Protests and Social Movements in India

The working of the government in our country is so poor and the poor people do not get support and resources from the government so they start these movements. If the government starts any project which leads to displacement of people they do not provide enough resource and replacement for poor people.

PROBLEM ANALYSIS- In some movements the government was lagging and in others the private industrialist or companies. The private industrialist give money and liquor to the village people to stop the movements. Laws of Govt are so bad n weak that’s why citizens have to do some movements.

THE MOVMENTS –

1. Chipko Movement – In 1973 the chipko movement was started in the region of Rajasthan and then spread to Uttrakhand, It was started by Sunderlal Bhaguna and Chandini Prasad Bhatt. It was seen that people were protesting against deforestation by hugging trees to stop them from being cut. The movement took place in the early 1970s by a group of women and lot of people came for support across India. The problem started when the forest department did not grant permission to the villagers for felling ash trees for making tools. The department gave permission to the sports manufacture for commercial use. Greater issues of ecological and economic exploitation of the region were raised. The villagers asked for no cutting of forests or trees should be done by outside contractors and local people should have effective control over natural resources like land and water. Women active participation was an important aspect of the movement. The contractors used to give liquor to the men. Women held agitations against the alcohol supply. Finally felling of trees in Himalayan region was banned for 15 years.

2. Party based Movements-Popular movements took the form of social movements or political movements. We also know that discussion on social and economic issues during the British rule gave rise to independent social movements like the anti-caste movement, the kisan sabha and the trade union movement in 20th century. These movements raised issues related to some important social problems. Trade union movement had importance among industrial workers in major cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and Kanpur. All major political parties established their own trade unions for encouraging these sections of workers. Peasants in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh organised massive agitations under the leadership of Communist parties, demanded redistribution of land to cultivators. Peasants and agricultural labourers in parts of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar their movements were under the Naxalite leader Charu Munjabdar who were known as the Naxalites. The peasants and the workers movements mainly focussed on issues of economic injustice and inequality. These movements did not participate in elections. But they had connections with political parties, as many participants in these movements, were actively associated with parties. These links ensured a better representation of the demands of social sections in party politics.

3. Non party Movements-During the 1970 and 1980s many sections of the society were not functioning well because of political parties. Main cause was the failure of the Janta experiment which resulted into instability and it was the immediate cause. After independence poverty and inequality was on a large scale. Benefits of economiv growth did not reach everywhere. There were problems going between the industrial sector and agrarain sector Students and various other people and organizations came to form voluntary organization. They thought that active participation of students would be direct and more effective. These organizations were called non party political formations.

4. Dalit Panthers-Movement after the demise of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar belonged to the Dalit Panther. The militant organization was formed on 29 May 1972. Five years later, it was disbanded through a declaration at a press conference held in Mumbai on 7 March 1977. An ideological schism among its leaders prompted Namdeo Dhasal to sack Raja Dhale and me by announcing it in the newspapers published from Mumbai on 30 September 1974. It culminated in Dhasal being sacked at the first convention of the organization held in Nagpur on 23 and 24 October 1974. In June 1975, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared Emergency in India, imposing restrictions on newspapers and organizations. Hence, the period from May 1972 to June 1975 was the most crucial in the activities of the Dalit Panther movement.

5. Bhartiya Kisan Union –The farmers movement led by the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) in western Uttar Pradesh (UP) is in many ways similar to the movements in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Punjab. The BKU raised the same issues and had similar goals. Moreover western UP, like the other parts of the country, where farmers were mobilised through agitational politics, is an area where commercialisation and capitalism was first to penetrate agriculture. But the Upper Doab region of western UP, had specific economic, social, and political conditions, which shaped the nature and character of the farmers movement in western UP. Uttar Pradesh (UP), with 16. 44 per cent of India's population, 1 sends the largest number of members of Parliament (85), thus exercising a decisive role in the formation of government at the centre. Geography alone assures its position as the agricultural heartland. UP comprises almost half the Gangetic plain, one of the most fertile tracts in the world. Economically the state is backward, 82. 1 per cent of the population lives in rural areas. With a slow space of industrial development, the state is predominantly dependent on agriculture. In agro-economic terms, UP can be divided into 5 regions: (i) the northern hills, (ii) western UP, (iii) central UP, (iv) Bundelkhand and (v) eastern UP. The 19 districts of western UP, is economically and agriculturally the most advanced region, followed by the central and eastern districts, the hill districts and finally Bundelkhand. Demands were-Better prices for sugarcane n wheatAbolition of restriction of inter state movement of farm produceEnsure supply of electricity

6. Narmada Bachao Andolan – This protest, to express the views against a large number of dams being contrasted near Narmada river, brought a large number of tribes, farmers, environmentalists, and human rights activists together. The movement involved prominent celebrities and people went on hunger strikes to show their support for the cause. The decision is still pending, though the court initially ruled the decision in the Andolan’s favour, thereby effecting an immediate stoppage of work at the dam and directing the concerned states to first complete the rehabilitation and replacement process. Later the court allowed the construction to proceed. The government was given order by the Supreme court that first replacement of the villagers should be done as their means of livelihood would be a serious loss and then only the building of sardar sarovar dam will start.

7. Movement for Right To Information-The MKSS played a pioneering role in getting the Right to Information (RTI) law passed in India. Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, (MKSS) is a People’s Organisation and part of the growing Non-party political process in India. In 1996 MKKS formed National Council for people RTI in Delhi to raise RTI to the status of a national campaign. In 2002 a weak freedom of information act was made but never came into force. In 2004 RTI bill was made again and got the presidents sign and came into being. 8. National fish workers Forum –India with her 6000 km coastline and innumerable rivers, lagoons, lakes, reservoirs and ponds, has one of the largest population of fisher people in the world. The total population of fisher people is over 7 million with one-third depending on marine fishing and the remaining two-third on fishing in a variety of inland water bodies. The fishing communities are generally very poor. Despite having had greater importance in the ancient times, fisher folk were relegated to the status of low caste during the medieval period. Still the community always enjoyed a certain autonomy and dignity in the past. With the introduction of export oriented mechanized deep sea fishing and aquaculture, the threat to the livelihood of fisher people has necessitated fish workers to organize themselves and forge new linkages. The growth of All Goa Fish Workers' Union, the Kerala Independent Fish Workers' Federation, the Tamil Nadu Fish Workers' Union, are a result of assaults on the fish workers' livelihoods. Fisheries being a subject handled by Stte Governments, most fish workers organizations have been and are at State level. The National Fish Worker Forum is an all India organization that represents the interests of and unites these local movements. The NFF joined hands with organisation all over the world to protect the ecology and for protecting lives of the fish workers. .

8. Anti Arrack –Women have been in the forefront of movements against liquor-related social evils. Women in Patad village in Uttar Pradesh launched an anti-liquor movement. Liquor shops situated near bus stops, a temple and a mosque were spoiling the social environ¬ment of the area. Women were finding it difficult to board buses, wash clothes in the pond, and move around freely in the village. With the support of a voluntary organization, Disha, the women of the village launched a three-month long agitation, which ultimately forced the administration to order the closure of the liquor shop. In 1996, the Haryana govern¬ment banned sale and purchase of liquor in Haryana. The people of Andhra Pradesh had been struggling against the sale of arrack or local liquor, which was being backed by a number of governments over a period of time. The income generated from the production and sale of arrack in the state was too large for the governments to take any steps to stop its production or sale. Many liquor contractors were closely linked with politicians and there was a close nexus between crime and politics. The anti-arrack movement started in Nellore district in 1992, and quickly spread to other parts of the state. The poor rural women of the district initiated the movement. The fight against liquor soon turned into a full-fledged women’s movement. The rural women of Andhra Pradesh had been marginalized from every sphere of life for cen-turies. They were illiterate, exploited by landlords, and targets of domestic and social violence. They suddenly arose in revolt against police officials, government officials, the Home Minister, and, in fact, the Chief Minister himself. They had a simple demand of no selling and drinking of liquor in the village. This simple demand brought forth an agitation zsinvolving thousands of women and spread into the urban areas and turned into a movement.

9. Swadeshi Movement –The movement was started in 1905. It focused on removing the British Empire from power by becoming self sufficient or swadeshi. A lot of Indians came together and boycotted foreign goods. They burnt all the imported clothes and started producing their own commodities. It gave people courage to express their thoughts and speak against the authority. Bal Gangadhar Tilak encouraged swadeshi movement and boycott movement when British government decided to partition Bengal. 11. Save Silent Valley Movement-The movement began in 1973. This was a social movement that aimed at the protection of silent valley. This an evergreen forest in Kerala in Palakkad district. It brought many people and activists together. The protest focused on stopping the hydroelectricity project that would lead to flooding. The people are still awaiting for this result.

• The entire lower valley will be submerged by the dam, destroying its biodiversity.

• The 10 percent loss projected by the government will actually be far worse.

• The destruction they caused by the workforce– illegal wood felling, cattle grazing, poaching, encroaching will destroy the Valley.

• Endangered lion-tailed macaque, which is a unique species found only in the valley. The project would cause its extinction. In 1977 the Kerala Forest Research Institute carried out an ecological impact study of the Silent Valley area and proposed that the area be declared a biosphere reserve. Several NGOs strongly opposed the project and urged the government to abandon it. In 1979 N. V. Krishna Warrier and P. Gopalakrishnan Nair, an advocate, filed a petition and got a stay order from the High Court of Kerala, stopping work on the project. Soon after, awareness campaigns held protest meetings, rallies and debates all over the state, turning into a mass people’s. 12. Anti Corruption Movement- When anti corruption movement started activist and a political leader Anna Hazzare went on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on 5th April 2011. Every citizen came together and supported him. The movement led to the resignation of Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar from the group of ministers that had been charged with reviewing the draft Jan Lokpal bill. It was also one of those rare events that demonstrated what is possible if the world’s largest democracy woke up to take the reins in its hands. Also known as Jan lokpal bill 2011. Anna’s mind, this time, is set on establishing the Lokpal at the Centre in the states to probe corruption cases. Apart from this, Anna has been pressing for implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report which suggests ways to take care of the agrarian distress. Anna claimed to have written 43 letters to the Government in the last 4 years without receiving any sort of response.

Solution – The government needs to pay more attention, people should force the government to look into their issues also. The government should tell about there development plans to the citizens before they implement it. Conclusion- These movements help us to understand better nature of democratic politics. They represent new social groups whose economic and social problems were not redressed. Finally movements are not about collective assertions, rallies or protest. They are about the gradual process in which people with similar problems and demands come together to raise there issue. The relationship between popular movements and political parties have grown weaker over the years. It has created a major problem in Indian politics.