Question

Discuss various factors that give rise to social movement in india in 250 words.

Answer 1

A social movement is a mass movement and a collective attempt of people to bring about a change, or to resist any change. The concept central to any social movement is that people intervene in the process of social change, rather than remaining mere spectators or passive participants in the ebb and flow of life.

People seek to become proactive actors in altering the course of history. In order to achieve their aim of making a difference to the world they live in, they either initiate or become a part of collective action. Individuals consciously act together with a sense of engagement in a common enterprise.

Social movements possess a considerable measure of internal order and purposeful orientation. It is, in fact, this organization that strengthens the movement to challenge the established institutions. A social movement can be described more or less as a persis­tent and organized effort on the part of a relatively large group of people to bring about or resist change. However, the number of persons participating is not the criteria for describing any movement as a collective action.

Answer 2

India is big country with an ever-growing population. It is a country where the class or caste system has stood in the way of bringing about homogeneity in its population. The country has also witnessed significant income disparities among its people. Economic growth in India has also not benefited all sections of society and/or all regions of the country. The political class in this country has also stood in the way of economic progress of certain regions and the people inhabiting those areas by working against their interests and favouring other regions in lieu of the former; on the other hand, resistance from within on emotive issues such as land have been exploited by certain political parties and, as a consequence, impeded economic growth. Tribal populations have been exploited in certain areas by forcible occupiers of forest land, without giving suitable opportunities to the local people to voice their opinion or rehabilitating them in identical environments elsewhere.
All of the above are reasons for social unrest and lead to movements that wake us up after the mistakes have already been made. We, therefore, need to be more proactive and address the possible areas of concern more judiciously.