) These movements aimed at eliminating injustice against women, ending their exploitation, helping them to lead a respectful life and ensuring their active participation in social life.
(3) The initiative to abolish the practices of Sati and child marriage was taken by several reformists including Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, Raja Rammohan Roy, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, etc.
(4) They also made possible several reforms like widow remarriage, women education and right to vote to women.
4. What is a movement?
Ans.
(1) A movement is a collective action which involves active participation of people. It is generally formed when people come together in interest of a particular social issue for e.g. pollution.
(2) Every movement has a particular social objective or a focused problem. For e.g. Movement against corruption will have the objective to end corruption.
(3) Every movement requires a good leader. A good leadership keeps the movement active, makes it more effective and decides the objective of the movement, programme of action, strategy of agitation, etc.
(4) There are one or more organisations associated with every movement in order to follow up on issues. For e.g. the farmers’ movement has the farmers’ organisation.
(5) Since a movement is a collective action, it requires public support. It is essential that the public must feel connected to the issue that is being focused by the movement.