how did consumer movement originate as a'SOCIAL FORCE' in india
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student-name Rajiv Lochan asked in Social Science
How did consumer movement originate as a "social force" in india? explain
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student-name Antara Singh answered this
3103 helpful votes in Social Science, Class X
The consumer movement the world over was a byproduct of the unhappiness of the consumers when the sellers indulged in several unfair practices. At that point in time, there was no legal structure available to consumers to safeguard their interests in the marketplace.
In India, the consumer movement came into being with the requirement of shielding and endorsing the interests of consumers against unscrupulous and unfair trade practices.
In India, the consumer movement as a ‘social force’ originated with the necessity of protecting and promoting the interests of consumers against unethical and unfair trade practices. Rampant food shortages, hoarding, black marketing, adulteration of food and edible oil gave birth to the consumer movement in an organized form in the 1960s. Till the 1970s, consumer organisations were largely engaged in writing articles and holding exhibitions. They formed consumer groups to look into the malpractices in ration shops and overcrowding in the road passenger transport. More recently, India witnessed an upsurge in the number of consumer groups. The consumer movement arose out of dissatisfaction of the consumers as many unfair practices were being indulged in by the sellers. There was no legal system available to consumers to protect them from exploitation in the marketplace. For a long time, when a consumer was not happy with a particular brand product or shop, he or she generally avoided buying that brand product, or would stop purchasing from that shop. It was presumed that it was the responsibility of consumers to be careful while buying a commodity or service. It took many years for organisations in India, and around the world, to create awareness amongst people. Because of all these efforts, the movement succeeded in bringing pressure on business firms as well as government to correct business conduct which may be unfair and against the interests of consumers at large. A major step taken in 1986 by the Indian government was the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act 1986, popularly known as COPRA