BA Politics - VI Sem. Additional Course - New Social Movements

NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
VI SEMESTER
Additional Course (In lieu of Project)
BA POLITICAL SCIENCE
(2011 Admission)
UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT
SCHOOL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION
Calicut university P.O, Malappuram Kerala, India 673 635.
School of Distance Education
UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT
SCHOOL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION
STUDY MATERIAL
Additional Course (In lieu of Project)

BA POLITICAL SCIENCE
VI Semester

Prepared by:
Scrutinized by:
Layout:
Dr. Sabu Thomas,

Assistant Professor,
Post Graduate Department of Political
Science,
Government College, Madappally
Dr. G. Sadanandan (Co-ordinator) ,
Associate Professor ,
PG Department of Political Science,
Sree Kerala Varma College,
Thrissur
Computer Section, SDE
Reserved
New Social Movements
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Module-1 New Social Movements
Concept and approaches-Gandhian-Liberal-Marxian and Postmodernist

MODULE 2: Environmental Movements in India
19
Chipko movement
Narmada Bachavo Andolan ( NBA)
Environmental Movements in Kerala:-Silent Valley Movement-Movements against
Pollution in river Chaliyar-Movement against Endosulfan-movement against coca
cola
Module-3 Womens Movements in India
33
Womens Issues in India: Domestic Violence and Domestic Violence Act 2005
Women NGOs in India:SEVA ( Self Employed Womens Association and Sakhi
Module-4 Dalit Movements in India
47
Dalit Issues in India: land Question

Political Consolidation of Dalit-Republican Party of India
Bahujan Samaj Party ( BSP)
Gothra Maha Sabha in Kerala
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MODULE-1
Concept and approaches-Gandhian-Liberal-Marxian and Postmodernist

Introduction
Social movements are a type of group action. They are large, sometimes informal,
groupings of individuals or organizations which focus on specific political or social issues. In other
words, they carry out, resist or undo a social change. Modern Western social movements became
possible through education, and increased mobility of labor due to the industrialization and
urbanization of 19th century societies. It is sometimes argued that the freedom of expression,
education and relative economic independence prevalent in the modern Western culture are
responsible for the unprecedented number and scope of various contemporary social movements.
However, others point out that many of the social movements of the last hundred years grew up,
like the Mau Mau in Kenya, to oppose Western colonialism. Either way, social movements have
been and continued to be closely connected with democratic political systems. Occasionally, social
movements have been involved in democratizing nations, but more often they have flourished after
democratization. Over the past 200 years, they have become part of a popular and global expression
of dissent.
The study of new social movements occupies an important part in the study of political
science. Unlike traditional social movements the new social movements are highly participative and
have strong programme of actions. This phenomenon of new social movement can be traced back
to the post world war II period. The end of World War 11 witnessed the emergence of a number of
new states in the Third World. These states were formed with high expectations and thus there was
a larger demand for political participation and power distribution .However many of these states
failed to meet the demands of the citizen. This can be understood as a major cause for the
emergence of new social movements.
Social deprivation remains widespread in the developing countries in spite of substantial
improvements during the post-war period. Almost half of the developing world's children are still
not protected by immunization against communicable diseases. In the rural areas of the developing
world nearly two-thirds of families are still without safe drinking water and an even high proportion
is without adequate sanitation. Corruption has been on the increase in many countries. Overcentralization, limited administrative capabilities, laxity of tax administration and authoritarian
tendencies has combined to provide fertile conditions for corruption in many countries. All these
factors promoted the cause of social protest in the states. Hence a large number of new social
movements originated from the under privileged section of the globe.
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Charles Tilly defines social movements as a series of contentious performances, displays

and campaigns by which ordinary people make collective claims on others. For Tilly, social
movements are a major vehicle for ordinary people's participation in public politics. . Sidney Tarrow
defines a social movement as collective challenges by people with common purposes and solidarity
in sustained interactions with elites, opponents and authorities. He specifically distinguishes social
movements from political parties and advocacy groups.
New social movements emerge around new scopes and range of politics. The environment,
the rights, and role of women, health, food and nutrition, education, shelter and housing, the
dispensation of justice, communications and the dissemination of information, culture and lifestyle,
the achievement of peace and disarmament none of which were considered to be subject matter for
politics in which ordinary people were involved, are major concerns for the new movements. They
have brought to the fore conflicts over productive resources that were hitherto neglected or were
peripheral to the concerns of political organizations. If the scene of the "traditional' class struggle
was the field and the factory, the ecology movements represent a new kind of class struggle, one
over natural resources like forests and water Likewise, the women's movement has insistently
questioned the downgrading of certain forms of work on sexual grounds, both in the work place and
within the household, and the barriers to the entry of women in many professions.
New Bases
New social movements are distinctive in so far as they work outside the traditional party
systerm. Much of their membership and force is the reflection of people's disappointment and
frustration with and their search for alternatives to the political process, political parties and the
state. The new social movements in the West are predominantly middle-class based. This class
composition of the social movements reflects the changing stratiticfition of society from more to
less bipolar forms. In the third world, social movements are predominantly popular among working
class. This class stratum has more bases in the Third World and its members are much more
absolutely and relatively subject to deprivation and injustice which mobilizes them in and through
social movements. Moreover, the international and national burden of the economic crisis falls so
heavily on the already low-income people as to pose- serious threats to their physical and economic
survival and cultural identity. Therefore, they must mobilize to defend themselves through social
movements in the absence of the availability or possibility of existing social and political
institutions to defend them. These popular social movements and organizations are instruments and
expressions of people's, struggle against exploitation and oppression.
'These popular movements have some middle-class leadership of middleclass intelligentsia,
professionals, teachers, priests, etc. who offer their services as leaders, organizers or advisers to
these community and other Third World social movements. In the process of initiating, organizing
and directing the people' movements, these outside intellectuals become an organic part of the
oppressed and exploited masses and do not exist outside the common people. They are called
'organic intellectuals' because; they get organically allied with the common people in their
ideological leanings and practical action
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New Methodology
The new movements have evolved an effective methodology of working with the
disadvantaged sections of society which in turn has helped them to grow as an alternative agency of
social change. This is a methodology of critical intervention, creative action and participatory
mobilization. These groups make a critical intervention in the sense that they offer a critique of the
micro mechanisms of domination and exploitation in which their clients, i.e., the underdogs in a
locality, are involved. To achieve this end these groups have devised a strategy of creative action,
which comprises of theatre workshops and street plays among other things. Theatre workshop and
street plays serve as an important medium not only for conscientising clients but also for sensitizing
the participants to the problems at hand.
All this leads to participatory mobilization in which these groups organize their clients to
defy unjust norms, to resist exploitation and oppression and to fight a militant though non-violent
battle for their rights. Another aspect of the methodology of these action groups is the measure of
openness, innovative spirit and experimental strategies that these groups employ. Another
component of their methodology is participatory research. The experiences and experiments
undertaken by the social activists who at once combine both the roles of catalyst and analyst are
producing a new social science. These new social movements do not believe in a rigid hierarchy.
Their organizational structure is horizontal in nature. As these organizations do not have a rigid
hierarchy, the concept of the leader and the led does not exist. The prominent members of these
organizations prefer to call themselves organizers and not leaders .They represent a rejection of the
unified, disciplined and militarized party machine, oriented toward seizure of the state and
enforcement of a single ideological line.
New Roles
The new social movements and experiments manifest the true nature of contemporary world
crisis and prepare for a future desirable society. The role of these people's movements and
experiments transcends not only state power, but also the new existing civil societies. They work to
transform the state itself to become more humane and responsive to the sufferings. The moral
vision of the new movements is significant. By highlighting the question of ecology, health, gender
etc., which were earlier considered as peripheral, the new movements have a valuable role to play
in enlarging the scope of lower class movements. The new social movements in the Third World
show a rare sensitivity to the heterogeneity of the sources and structures of exploitation and
oppression.
The new social movements can be seen as vehicles of cumulative change in the social,
economic and political fields. They are able to generate a new kind of consciousness among the
socially deprived about the unjust arrangements in which they are placed and new social sensitivity
to dismantle such arrangements. In the economic field these movements initiate alternative
development strategies and are able to involve the poor and the dispossessed in self-reliant
development projects.
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Civil society and new movements

The assertion of new social movements in the contemporary world is clearly linked with the
concept of civil society. Many of the new movements have their major thrust against the state rather
than private property-based capitalism or the market. The theories stress the efforts of groups and
sections in highly state-dominated societies to fight for space for democratic control and autonomy.
The popular movements work simultaneously at two levels. At one level, they are defensive,
seeking to protect civil society from the tentacles of the centralizing state; at another, they are
assertive, seeking to change civil society from within.
Growth of Social movements
The early history of social movements was connected to broad economic and political
changes in England in the mid18th century, including political representation, market
capitalization, and proletarianization. The first mass social movement catalyzed around John
Wilkes. As editor of the paper The North Briton, Wilkes vigorously attacked the new
administration of Lord Bute and the peace terms that the new government accepted at the 1763
Treaty of Paris at the end of the Seven Years War. Charged with seditious libel, Wilkes was
arrested after the issue of a general warrant, a move that Wilkes denounced as unlawful . The Lord
Chief Justice eventually ruled in Wilkes favor. As a result of this episode, Wilkes became a
figurehead to the growing movement for popular sovereignty among the middle classes. Later
Wilkes stood for the Parliamentary seat. When Wilkes was imprisoned in 1768, a mass movement
of support emerged, with large demonstrations in the streets. This was the first ever sustained social
movement. It involved public meetings, demonstrations, the distribution of pamphlets on an
unprecedented scale and the mass petition march. It tried to rectify the faults in governance through
appeals to existing legal precedents and was conceived of as an extra-Parliamentary form of
agitation to arrive at a consensual and constitutional arrangement. The social movement on the
streets of London compelled the authorities to concede to the movement's demands. Wilkes was
returned to Parliament, general warrants were declared as unconstitutional and press freedom was
extended to the coverage of Parliamentary debates.
Other political movements that emerged in the late 18th century included the British
abolitionist movement against slavery and the upheaval surrounding the French and American
Revolutions. From 1815, Britain after victory in the Napoleonic Wars entered in a period of social
upheaval characterized by the growing maturity of the use of social movements and special interest
associations. Chartism was the first mass movement of the growing working class in the world. It
campaigned for political reform between 1838 and 1848 with the People's Charter of 1838 as its
manifesto . They called for universal suffrage and the implementation of the secret ballot. The term
"social movements" was introduced in 1848 by the German Sociologist Lorenz von Stein in his
book Socialist and Communist Movements since the Third French Revolution (1848) in which he
introduced the term "social movement" into scholarly discussions.
The labor movement and socialist movement of the late 19th century are seen as the
prototypical social movements, leading to the formation of communist and social democratic
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parties and organizations. In 1945, Britain after victory in the Second World War entered a period
of radical reform and change. In the post-war period, women's rights, gay rights, peace, civil rights,
anti-nuclear and environmental movements emerged, often dubbed the New Social Movements .
They led, among other things, to the formation of green parties and organizations influenced by the
new left. With the rapid pace of globalization, the potential for the emergence of new type of social
movement is latent.
Nature of New social movements
The modern social movement is not only a structural phenomenon. It is a complex network
of actors and interactions. It has to follow a three step strategy. The three steps are;
1, Diagnosis
2, Prognosis
3, Motivation
The actors, who organize a social movement, have to make clear their aims. They have to
put into words what is wrong in society. This is termed as diagnosis. They have to identify the
current issues and how to make it a public issue. The second stage is prognosis. Here the enquiry is
how to rectify the wrongs in society. The next concern is what people have to do to bring the
needed changes. This is called motivation. They do so in specific narratives or interpretive
packages directed at authorities, movement participants, supporters, and at the public at large.
Social movement actors give meaning to events, situations, and social practices; they function as
signifying agents alongside other actors like media and government agencies. These social
movements sought to alter the prevailing structures of power, project values of justice, equality and
freedom adding new dimensions to them and marked the rise of a new social force
The new social movements (NSMs) are largely grassroots and apolitical movements
whose main objective is social transformation rather than state power. This is a process of
depoliticization of the social realm. However the new social movements are not only social but can
have varied dimensions like political and economic and that it may not necessarily be grassroots but
can include various other sections too.
There are many reasons behind social movements.
1, Urbanization: Urbanization led to larger settlements, where people of similar goals
could find each other, gather and organize. This facilitated social interaction between scores of
people, and it was in urban areas that those early social movements first appeared.
2, Industrialization: The process of industrialization which gathered large masses of
workers in the same region explains why many of those early social movements addressed matters
such as economic wellbeing, important to the worker class.
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3, Mass education: Mass education is a major reason behind social movements. Many
social movements were created at universities, where the process of mass education brought many
people together.
4, Communication Technologies: The development of communication technologies
accelerated the social movements. With the development of communication technologies, creation
and activities of social movements became easier - from printed pamphlets circulating in the 18th
century coffeehouses to newspapers and Internet, all those tools became important factors in the
growth of the social movements.
5, Democracy: The spread of democracy and political rights like the freedom of speech
made the creation and functioning of social movements much easier. It permitted people to
organize freely without governmental restrictions. People can freely discuss matters and forums of
free expression slowly developed.
New Social movements and state
The new social movements do address political economy. The state is a primary and
unavoidable agent in their production of relations of domination in race, gender, sexuality, and
environment and the new social movements struggle actively to block and remake these
mechanisms of subordination.
Many social movements also respond to people's frustration with a sense of injustice
towards, political economic forces beyond their control. Many of these economic forces emanate
from the world economy in crisis. Significantly people increasingly regard the state and its
institutions, particularly political parties as ineffective.
It is with the plight of these rejects of society and of organized politics that the new
movements are concerned with. The new movements have to be seen as part of the democratic
struggle at various levels. They are to be seen as attempts to open alternative political spaces
outside the usual arenas of party and government. They are based on deep stirrings of
consciousness, of an awareness of crisis that could conceivably be turned into a catalyst of new
opportunities. It is to be seen as a response to the incapacity of the state to hold its various
constituents in a framework of positive action. Its growing refusal to deliver goods and its
increasingly repressive character. These movements are taking up cudgels against the government
on behalf of' the deprived and dispossessed, on behalf of the landless and dalits, the bonded
labourers and the fisher folk deprived of their traditional livelihood. On behalf of the large numbers
that are continuously displaced and dispossessed on their land due to construction of large projects
like dams and highways. The new social movements represent part of a major crystallization of
dissent and opposition.
New Social Movements and Globalization
Globalization promotes an agenda of economic liberalization in trade, investment and
finance. It makes states increasingly powerless to control their own economies, and that states
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adopt rhetoric of powerlessness to divest themselves of broader social responsibility. The new
social movements view globalization as representing forces that disrupt communities, cultures and
livelihood patterns of the poor without offering any viable and dignified alternative.
Their view of development is of a non hegemonic, pluralistic process, in articulation of
which the new social movements use inductively arrived insights and criteria evolved by them
through their own struggles. In this process they increasingly relate globally debated issues such as
feminism, ecology and human rights to the economic social and cultural realities. Their politics is
increasingly about making development a bottom-up process, directly relevant to and an edifying
experience for the poor and the oppressed. Rather than opting out of development. They now seek
to change the power relations on which the development paradigm is premised. They see the old
idea of development as encoded in the emergent global power structure. The new political agenda
of the forces of globalization is the disperse of state control over the economies of the Third World
on the one hand, and the centralization of global political and military power in the hands of the
already rich and powerful countries on the other .This forms the basis of their global hegemony.
The new global arrangement is seen as ensuring international economic and political stability under
the continuing conditions of inequality among and within nations. When the governments of Third
World themselves become willing instruments of powerful global forces, such campaigns render
them more vulnerable to these forces in international politics.
Development and Alternative Politics
The grassroots movements in the Third World are articulating the idea of alternative
development through concrete political struggles. This is reflected in the growing convergence that
different movements have acquired on the issue of globalization i.e. in their assessment of the shift
from the state-led model to the market-led model of development. The new social movements'
mobilizational strategies focus on the new socia1political formations of the poor and the deprived
which conflate the category of class with those of ethnicity and gender. Their general approach is to
work for and with specific vulnerable groups, assault on whom has increased under globalization.
They reject the inputs view of rural development and focus on creating capabilities of selfdevelopment among the rural poor and also on evolving mechanisms of protection for them against
various forms of social terror to which they are often subjected to in this process.
Typology of social movements
Sociologists distinguish between several types of social movement. This typology is on the
basis of scope, type of change, targets, method novelty and scope.
On the basis scope social movements were classified as reform movements and radical
movement.
a, Reform movement the reform movements advocates changing some norms or laws. Examples
of such a movement would include a trade union with a goal of increasing workers rights, a green
movement advocating a set of ecological laws, or a movement supporting introduction of a capital
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punishment or the right to abortion. Some reform movements may aim for a change in custom and
moral norms, such as condemnation of pornography or proliferation of some religion.
b, Radical movement - radical movements are dedicated to changing value systems in a
fundamental way. Examples would include the American Civil Rights Movement which demanded
full civil rights and equality under the law to all Americans, regardless of race; the Polish Solidarity
movement which demanded the transformation of a Stalinist political and economic system into a
democracy.
On the basis of change the movements were classified into innovation movements and
conservative movements.
a, Innovation movement - movements which want to introduce or change particular norms,
values, etc. are classified as innovation movement.
b, Conservative movement Conservative are that movements which want to preserve existing
norms, values, etc. For example, the anti-technology 19th century Luddites movement or the
modern movement opposing the spread of the genetically modified food could be seen as
conservative movements in that they aimed to fight specific technological changes.
On the basis of target the movements were classified as group focus movements and
individual focused movements.
a, Group-focus movements These movements focused on affecting groups or society in general,
for example, advocating the change of the political system. Some of these groups transform into or
join a political party, but many remain outside the reformist party political system.
b, Individual-focused movements They are focused on affecting individuals. Most religious
movements would fall under this category.
On the basis of methods of work the social movements are classified into peaceful
movements and violent movements.
a, Peaceful movements This includes Various movements which use nonviolent means of protest
as part of a campaign of nonviolent resistance, also often called civil resistance. The American
Civil Rights movement, Polish Solidarity movement or the nonviolent, civil disobedienceorientated wing of the Indian independence movement would fall into this category.
b, Violent movements - various movements which resort to violence falls under this category.
They are usually armed and in extreme cases can take a form of a paramilitary or terrorist
organization.
On the basis of novelty the social movements are classified into old and new movements. a,
Old movements - movements for change have existed for many centuries. Most of the oldest
recognized movements, dating to late 18th and 19th centuries, fought for specific social groups,
such as the working class, peasants, whites, aristocrats, Protestants, men. They were usually
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centered on some materialistic goals like improving the standard of living or, for example, the
political autonomy of the working class.
b, New movements - movements which became dominant from the second half of the 20th century
are classified into new movements. This includes the feminist movement, pro-choice movement,
civil rights movement, environmental movement, free software movement, gay rights movement,
peace movement, anti-nuclear movement, alter-globalization movement, etc. Sometimes they are
known as new social movements. They are usually centered on issues that go beyond but are not
separate from class.
On the base of range of operation the social movements were divided into global
movements and local movements
a, Global movements Global movements are social movements with global (transnational)
objectives and goals. Movements such as the first , second, third and fourth internationals, the
World Social Forum, the Peoples' Global Action and the anarchist movement seek to change
society at a global level.
b, Local movements - most of the social movements has a local scope. They are focused on local
or regional objectives, such as protecting a specific natural area, lobbying for the lowering of tolls
in a certain motorway, or preserving a building about to be demolished for gentrification and
turning it into a social center.
Charismatic Leadership
Many social movements are created around some charismatic leader, i.e. one possessing
charismatic authority. After the social movement is created, there are two likely phases of
recruitment. The first phase will gather the people deeply interested in the primary goal and ideal of
the movement. The second phase, which will usually come after the given movement had some
successes and is trendy. People who join in this second phase will likely be the first to leave when
the movement suffers any setbacks and failures. Eventually, the social crisis can be encouraged by
outside elements, like opposition from government or other movements. However, many
movements had survived a failure crisis, being revived by some hardcore activists even after
several decades.
Theories of social movement
Sociologists have developed several theories related to social movements .Some of the betterknown theories include
collective behavior/collective action theories
relative deprivation theory
value-added theory
resource mobilization
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political process theory
framing theory
new social movement theory
Deprivation theory
Deprivation theory argues that social movements have their foundations among people who
feel deprived of some goods or resources. According to this approach, individuals who are lacking
some good, service, or comfort are more likely to organize a social movement to improve their
conditions.
Mass society theory
Mass society theory argues that social movements are made up of individuals in large
societies who feel insignificant or socially detached. Social movements, according to this theory,
provide a sense of empowerment and belonging that the movement members would otherwise not
have.
Structural strain theory
Social strain theory, also known as value-added theory, proposes six factors that encourage
social movement development.
1. structural conduciveness - people come to believe their society has problems
2. structural strain - people experience deprivation
3. growth and spread of a solution - a solution to the problems people are experiencing is
proposed and spreads
4. precipitating factors - discontent usually requires a catalyst to turn it into a social movement
5. lack of social control - the entity that is to be changed must be at least somewhat open to the
change; if the social movement is quickly and powerfully repressed, it may never
materialize
6. mobilization - this is the actual organizing and active component of the movement; people
do what needs to be done
Resource mobilization theory
Resource mobilization theory emphasizes the importance of resources in social movement
development and success. Resources are understood here to include: knowledge, money, media,
labor, solidarity, legitimacy, and internal and external support from power elite. The theory argues
that social movements develop when individuals with grievances are able to mobilize sufficient
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resources to take action. The emphasis on resources offers an explanation why some
discontented/deprived individuals are able to organize while others are not.
Political process theory
Political process theory is similar to resource mobilization in many regards, but tends to
emphasize a different component of social structure that is important for social movement
development: political opportunities. Political process theory argues that there are three vital
components for movement formation: insurgent consciousness, organizational strength, and
political opportunities. Insurgent consciousness refers back to the ideas of deprivation and
grievances. The idea is that certain members of society feel like they are being mistreated or that
somehow the system is unjust. The insurgent consciousness is the collective sense of injustice that
movement members Organizational strength falls in line with resource-mobilization theory,
arguing that in order for a social movement to organize it must have strong leadership and
sufficient resources. Political opportunity refers to the receptivity or vulnerability of the existing
political system to challenge. This vulnerability can be the result of any of the following:
growth of political pluralism
decline in effectiveness of repression
elite disunity
a broadening of access to institutional participation in political processes
support of organized opposition by elites
Framing Theory
While both resource mobilization theory and political process theory include, the idea that
certain shared understandings of, for example, perceived unjust societal conditions must exist for
mobilization to occur at all, and this is not explicitly problematized within those approaches. The
framing perspective has brought such shared understandings to the forefront of the attempt to
understand movement creation and existence by, e.g., arguing that, in order for social movements to
successfully mobilize individuals, they must develop an injustice frame. An injustice frame is a
collection of ideas and symbols that illustrate both how significant the problem is as well as what
the movement can do to alleviate it.
Free-rider problem
In emphasizing the injustice frame, culture theory also addresses the free-rider problem. The
free-rider problem refers to the idea that people will not be motivated to participate in a social
movement that will use up their personal resources if they can still receive the benefits without
participating. In other words, if person X knows that movement Y is working to improve
environmental conditions in his neighborhood; he is presented with a choice: join or not join the
movement. If he believes the movement will succeed without him, he can avoid participation in the
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movement, save his resources, and still reap the benefits. This phenomenon is called free-riding. A
significant problem for social movement theory has been to explain why people join movements if
they believe the movement can/will succeed without their contribution. Culture theory argues that,
in conjunction with social networks being an important contact tool, the injustice frame will
provide the motivation for people to contribute to the movement.
New Social movement and social networking
From 1990s onwards social movement groups have been using the Internet to accomplish
organizational goals. It has been argued that the Internet helps to increase the speed, reach and
effectiveness of social movement-related communication as well as mobilization efforts, and as a
result, it has been suggested that the Internet has had a positive impact on the social movements in
general.
Many discussions have been generated recently on the topic of social networking and the
effect it may play on the formation and mobilization of social movement. For example, the
emergence of the Coffee Party first appeared on the social networking site, Face book. The party
has continued to gather membership and support through that site and file sharing sites, such as
Flickr. The 20092010 Iranian election protests also demonstrated how social networking sites are
making the mobilization of large numbers of people quicker and easier. Iranians were able to
organize and speak out against the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by using sites such as
Twitter and Face book. This in turn prompted widespread government censorship of the web and
social networking sites.
The use of new communication technologies provide better platform for new social
movements.This is well evidenced with the Philippine Smart Mob of 2001. On January 17, 2001,
during the impeachment trial of Philippine President Joseph Estrada, loyalists in the Philippine
congress voted to set aside the key evidence against him. Less than two hours after the decision was
announced, thousands of Filipinos, angry that their corrupt president might be left off the hook,
converged in Manila. The protest was arranged, in part, by forwarded text messages reading, GO
2EDSA, WEAR Blk. The crowd quickly swelled, and in the next few days, over a million people
arrived, choking traffic in Manila. It is estimated that Seven millions messages were sent within a
week. Despite of the supportive attitude of the Congress the president was sent out of power within
three days.
Te Arab springs is a another classical example of new social movements which uses
modern technologies. The term Arab springs is used to denote the popular upraisings in Middle
East since 2011. For forty years or more the pace of change in the Middle East has been very slow.
Throughout the years there were unexposed desire for democratic reforms and freedoms in the
region. But the desperate act of a 26-year old street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on
fire in Tunisia in December 2011, triggered the astonishing train of events that led to the overturn
of many regimes in the region. The tides are yet to settle and many states and leaders are afraid of a
trickling bomb that may explode at any time. The popular upraising was not limited to Egyptian
borders but extended to neighboring states.
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The Arab revolutions that were commonly called as Arab Springs had certain common
characters. The demonstrations are largely driven by younger citizens, using cell phones and social
networking websites to circumvent state controls. New social media was also widely used to invoke
public support .There was no visible leadership in many of these essentially grass roots movements.
New Social Movements and Gandhism
Gandhian principles of action provides an alternative framework by emphasizing social
harmony, nonviolence, moral and ethical values of action, and rejecting the euro centric view of
development and , more specifically western science and technology. It is possible to differentiate
two distinct theoretical premises of the Gandhian approach to social action - constructivist and
sarvodayite. While the constructivist have inspired development oriented social action groups, the
sarvodayite have promoted struggle oriented ones. The constructivists believe in the selfsufficiency of villages that can be attained through greater prosperity and which in turn can be
achieved through adopting various developmental programmes. They view the state as their ally in
this effort and believe that the state can play a beneficial role in the upliftment of the poorest. A
collaborative effort is hence always desirable. 'They are to be seen as attempts to open alternative
political spaces outside the usual arenas of party and government though not outside the state.
Rather, these new forms of organiation and struggle are meant to rejuvenate the state and to make it
once again an instrument of liberation from exploitative structure, in which the underprivileged and
poor are trapped.
. The impact of Gandhi on the new social movements has been significant. Gandhian
influences can be traced to many important civic initiatives, movements and organizations around
Third World liberation, peace and non-violence, international solidarity, the environment and
democracy. The influence of Gandhian and Indian popular movements on other societies is of
global interest.
The freedom struggle of India set an example for the whole of the colonized world in
Africa, Asia and Latin America. A central question in the struggles was the means, especially the
role of armed struggle. Gandhi addressed these issues already in his book Hind Swaraj in 1909,
taking very strong stand against violence and for ahimsa. Based on his experiences with satyagraha
in South Africa, he was able to outline the basic elements of the active non-violent struggle also.
The ideas and practices of the support groups inspired by Gandhi for the freedom of India served as
models for future solidarity campaigns all the way to the transformation of South Africa in the
1990s from apartheid to democracy. The Gandhian non-violent freedom struggle inspired many
Europeans and engaged them in various support activities.
After the Second World War and Indian independence, also the Gandhian methods of social
change found their way to the practices of European popular movements. What would bring mass
participation to new popular movements were the four Gandhian and Indian inspirations
simultaneously being introduced in a large scale. The four inspirations were
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1, Boycotts against oppressive regimes,

2, Padyatras or long marches linked to direct action,
3, Intervention by direct nonviolent intervention in conflicts
4, Mass support for constructive programmes to give humanitarian support
New Social movements in India
In recent years in India, a number of social movements emerged. These movements are
varying in nature and methods. However, they do have a substantial shared ideology. The following
are some shared characteristics.
1.
They claim to represent the people the downtrodden Indian masses.
2.
Most of these movements are against the demerits of globalization.
3.
They claim to be fighting for oppressed groups such as Dalits and Adivasis.
4.
They oppose the state as well as large corporations and large funding agencies such
as the World Bank. They also oppose large-scale projects. They claim to be fighting for the
protection of the environment.
5.
They criticize the mainstream industrialized, corporate West.
6.
The new movements reject universal indices of measuring development and
progress such as GDP, life expectancy, child mortality, literacy rate, etc. Rather, they argue in favor
of subjective and local yardsticks.
Liberal Approach
The liberal approach views the new social movements as a part of the larger freedom
project. The individual and his groups demands larger autonomy and liberty. According to the
liberal approach most of the modern social movements are directed to claim for rights and social
goods. The target of the movements are the state which is being criticized for being in effective or
unattentive to citizen needs. Democracy is another focal point of these movements. The demand is
for better deliberations and democratic environments. The liberal thinkers argue that these
movements are a sign of the ineffectiveness in the democratic mechanism. It can be well settled
with effective institutional structures. Many of these modern movements are thus seem to be
reformative demands.
Marxist view
Marxism as an ideology and theory of social change has had an immense impact on the
practice and the analysis of social movements. Marxism arose from an analysis of movements
structured by conflicts between industrial workers and their capitalist employers in the 19th
century. In the twentieth century a variety of neo-Marxist theories have been developed that have
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opened themselves to adding questions of race, gender, environment, and other issues to an analysis
centered in political economic conditions.. Marxist approaches have been and remain influential
ways of understanding the role of political economy and class differences as key forces in many
historical and current social movements, and they continue to challenge approaches that are limited
by their inability to imagine serious alternatives to consumer capitalist social structures.
Postmodernism and social movement
In the 18th century, the Age of Enlightenment ushered in new ways of thinking in Europe
and America. Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and
Voltaire sought to discard irrationality, superstition, and inherited dogmas with reason, science and
rationality, and believed that systematic thinking should be applied to all spheres of human activity.
Since then, many important intellectuals have accepted the basic values of the Enlightenment.
These values represent modernity and form the basis of the rationalist scientific-technological
outlook and the each-citizen-is-equal principles that lie at the foundation of the Western
democracies. The Constitution of India, adopted in 1950, lies very much in the Enlightenment
tradition.
Postmodernism denounces Enlightenments claim to universality. Postmodernists like
Ashis Nandy, hold that acceptance of Enlightenment ideas represents a colonization of the
mind. They reject the idea that the spread of rationality and scientific temper are emancipatory,
and instead argue for the preservation of local knowledge systems embedded in traditional
cosmologies, religions, and traditional practices of agriculture, medicine, etc.
The postmodernists views new social movements as an arena of new identities against the
fundamentals of enlightenment. To them many of these movements were attempts to break out
from the colonialization of mind and a trial to new emancipation. It happens in two directions.
Firstly many of these movements are locally organized to attend the immediate issues of the
community. Secondly it misses the universality in ideology and action.
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MODULE 2:
ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENTS IN INDIA
CHIPKO MOVEMENT
NARMADA BACHAVO ANDOLAN (NBA)
ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENTS IN KERALA:-SILENT VALLEY MOVEMENTMOVEMENTS AGAINST POLLUTION IN RIVER CHALIYARMOVEMENT AGAINST ENDOSULFAN-MOVEMENT AGAINST COCA COLA
INTRODUCTION
India is a country blessed with abundant natural resources. There are large areas of forests
which are inhabited by rare species of animal life. The country is also having many rivers which
provides livelihood for a considerable number of people including the adivasies .However these
natural resources were a favorite prey for the vested interests in the state. They exploited the nature
without any social concerns. This resulted in larger issues of development and displacement. With
the endangered nature the dependant population also faces many threats. Many of these threatened
communities were also marginalized groups including the poor and adivasies. Their inability to
fight against the mighty interests also accelerated the environmental exploitation and degradation.
The environmental movements in India were of special significance in the history of new
social movements in India. These movements can be classified as new social movements because
of their following characteristics;
1, The movements were addressing novel issues like environmental degradation
2, The movements were massive with the active participation of marginalized groups
3, The demands of the new movements were novel in the sense that it demanded right to
livelihood and rights of displaced
4,The environmental movements adapted non-violent strategy
5, the movements incorporated hitherto unrepresented sectors of society including adivasies,
women and the marginalized.
6, many of the new environmental movements forced the governments to take affirmative
policies in the form of new laws and provisions.
CHIPKO MOVEMENT
The Chipko movement is a movement that practiced the Gandhian methods of satyagraha
and non-violent resistance, through the act of hugging trees to protect them from being felled. The
modern Chipko movement started in the early 1970s in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand
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state. The landmark event in this struggle took place on March 26, 1974, when a group of peasant
women in Reni village, Hemwalghati, in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, acted to prevent the cutting
of trees and reclaim their traditional forest rights that were threatened by the contractor system of
the state Forest Department. Their actions inspired hundreds of such actions at the grassroots level
throughout the region. By the 1980s the movement had spread throughout India and led to
formulation of people-sensitive forest policies, which put a stop to the open felling of trees in
regions as far reaching as Vindhyas and the Western Ghats.
Ecofeminism and Chipko
Today, beyond the eco-socialism hue, chipco movement is described as an ecofeminism
movement. Women were its mainstay, because they were the ones most affected by the rampant
deforestation, which led to a lack of firewood and fodder as well as water for drinking and
irrigation. Over the years they also became primary stakeholders in a majority of the afforestation
work that happened under the Chipko movement. In 1987 the Chipko Movement was awarded the
Right Livelihood Award
The History of the movement
The Himalayan region had always been exploited for its natural wealth including minerals
and timber. The end of the nineteenth century saw the implementation of new approaches in
forestry, coupled with reservation of forests for commercial forestry, causing disruption in the ageold symbiotic relationship between the natural environment and man. Notable protests in 20th
century were that of 1906, followed by the 1921 protest which was linked with the independence
movement imbued with Gandhian ideologies. The 1940s was again marked by a series of protests
in Tehri Garhwal region.
In 1962 India met with heavy losses in India-China War. Though the region was not
involved in the war directly, the government, cautioned by its losses and war casualties, took rapid
steps to secure its borders, set up army bases, and build road networks deep into the upper reaches
of Garhwal on Indias border with Chinese-ruled Tibet, an area which was until now all but cut off
from the rest of the nation. However, with the construction of roads and subsequent developments
came mining projects for limestone, magnesium, and potassium. Timber merchants and commercial
foresters now had access to land.
Soon, the forest cover started deteriorating at an alarming rate, resulting in hardships for
those involved in labour-intensive fodder and firewood collection. This also led to deterioration in
the soil conditions, and soil erosion in the area as the water sources dried up in the hills. Water
shortages became widespread. Subsequently, communities gave up raising livestock, which added
to the problems of malnutrition in the region. This crisis was heightened by the fact that forest
conservation policies, like the Indian Forest Act, 1927, traditionally restricted the access of local
communities to the forests, resulting in scarce farmlands in an over- populated and extremely poor
area, despite all of its natural wealth. Thus the sharp decline in the local agrarian economy lead to a
migration of people into the plains in search of jobs, leaving behind several de-populated villages in
the 1960s.
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Environmental Awareness
By this time an ecological awareness was slowly developing in the area. It resulted in the
growth of political activism in the region. The year 1964 saw the establishment of Dasholi Gram
Swarajya Sangh (DGSS) set up by Gandhian social worker, Chandi Prasad Bhatt in Gopeshwar,
and inspired by Jayaprakash Narayan and the Sarvodaya movement, with an aim to set up small
industries using the resources of the forest. Their first project was a small workshop making farm
tools for local use. Its name was later changed to Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh in the 1980s. Here
they had to face restrictive forest policies, as well as the "contractor system", in which these pieces
of forest land were commodified and auctioned to big contractors, usually from the plains, who
brought along their own skilled and semi-skilled laborers, leaving only the menial jobs like hauling
rocks for the hill people. On the other hand, the hill regions saw an influx of more people from the
outside, which only added to the already strained ecological balance.
Hastened by increasing hardships, the Garhwal Himalayas soon became the centre for a
rising ecological awareness of how reckless deforestation had denuded much of the forest cover,
resulting in the devastating Alaknanda River floods of July 1970, when a major landslide blocked
the river and affected an area starting from Hanumanchatti, near Badrinath to 350 km downstream
till Haridwar, further numerous villages, bridges and roads were washed away. Thereafter,
incidences of landslides and land subsidence became common in an area which was experiencing a
rapid increase in civil engineering projects.
Public Protests
Soon villagers, especially women, started organizing themselves under several smaller
groups, taking up local causes with the authorities, and standing up against commercial logging
operations that threatened their livelihoods. In October 1971, the Sangh workers held a
demonstration in Gopeshwar to protest against the policies of the Forest Department. More rallies
and marches were held in late 1972, but too little effect, until a decision to take direct action was
taken. The first such occasion occurred when the Forest Department turned down the Sanghs
annual request for ten ash trees for its farm tools workshop, and instead awarded a contract for 300
trees to Simon Company, a sporting goods manufacturer in distant Allahabad. In March, 1973, the
lumbermen arrived at Gopeshwar, and after a couple of weeks, they were confronted at village
Mandal on April 24, 1973, where about hundred villagers and DGSS workers were beating drums
and shouting slogans, thus forcing the contractors and their lumbermen to retreat. This was the first
confrontation of the movement; The contract was eventually cancelled and awarded to the Sangh
instead. By now, the issue had grown beyond the mere procurement of an annual quota of three ash
trees, and encompassed a growing concern over commercial logging and the government's forest
policy, which the villagers saw as unfavorable towards them. The Sangh also decided to resort to
tree-hugging, or Chipko, as a means of non-violent protest.
The struggle was repeated in Phata forest, 80 km away from Gopeshwar. Here again, due to
local opposition, starting on June 20, 1973, the contractors retreated after a stand-off that lasted a
few days. Thereafter, the villagers of Phata and Tarsali formed a vigil group and watched over the
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trees. The final flash point began a few months later, when the government announced an auction
scheduled in January, 1974, for 2,500 trees near Reni village, Bhatt set out for the villages in the
Reni area, and incited the villagers, who decided to protest against the actions of the government by
hugging the trees. Over the next few weeks, rallies and meetings continued in the Reni area. On
March 26, 1974, the day the lumbermen were to cut the trees, the men of the Reni village and
DGSS workers were in Chamoli, diverted by state government and contractors to a fictional
compensation payment site, while back home labourers arrived by the truckload to start logging
operations. A local girl, Gaura Devi led 27 of the village women to the site and confronted the
loggers. When all talking failed, and instead the loggers started to shout and abuse the women,
threatening them with guns, the women resorted to hugging the trees to stop them from being
felled. The women kept an all-night vigil guarding their trees from the cutters till a few of them
relented and left the village. The next day, when the men and leaders returned, the news of the
movement spread to the neighboring Laata and others villages including Henwalghati, and more
people joined in. Eventually only after a four-day stand-off, the contractors left.
State Interventions
The news of protest soon reached the state capital. The then state Chief Minister, HN
Bahuguna, set up a committee to look into the matter, which eventually ruled in favour of the
villagers. This became a turning point in the history of eco-development struggles in the region and
around the world. The struggle soon spread across many parts of the region, and such spontaneous
stand-offs between the local community and timber merchants occurred at several locations, with
hill women demonstrating their new-found power as non-violent activists. As the movement
gathered shape under its leaders, the name Chipko Movement was attached to their activities. The
term Chipko, means to stick.
Over the next five years the movement spread to many districts in the region, and within a
decade throughout the Uttarakhand Himalayas. Larger issues of ecological and economic
exploitation of the region were raised. The villagers demanded that no forest-exploiting contracts
should be given to outsiders and local communities should have effective control over natural
resources like land, water, and forests. They wanted the government to provide low-cost materials
to small industries and ensure development of the region without disturbing the ecological balance.
The movement took up economic issues of landless forest workers and asked for guarantees of
minimum wage. Globally Chipko demonstrated how environment causes, up until then considered
an activity of the rich, were a matter of life and death for the poor, who were all too often the first
ones to be devastated by an environmental tragedy.
Role of women
Womens participation in the Chipko agitation was a very novel aspect of the movement.
The forest contractors of the region usually doubled up as suppliers of alcohol to men. Women held
sustained agitations against the habit of alcoholism and broadened the agenda of the movement to
cover other social issues. The movement achieved a victory when the government issued a ban on
felling of trees in the Himalayan regions for fifteen years in 1980 by then Prime Minister Indira
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Gandhi, until the green cover was fully restored. One of the prominent Chipko leaders, Gandhian
Sunderlal Bahuguna, took a 5,000-kilometre trans-Himalaya foot march in 198183, spreading the
Chipko message to a far greater area. Gradually, women set up cooperatives to guard local forests,
and also organized fodder production at rates conducive to local environment. Next, they joined in
land rotation schemes for fodder collection, helped replant degraded land, and established and ran
nurseries stocked with species they selected.
The major figures of the movement were Gaura Devi, Sudesha Devi, Bachni Devi, Chandi
Prasad Bhatt, Sundarlal Bahuguna, Govind Singh Rawat, Dhoom Singh Negi, Shamsher Singh
Bisht and Ghanasyam Raturi. Chandi Prasad Bhatt was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in
1982, and Sundarlal Bahuguna was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2009.
Significance of the movement
The Chipko movement, occurred at a time when there was hardly any environmental
movement in the developing world. The world immediately took notice of this non-violent
movement, which was to inspire in time many such eco-groups . It helped to slow down the rapid
deforestation, expose vested interests, increase ecological awareness, and demonstrate the viability
of people power. Above all, it stirred up the existing civil society in India, which began to address
the issues of tribal and marginalized people.
Chipko was actually not limited to the Himalayan forest issues. In Tehri district, Chipko
activists moved against the limestone mining in the Doon Valley (Dehra Dun) in the 1980s. Finally
quarrying was banned after years of agitation by Chipko activists, followed by a vast public drive
for afforestation. Also in the 1980s, activists like Bahuguna protested against construction of the
Tehri dam on the Bhagirathi River, which went on for the next two decades, before founding the
Beej Bachao Andolan, the Save the Seeds movement, that continues to the present day.
Chipko activists started working a socio-economic revolution by winning control of their
forest resources from the hands of a distant bureaucracy which is only concerned with the selling of
forestland for making urban-oriented products. The Chipko movement became a benchmark for
socio-ecological movements in other forest areas of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar; in
September 1983, Chipko inspired a similar, Appiko movement in Karnataka state of India, where
tree felling in the Western Ghats and Vindhyas was stopped. In Kumaon region, Chipko took on a
more radical tone, combining with the general movement for a separate Uttarakhand state, which
was eventually achieved in 2000. In recent years, the movement not only inspired numerous people
to work on practical programmes of water management, energy conservation, afforestation, and
recycling, but also encouraged scholars to start studying issues of environmental degradation and
methods of conservation in the Himalayas and throughout India.
Narmada Bachao Andolan
Narmada BachavoAndolan is a social movement consisting of tribal people, adivasis,
farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam being built
across the Narmada river, in Their mode of campaign includes hunger strikes and garnering support
Page 23
from noted film and art personalities. Narmada Bachao Andolan, together with its leading
spokespersons Medha Patkar and Baba Amte, were the 1991 recipient of the Right Livelihood
Award.
The Origin of the Problem
During 1947 the Government of India conducted investigations to evaluate mechanisms in
utilizing water from the Narmada river, which flows into the Arabian Sea. The Narmada river
passese through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. These states raised their
demands for right share of Narmada river water. Due to inter-state differences in implementing
schemes and sharing of water, the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal was constituted by the
Government of India on October 6, 1969. This Tribunal investigated the matters referred to it and
responded after more than 10 years. On December 12, 1979, the decision as given by the Tribunal,
with all the parties at dispute binding to it, was released by the Indian Government.
The tribunal decided that 30 major, 135 medium, and 3000 small dams, were to be
constructed in the river. It also suggested that the height of the dam should be raised. In 1985, after
hearing about the Sardar Sarovar dam, Medha Patkar, a social activist and her colleagues visited the
project site and noticed the project work being shelved due to an order by the Ministry of
Environment and Forests, Government of India. The reasons for this were cited as "non-fulfillment
of basic environmental conditions and the lack of completion of crucial studies and plans". What
she noticed was that the people who were going to be affected were given no information. Due to
this, the villagers had many questions right from why their permission was not taken to whether a
good assessment on the ensuing destruction was taken. Furthermore, the officials related to the
project had no answers to their questions. While World Bank, the financing agency for this project,
came into the picture, Patkar approached the Ministry of Environment to seek clarifications. She
realized that the project was not sanctioned at all. After several studies, they realized that the
officials had overlooked the post-project problems. Through Patkar's channel of communication
between the government and the residents, she provided critiques to the project authorities and the
governments involved. At the same time, her group realized that all those displaced were only
given compensation for the immediate standing crop and not for displacement and rehabilitation.
So she initiated the struggle.
Major groups in the struggle
The Narmada Bachavo Andolan was led by groups such as Gujarat-based Arch-Vahini
(Action Research in Community Health and Development) and Narmada Asargrastha Samiti
(Committee for people affected by the Narmada dam), Madhya Pradesh-based Narmada Ghati Nav
Nirman Samiti (Committee for a new life in the Narmada Valley) and Maharashtra-based Narmada
Dharangrastha Samiti (Committee for Narmada dam-affected people) who either believed in the
need for fair rehabilitation plans for the people or who vehemently opposed dam construction
despite a resettlement policy. While Medha Patkar established Narmada Bachao Andolan in 1989,
all these groups joined this national coalition of environmental and human rights activists,
scientists, academics and project-affected people with a non-violent approach. With the support of
Page 24
these groups Medha Patkar undertook a 22 day fast that almost took her life. In 1991, her actions
led to an independent review by the World Bank. The Morse Commission, appointed in June 1991
at the recommendation of The World Bank President Barber Coinable, conducted its first
independent review of a World Bank project. This independent review stated that performance
under these projects has fallen short of Bank policies . This resulted in the Indian Government
pulling out of its loan agreement with the World Bank.. The World Bank's participation in these
projects was eventually cancelled in 1995. She further undertook a similar fast in 1993 and resisted
evacuation from the dam site.
Supreme Court verdict
The Supreme Court initially ruled the decision in the Andolan's favor thereby affecting an
immediate stoppage of work at the dam and directing the concerned states to first complete the
rehabilitation and replacement process. Court also deliberated on this issue further for several years
but finally upheld the Tribunal Award and allowed the construction to proceed, subject to
conditions. The court introduced a mechanism to monitor the progress of resettlement.
Silent Valley Project
Save Silent Valley was a social movement aimed at the protection of Silent valley, an
evergreen tropical forest in the Palakkad district of Kerala. It was started in 1973 to save the Silent
Valley Reserve Forest from being flooded by a hydroelectric project. The valley was declared as
Silent Valley National Park in 1985.
History of the movement
The Kuntipuzha is a major river that flows 15 km southwest from Silent Valley. It takes its
origin in the green forests of Silent valley. In 1928 the location at Sairandhri on the Kunthipuzha
River was identified as an ideal site for electricity generation. A study and survey was conducted in
1958 of the area about the possibility of a hydroelectric project of 120 MV and one costing Rs. 17
Crore was later proposed by the Kerala State Electricity Board. The Kerala State Electricity Board
decided to implement the Silent Valley Hydro-Electric Project centered on a dam across the
Kunthipuzha River in 1973. The resulting reservoir would have flood a large area of virgin
rainforest. The proposal was enquired by National Committee on Environmental Planning and Coordination (NCEPC) and suggested 17 safeguards to be implemented in case the project
implemented. A shortage of funds delayed activity. From 1974 to 1975 a very large number of trees
were felled in the area. KSEB announced its plan to begin dam construction in 1973.
After the announcement of dam construction the valley became the focal point of "Save
Silent Valley", India's fiercest environmental debate of the decade. Because of concern about the
endangered lion-tailed macaque, the issue was brought to public attention. Romulus Whitaker,
founder of the Madras Snake Park and the Madras Crocodile Bank, was probably the first person to
draw public attention to the small and remote area. 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.
Page 25
In 1978 Smt. Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, approved the project, with the
condition that the State Government enact Legislation ensuring the necessary safeguards. In the
same year the IUCN passed a resolution recommending protection of Lion-tailed Macaques in
Silent Valley and Kalakkad and the controversy heated up. In 1979 the Government of Kerala
passed Legislation regarding the Silent Valley Protection Area (Protection of Ecological balance
Act of 1979) and issued a notification declaring the exclusion of the Hydroelectric Project Area
from the proposed National Park.
The major players
Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP) effectively aroused public opinion on the
requirement to save Silent Valley. They also published a Techno-economic and Socio-Political
assessment report on the Silent Valley Hydroelectric project. The poet activist Sugathakumari
played an important role in the silent valley protest and her poem "Marathinu Stuthi" (Ode to a
Tree) became a symbol for the protest from the intellectual community and was the opening
song/prayer of most of the "save the Silent Valley" campaign meetings. Dr. Salim Ali, eminent
ornithologist of the Bombay Natural History Society, visited the Valley and appealed for
cancellation of the Hydroelectric Project. A petition of writ was filed before the High Court of
Kerala, against the clear cutting of forests in the Hydroelectric Project area and the court ordered a
stop to the clear cutting. Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, the renowned Agricultural Scientist, and then
Secretary to the Department of Agriculture, called at the Silent Valley region and he suggested that
the reserve forests in the area should be made into a National Rainforest Biosphere Reserve, with
the aim of preventing erosion of valuable genes from the area.
Silent Valley National Park.
In January 1980 the High Court of Kerala lifted the ban on clear cutting, but then the Prime
Minister of India requested the Government of Kerala to stop further works in the project area until
all aspects were fully discussed. In December, the Government of Kerala declared the Silent Valley
area, excluding the Hydroelectric Project area, as a National Park.
In 1982 a multidisciplinary committee with Prof. M. G. K. Menon as chairman, was created
to decide if the Hydroelectric Project was feasible without any significant ecological damage. In
1983, Prof. Menon's Committee submitted its report. After a careful study of the Menon report, the
Prime Minister of India decided to abandon the Project. On November 15, 1984 the Silent Valley
forests were declared as a National Park.
Ten months later, on September 7, 1985 the Silent Valley National Park was formally
inaugurated and a memorial at Sairandhri to Indira Gandhi was unveiled by Rajiv Gandhi, the new
Prime Minister of India. On September 1, 1986 Silent Valley National Park was designated as the
core area of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Since then, a long-term conservation effort has been
undertaken to preserve the Silent Valley ecosystem.
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MOVEMENTS AGAINST POLLUTION IN RIVER CHALIYAR

The struggle against water pollution in Chaliyar river is one of the significant environmental
struggles in Kerala. Chaliyar River originates in the Western Ghats and flows through Malappuram
district for most of its length. The river has deeply influenced the culture, custom and the lives of
the people in Malappuram and Calicut district. Chaliyar river has been a means of transportation for
the people since early times. Though agriculture was their major source of income, the river paved
way for many other livelihood options for the people. Transportation of wood, fishing, boat
services, etc were the other sources of livelihood. In the year 1963 Grasim Rayons was established
in the area. They started producing pulp and viscose staple fiber at its Mavoor plant in Kerala.
The major issues that had emerged in the wake of setting up of Grasim Industries in this
region included
1) Severe air and river water pollution
2) Health impacts and Environmental impacts of pollution
3) Loss of livelihood for people, mainly fishing and agriculture
4) Socio-political conflicts due to the various impacts of pollution
The struggle
Once the negative impacts of the industry started showing their signs, the agitation against
the pollution started. Slowly, people in Mavoor and Vazhakad began realising the negative effects
of air pollution and the dumping of untreated industrial waste into the river. These became the
major points of contention because of the multiple links of water to various other aspects of life and
livelihood. This further lead to escalation of agitation and protests against the industry. As pollution
rose to dangerous levels local community could also see the incidence of diseases growing in the
area. The number of cases of malformed babies multiplied, cancer, heart attacks, respiratory
diseases, failing vision and retardation of mental faculties became quite common. During 1970s the
conflict escalated further when the company failed to implement any pollution control measures.
As the pollution problem increased the people of the area became restive and protests,
demonstrations and submission of memorandum began. On the other hand the unit was facing
operational problems due to dwindling river flow and the effluent and tidal water ingress began
reaching the fresh water inlet of the unit. The company management found an easy solution to this
by constructing bunds with sand bags at Elamaram, close to the factory. This resulted in tidal water
ingress up to 20 km stretch of the river, mixing with effluent and forming a stagnant pool.
In 1974, an agreement was reached that the industry will treat effluent properly and
discharge the treated effluent further downstream. All this while the company management kept
denying any wrong doing and stating that they are treating the waste water within the prescribed
limits. Yet, studies by 'Society for the Protection of Environment of Kerala' (SPEK) showed that
the levels of hazardous metals like Mercury were very high in Chaliyar at Vazhakad and
Page 27
Chungappalli.The conflict took another turn as it brought in the angle of trade unions versus the
local community in the picture.
The state government during the initial periods supported the Grasim Rayons fully. The
state government set up expert committees on the issue. However, these also remained largely
ineffectual in implementing the envisaged solutions to the problem.In 1981 and 1995 KSPCB filed
petitions to restrain the company from discharging effluents in the river. The court injunctions did
not restrain the industry even a little bit as it went onto use unauthorized discharge outlets to pump
effluents in the river.
The environmental groups played a very important role in shaping the struggle in the area. It
is with their support and technical input that the community could prove scientifically what it
already knew based on traditional knowledge and wisdom. Several studies, reports and scientific
tests were carried out by these environmental groups to prove what the rural communities were
saying the right thing. During this period a number of cancer deaths were reported from the
area.Labour problems and technical problems haunted the working of the factory. This coincided
with vehement opposition from the community. Finally the factory was shut down in the year 2001.
Ecologically, the region has suffered due to severe contamination from the Grasim pulp
industries. The ecological impacts of contamination have manifested in various forms and it has
changed the ecological surroundings of the area to a great extent by damaging the natural resources
of the area. The river was the one which bore the maximum impacts of the dumping of pollutants in
its water. The river ecology has been altered due to this reckless activity. This contamination of
river water has led to death of large number of fish species in this stretch of the river. Even though
after so many years since the factory has closed down, the river water has turned relatively clean
than it was when the factory was operating. Yet, there are concerns that the pollutants still remain
in the river water.
MOVEMENT AGAINST ENDOSULFAN
The struggle against the use of endosulfan and the struggle for compensation to the victims
of endosulfan is one of the most serious social movement in the state of Kerala. Enodsulfan is an
insecticide, the use of which will badly affect the human life and environment. However this
insecticide was widely used by the plantation corporation of Kerala in their cashew plantations in
Kasargod. The corporation even sprayed the chemical from helicopters to control insects that
attacks cashew trees. However the general public very soon became aware of the problem and
started agitation. This resulted in the termination of endosulfan use. But the discontinuation of the
use of chemical was not the end of the problem. It heavily degenerated the environment around the
plantation. Water was contaminated, cancer death tolls raised to alarming numbers and genetical
issues soon surfacing. Thus a new struggle for compensating the victims still going on in the state.
Enmakaje Panchayath in Kasrgod district was the worst affected area in the endosulphan
episode. In this area, plantation corporation continued aerial spraying for 25 years. Earlier the
people faced some minor health problems like suffocation. Later the social workers noted unusual
abortion rates in human and animals. This was followed by the birth of many deformed babies.
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Children became handicapped. Suicidal tendency and psychological problems were developed in
many adults.
The environmental activists found that the plantation corporation never took any
precautionary measures to reduce the impact of endosulfan spraying. They have made no studies in
this connection. But due to the public opposition they were forced to stop the use of this dangerous
chemical. The endosulfan movement gained support from major political parties. However it was
led by enviornmentalis groups. Their continuous struggle helped to move the national and
international community against endosulfan. Now the government of the state is seriously searching
ways to compensate the victims. For this purpose peoples struggles are still going on.
MOVEMENT AGAINST COCA COLA
The movement against Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Private Limited (HCBPL) at
Plachimada in Palakkad district of Kerala is one of the notable environmental movements in
Kerala. The Plachimada struggle, as it has come to be known, was emerged as a protest against
pollution and depletion of groundwater by HCBPL. Later it was progressed into a struggle over
rights to groundwater and its governance, opening up the fault lines in relevant laws governing
groundwater. The official reports vehemently denied the allegation through weak arguments, but
later confirmed the allegations against HCBPL and condemned them with the turn in the tide of the
struggle and accumulation of evidence to the contrary. The major concerns in the Plachimada issue
were;
1, Depleting ground water table due to over-exploitation by Coca-Cola
2) Decreasing water access to the local population for domestic as well as irrigation needs
3) Contamination of groundwater resources of the community
4) Hazardous solid waste disposal and distribution in the form of organic manure by CocaCola
5) Toxic contamination caused by organic manure produced using solid waste
6) Health impacts to local people
Historical background
The Coca-Cola of Atlanta, US, reentered in India in the year 1993 after being expelled from
the country in 1977 when it failed to comply with the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA)
under which it was to reduce its equity stake. The Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Private ,
registered in1993 as a subsidiary of Coca-Cola, invested more than US$1 billion between1993 and
2003 establishing 27 wholly owned bottling operations supplemented by 17 franchisee-owned
bottling operations and a network of 29 contract-packers to manufacture a range of products.
The HCCB (Coke) established its factory at Plachimada in Moolathara village of Perumatty
panchayat in Chittoor taluk. Coke acquired 34.64acres, mostly paddy fields, in 1998. The
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Perumatty panchayat granted a licence to Coke on January 25, 2003 The plant was commissioned
to produce its popular brands such as Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, and Thumps-Up. There were three
lines of production. The KSPCB gave a permit to produce 5,61,000 liters of soft drink per day
requiring 3.8 liters of water for a liter of soft drink. Thirty to forty per cent tribals, 10 per cent dalits
and other communities make up the population in these seven worst-affected colonies, popularly
known as Plachimada ever since the struggle emerged. Livelihood is largely agriculture based.
Most of the STs and SCs, simply own land ranging from1 to 10 cents used for dwelling. The major
crops in the area were coconut, paddy, groundnut, vegetables, maize, mangoes, bananas, flowers
and fodder grass. Plachimada, located in the rain shadow region of Western Ghats, depends on
groundwater and canal irrigation.
The water issue
The October 16, 2001 agreement between the government and the Adivasi-Dalit Samara
Samithy marked a watershed in the contemporary history of adivasi struggles. It was in this period
of exuberance that the adivasis of Plachimada began associating the change in quality of ground
water and the receding water table to the operation of the Coke plant. About 85 lorry loads of
beverage products containing 550-600 cases each with each case containing24 bottles left the
factory premises daily. Six bore-wells and two open-wells in the factory compound sucked out
some 0.8 to 1.5 million liters of water daily. Within two years, the people around the plant
experienced problems that they had never encountered before, the receding of the water table and
the drastic change in the quality of water spread around 1 to 1.5 km radius of the plant. Water
shortage upset the agricultural operations. Water became unfit for human consumption and
domestic use. The company sold the slurry and sludge waste as fertilizer to the unsuspecting
farmers. Later it was given free to the local farmers. For three years, Coke dumped the sludge from
the plant in open fields and even off loaded most of it to local farmers as manure/fertilizer. The
people questioned the new developmental model and they started struggle.
The Plachimada struggle
The Plachimada struggle was launched by the Coca-Cola Virudha Janakeeya Samara
Samithy (Anti Coca-Cola Peoples Struggle Committee) on April 22, 2002 with a blockade by over
1,300 people, mostly adivasis, demanding that the plant be shut down as it was devastating their
source of survival, that Coke be held fully responsible and liable for the destruction of the
environment and their livelihood resources. They demanded criminal action against the company.
The struggle soon became popular and large number of people enlisted for the movement. Coke
filed a case on April 26, 2002 in the Kerala high court against the struggle committee demanding
that the picket be dismantled and police protection be provided to the plant. The court conceded the
right of people to protest peacefully and ordered the police to provide protection to both the plant
and the protesters. In the earlier phase the struggle faced hostility and threat from the combined
strength of the local political parties. The media also ignored the struggle or gave more credence to
Cokes version. Coke campaigned that the protests were politically motivated. Despite of all the
odds the struggle continued with more and more energy. Many ordinary women became a part of
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the struggle. Among them the name of mayilamma, a local women needs special mention. Very
soon she became a symbol of the struggle.
The Plachimada agitation gained support from diverse sections, from society ranging from
the Gandhians to the revolutionary left. They adapted many strategies including dharnas, blockades,
sit-ins, marches, public rallies and meetings. People from all parts of the state joined the movement
and thus it became one of the popular social struggles in the state. The Plachimada Solidarity
Committee has drawn in some 32 organisations from across the state. Protests against Coke plants
from other parts of the country also emerged. The media could no longer ignore the struggle. Coke
then acknowledged that there indeed was a problem with the water for which they were not
responsible. They offered drinking water, and started rainwater-harvesting programmes within and
outside the plant. Coke itself had to organise water from elsewhere as the aquifers were depleted.
With the struggle gaining popularity, the CPM, organised protests against Coke. JanataDal, which
controlled the panchayat, also fell in line. Except the then ruling Congress Party, most of the small
and large parties now vie with each other in declaring their opposition to Cokes extraction of
water. The boycott call of US-products caught popular imagination during the critical days of USIraq invasion.
Evidences against Cola
The water pollution in Plachimada was scientifically established as early as 2002.
Laboratory reports proved that water from the panchayat well contains very high levels of
hardness and salinity that would render water from this source unfit for human consumption,
domestic use, and even for irrigation. The government primary health centre concluded that the
water is not potable around the Coke factory and on the basis of the analysis carried out by the
governments regional analytical laboratory they asked the panchayat to ensure that the public be
duly informed about the water situation.
In 2003 the Cola issue became an international issue with the BBC report on carcinogens
found in the waste. The report evidenced high levels of two toxic metals, namely, cadmium and
lead. Some other heavy metals, including nickel, chromium and zinc, were also present in soil and
sludge. After the BBC report KSPCB ordered Coke to stop supplying the waste, recover all the
waste transported outside and store them safely in the plant site. During this time the Centre for
Science for Environment(CSE), New Delhi, reported that soft drinks, including that of Coca-Cola,
tested for pesticides higher than the permissible level in the US and European Union. The Supreme
Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes (SCMC) visited Plachimada on August12,
2004. Its report of August 14, 2004 indicted Coke for the unauthorised disposal of sludge without
prior approval of the authorities. The SCMC concluded that the company will take quick measures
to ensure water supplies to all the persons in the vicinity of the plant.
The Hazards Centre, New Delhi and Peoples Science Institute, Dehradun released a report
on Plachimada, in June2006. According to the study Cadmium was found in all the wells together
with lead and Chromium. The concentration was above the permissible level. Thus it was clearly
established that total natural sources around the plant were contaminated.
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Panchayath Action
By this time the Perumatty panchayat resolved to cancel the license issued to Coke under
the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act and issued a show cause notice to the company. The Panchayat
cancelled the license on May15 and asked Coke to stop production. The high court asked Coke to
approach the local self-government department which stayed the decision of the panchayat to
cancel the licence on the grounds that the Panchayat had exceeded its powers under the Kerala
Panchayat Raj Act. The KSPCB meanwhile ordered Coke to stop the supply of the waste due to the
presence of cadmium beyond the permissible limit. The panchayat responded with a show cause
notice to Coke which was challenged by Coke in the high court. The High court ordered that the
panchayat was within their powers to refuse licence. Coke challenged the cancellation of the
licence claiming that the decision to cancel licence was arbitrary. The court directed Coke to close
all the bore wells and to stop extracting groundwater. Further, the government was asked to carry
out elaborate investigations into all allegations related to water and contamination of water and
land. The court held that groundwater was a public property held in trust by a government and it
had no right to allow a private party to overexploit the resource.
Closing the Plant
In 2005, Coke filed an application to the panchayat for renewal of licence. The Struggle
Committee and the Struggle Solidarity Committee declared that Coke would not be permitted to
operate in Plachimada. On April 26, the panchayat rejected the application. Later on court
directives the company was issued a three-month licence imposing conditions. The company was
ready to accept the conditions and the plant was shut down in 2004. Consequently the government
of Kerala banned manufacture and sale of Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola in all of Kerala in the interest
of public health. However, criminal action against Coke for contamination of groundwater in
Plachimada was yet to be undertaken despite mounting evidence. The state legislature of Kerala has
passed a bill in this respect. But As on March 2014, the bill is still pending before the president of
India.
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MODULE-3
WOMENS MOVEMENTS IN INDIA
Womens Issues in India: Domestic Violence and Domestic Violence Act 2005
Women NGOs in India: SEVA (Self Employed Womens Association and sakhi
Introduction
In India traditionally the womens movements were less promoted and less heard of. The
traditional society put many limitations on womens freedom and liberties. Womens movement in
India can be divided into three waves or periods: the first wave saw social reform movements that
began in the 19th century and mass mobilization of women in the national movement. After
Independence, between 1950 and 1960, we find the growing legitimacy and power of the postcolonial state and various development plans that overpowered the other aspects of society. As a
result, there was a lull in the various campaigning and political activities on the part of women.
The period from the late 1960s onward can be called the second wave, which saw the
resurgence of political activity from women. The very futility of the economic policies by the
government that led to growing unemployment and price rise in India led to mass uprising. In the
1960s, women dissatisfied with the status quo joined the struggles of the rural poor and industrial
working class. The activities of women during this period included in the Participation in Naxalbari
movement, anti-price-rise demonstrations, Navnirman Movement in Gujarat and Bihar, rural revolt
in Dhule District in Maharashtra and Chipko .
But at the same time, with the splintering of the Indian left by the early 1970, there was a
questioning of the earlier analysis of the revolution. The Shahada movement in the Dhulia District
of Maharashtra saw an active participation of women who began to take action against physical
violence associated with alcoholism. The period also saw the emergence of various womens
organizations which included urban middle-class women as well working women of various strata.
The Self-Employed womens Association (SEWA) and Working Womens Forum in Madras were
formed in this period. The phase of womens struggle was associated with movements which were
anti-feudal, anti-capitalist and anti-state in character as well as the beginning of womens
organization in the informal sectors apart from formal party lines.
While this second wave saw mass in popular upsurges against the government and the
power structures in general, but the third wave, which can be said to emerge in the late 1970s, had a
specific feminist focus. By the mid-1970s, devaluation of life had become an everyday experience
for women. This point was driven home by the report on the status of women in India. The major
difference that one could encounter in the womens movement during the 1970s and more
particularly in the mid-1980s is that we see womens voice were raised not for freedom for all or in
relation to questions of land or class issues but specifically for women; women as an autonomous
group raised issues specific to them. Thus, the womens movement during this period had
participants that cut across class character and had women from elite, poor and middle class
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sections. The issue that brought them together was not class but gender relations. Again, it does not
mean that the class character vanished but rather it was given a new dimension, that is, women as a
class was largely an economically dependent class- and that became an issue of protest.During this
period the issue of violence against women became a focal point of many of these debates. The
governments came with various legislations that protect women against private and public violence.
These laws range from dowry prohibition act to act against domestic violence.
Domestic Violence
Domestic violence has been an intrinsic part of the society we are living in. The
contributing factors could be the desire to gain control over another family member, the desire to
exploit someone for personal benefits, the flare to be in a commanding position all the time
showcasing ones supremacy so on and so forth. On various occasions, psychological problems and
social influence also add to the vehemence.
Domestic Violence against Women
Domestic violence against women is most common type of domestic violence. One of the
reasons for it being so prevalent is the orthodox mindset of the society that women are physically
and emotionally weaker than the males. Though women today have proved themselves in almost
every field of life affirming that they are no less than men, the reports of violence against them are
much larger. The possible reasons are many and are diversified over the length and breadth of the
country. According to United Nation Population Fund Report, around two-third of married Indian
women are victims of domestic violence and as many as 70 per cent of married women in India
between the age of 15 and 49 are victims of beating, rape or forced sex. In India, more than 55
percent of the women suffer from domestic violence, especially in the states of Bihar, U.P., M.P.
and other northern states.
The most common causes for women stalking and battering include dissatisfaction with the
dowry and exploiting women for more of it, arguing with the partner, refusing to have sex with
him, neglecting children, going out of home without telling the partner, not cooking properly or on
time, indulging in extra marital affairs, not looking after in-laws etc. In some cases infertility in
females also leads to their assault by the family members. The greed for dowry, desire for a male
child and alcoholism of the spouse are major factors of domestic violence against women in rural
areas. There have been gruesome reports of young bride being burnt alive or subjected to
continuous harassment for not bringing home the amount of demanded dowry. The Tandoor
Murder Case of Naina Sahni in New Delhi in the year 1995 is one such dreadful incident of a
woman being killed and then burnt in a Tandoor by his husband. This incidence was an outcome of
suspicion of extra marital affairs of Naina Sahni which led to marital discord and domestic violence
against her.
In urban areas there are many more factors which lead to differences in the beginning and
later take the shape of domestic violence. These include more income of a working woman than
her partner, her absence in the house till late night, abusing and neglecting in-laws, being more
forward socially etc. Violence against young widows has also been on a rise in India. Most often
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they are cursed for their husbands death and are deprived of proper food and clothing. They are not
allowed or encouraged for remarriage in most of the homes, especially in rural areas. They are
brutally beaten and tortured for not conceiving a male child. Female foeticide and female
infanticide continue to be a rising concern.
A common Indian house wife has a tendency to bear the harassment she is subjected to by
her husband and the family. One reason could be to prevent the children from undergoing the
hardships if she separates from the spouse. Also the traditional and orthodox mindset makes them
bear the sufferings without any protest.
Pattern of domestic Violence
Domestic violence occurs in many forms ranging from physical violence to mental torture.
Generally these violences are classified into four categories
1, Physical violence
2, Economic violence
3, Sexual violence
4, Emotional violence
Physical violence
Physical injury is the most visible form of domestic violence. The scope of physical
domestic/intimate partner violence includes slapping, pushing, kicking, biting, hitting, throwing
objects, strangling, beating, threatening with any form of weapon, or using a weapon. Worldwide,
the percentage of women who suffer serious injuries as a result of physical domestic violence tends
to range from 19% - 55%. Physical injuries as a result of domestic violence against women are
more obvious than psychological ones, and can be more easily discerned by health professionals as
well as courts of law in the context of legal prosecution.
Economic Violence
Economic violence is a dominant form of domestic violence in India. In this pattern of
violence women is denied of their economic freedom. They were allowed to have personal savings
or income. Economic decisions are taken by other members in the family. At times even basic
economic necessities were denied to women member in a family. This kind of violence is also
applicable to working women in the family as their income is collected and spent by other members
of family, mostly by husband. On the other hand they will have little say in the income and
spending of other members in the family including husband.
Sexual Violence
Sexual assault is another common form of domestic violence in India. Sexual violence can
include a range of forceful and non-forceful acts including unwanted kissing, touching, or fondling;
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sexual/reproductive coercion; rape; and marital rape. In a 1995-1996 PubMed study conducted in
Northern India, wife abuse appears to be fairly common throughout the region as a whole. 22% of
the 6632 adult men surveyed reported sexually abusing their wife without physical force in at least
one instance and 7% reported sexual abuse with physical force. Abuse was most common among
men who also had extramarital affairs, and among those who had STD symptoms. Abusive sexual
behaviors were also found to be correlated with an elevated rate of unplanned pregnancies. In 2013,
a court in Mumbai ruled that depriving a woman of sex is a form of cruelty.
Emotional abuse
Emotional abuse has been gaining more and more recognition in recent years as an
incredibly common form of domestic violence (and therefore a human rights abuse) within the
private home throughout developing nations such as India. Psychological abuse can erode a
womans sense of self-worth and can be incredibly harmful to overall mental and physical
wellbeing. Emotional/psychological abuse can include harassment; threats; verbal abuse such as
name-calling, degradation and blaming; stalking; and isolation. Women who experience domestic
violence overwhelmingly tends to have greater overall emotional distress, as well as disturbingly
high occurrences of suicidal thoughts and attempts. According to a study by the National Centre for
Biotechnology Information, suicide attempts in India are correlated with physical and
psychological intimate partner violence.
Consequences of Domestic Violence
There are varied consequences of domestic violence depending on the victim, the age group,
the intensity of the violence and frequency of the torment they are subjected to. Living under a
constant fear, threat and humiliation are some of the feelings developed in the minds of the victims
as a consequence of an atrocious violence. The consequences of the domestic violence in detail can
be broadly categorised under the following categories
1 Effect on the victim himself/herself and the family
2, Effect on the society and the
3, Effect on nations growth and productivity.
Effect on the victim and the family
Battered women have tendency to remain quiet, agonized and emotionally disturbed after
the occurrence of the torment. A psychological set back and trauma because of domestic violence
affects womens productivity in all forms of life. The suicide case of such victimized women is also
a deadly consequence and the number of such cases is increasing. A working Indian woman may
drop out from work place because of the ill-treatment at home or office, she may lose her
inefficiency in work. Her health may deteriorate if she is not well physically and mentally. Some
women leave their home immediately after first few atrocious attacks and try to become selfdependent. Their survival becomes difficult and painful when they have to work hard for earning
two meals a day. Many such women come under rescue of women welfare organizations like
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Women Welfare Association of India (WWAI), Affus Woman Welfare Association (AWWA) and
Womans Emancipation and Development Trust (WEDT). Some of them who leave their homes
are forcefully involved in women trafficking and pornography.
One of the severe effects of domestic violence against women is its effect on her children. It
is natures phenomenon that a child generally has a greater attachment towards the mother for she
is the one who gives birth. As long as the violence subjected to the mother is hidden from the child,
he/she may behave normally at home. The day when mothers grief and suffering is revealed, a
child may become upset about the happening deeply. Children may not even comprehend the
severity of the problem. They may turn silent, reserved and express solace to the mother. When the
violence against women is openly done in front of them since their childhood, it may have a deeper
and gruesome impact in their mindset. They get used to such happenings at home, and have a
tendency to reciprocate the same in their lives. Its common in especially in rural homes in India
which are victimised by the evil of domestic violence.
In cases of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), violence against women leads them to maintain
a distance from their partner. Their sexual life is affected adversely. Many of them file for divorce
and seek separation which again affects the life of children. Some continue to be exploited in lack
of proper awareness of human rights and laws of the constitution.
Effect on the society
All the different forms of violence adversely affect the society. Violence against women
may keep them locked in homes succumbing to the torture they face. If they come out in open and
reveal the wrong done to them for help and rescue, it influences the society both positively and
negatively. At one hand where it acts as an inspiration and ray of hope for other suffering women,
on the other hand it also spoils the atmosphere of the society. When something of this kind happens
in the society, few families may witness the evil of domestic violence knocking their door steps.
Some families try to imitate what others indulge in irrespective of it being good or bad for the
family.
Effect on the productivity
Domestic violence affects the productivity level of the victim negatively. Men and women
lose interest in household activities. If they are employed they fail to work with full capabilities in
workplace. Children are found to concentrate less on studies. They drop out of school and do not
get the education which otherwise they might have got if they were not tormented and thus the
country loses a productive asset. Therefore, the nations productivity altogether gets affected
because of domestic violence in homes. When old people are tortured and physically abused, they
separate themselves from family members and their daily activities are restricted to themselves.
The guardianship they can provide out of their experience, the moral values which they can instill
in the grandchildren are all not done as they are unwanted in their own homes. People need to
spend their part of income for medication when they are met with worse forms of domestic
violence which again leads to loss in productive use of a familys income. The cumulative effect of
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the domestic violence at all levels and across all regions is the countrys hindered development and
slow economic growth.
Remedies for Domestic Violence
A recent study has concluded that violence against women is the fastest-growing crime in
India. According to a report prepared by Indias National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a crime
has been recorded against women in every three minutes in India. Every 60 minutes, two women
are raped in this country. Every six hours, a young married woman is found beaten to death, burnt
or driven to suicide.
The response to the phenomenon of domestic violence is a typical combination of effort
between law enforcement agencies, social service agencies, the courts and corrections/probation
agencies. The role of all these has progressed over last few decades, and brought their activities in
public view. Domestic violence is now being viewed as a public health problem of epidemic
proportion all over the world and many public, private and governmental agencies are seen
making huge efforts to control it in India. There are several organizations all over the world
government and non government actively working to fight the problems generated by domestic
violence to the human community.
Legislation against domestic violence
Legislation is a major step to curb the menace of domestic violence. For this purpose the
government of India has initiated much legislation including dowry prohibition act and protection
against domestic violence act. In 1983, domestic violence was recognized as a specific criminal
offence by the introduction of section 498-A into the Indian Penal Code. This section deals with
cruelty by a husband or his family towards a married woman. The main legislative measures at the
national level for the children who become a victim of child labor include The Child Labor
Prohibition and Regulation Act -1986 and The Factories Act -1948. The first act was categorical in
prohibiting the employment of children below fourteen years of age, and identified 57 processes
and 13 occupations which were considered dangerous to the health and lives of children. The
factories act again prohibits the employment of children less than fourteen years of age. The
Government of India passed a Domestic Violence Bill, 2001, To protect the rights of women who
are victims of violence of any kind occurring within the family and to provide for matters
connected therewith or incidental thereto An act called Protection of Women from Domestic
Violence Act, 2005 also has been passed. This Act ensures the reporting of cases of domestic
violence against women to a Protection Officer who then prepares a Domestic Incident Report to
the Magistrate.
Role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
In curbing domestic violence the non-governmental organization is also having a crucial
role to play. There are many organizations and initiatives in the NGO sector to fight domestic
violence. Sakshi a violence intervention agency for women and children in Delhi works on cases
of sexual assault, sexual harassment, child sexual abuse and domestic abuse and focuses on equality
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education. Womens Rights Initiative another organization in Delhi runs a legal aid cell for cases
of domestic abuse and works in collaboration with law enforcers in the area of domestic violence.
In Mumbai, bodies like Majlis and Swaadhar are doing meaningful works in this field. Sneha in
Chennai and Vimochana in Bangalore are working on many womens issues arising from domestic
abuse. They are also doing active work in issues related to labour. Services ranging from
counseling, education and outreach, giving provisions, and mobilizing them for gaining selfconfidence are provided to them. Anweshi is a womens counselling centre in Kozhikode providing
meditation, resource and counselling for battered women. These NGOs continue to spread
awareness amongst people regarding the legal rights they have in hand for fighting against the
atrocities they are subjected to. They are encouraging more and more people to report any case of
domestic violence so that proper action may be taken against the culprits.
Police and Health Care
Police plays a major role in tackling the domestic violence cases. They need to be sensitized
to treat domestic violence cases as seriously as any other crime. Special training to handle domestic
violence cases should be imparted to police force. They should be provided with information
regarding support network of judiciary, government agencies/departments. Gender training should
be made mandatory in the trainings of the police officers. There should be a separate wing of police
dealing with womens issues, attached to all police stations and should be excluded from any other
duty.
Authorities should also take steps to recognize Domestic Violence as a public health issue.
A crisis support cell needs to be established in all major Government and Private Hospitals with a
trained medical social worker for provide appropriate services. Training programmes must be
organized for health professionals in order to develop their skills to provide basic support for
abused people. Documentation on the prevalence and the health consequences of domestic violence
should be undertaken by the concerned government departments, health care institutions, NGOs
and counselling centres.
Dowry system in India
Dowry issues contribute mostly to Domestic violence in India. Dowry is a cultural practice
deeply rooted in many Indian communities, which is the money, goods, or property the
woman/womans family brings to a marriage to now become under the ownership of the husband.
This practice continues even today in India although banned by law since 1961, and in recent years
dowry amounts have risen dramatically. The danger of dowry system includes not only common
physical and emotional abuse such as hitting and continual degradation, but in some cases dowry
death and bride burning as a result of the husbands dissatisfaction with the dowry payment. As per
the 2010 estimates, 8391 dowry deaths were reported in India. It shows a steep rise from 6995 such
reported cases in 1997.
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Domestic Violence Act 2005

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 was brought into force by the
Indian government from October 26, 2006. The Act was passed by the Parliament in August 2005
and assented to by the President on 13 September 2005. The Protection of Women from Domestic
Violence Act 2005 differs from the earlier law, in that it explicitly defines domestic violence in
addition to dowry-related cruelty. Domestic violence is defined as: habitually assaults or makes the
life of the aggrieved person miserable by cruelty of conduct even if such conduct does not amount
to physical ill-treatment; or (b) forces the aggrieved person to lead an immoral life; or (c) otherwise
injures or harms the aggrieved person.
The act is mainly intended to provide protection to the wife or female live-in partner from
domestic violence at the hands of the husband or male live-in partner or his relatives. However the
law gives further extension to domestic violence by extending protection to women living in a
household such as sisters, widows or mothers. Domestic violence under the act includes actual
abuse or the threat of abuse whether physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic. Harassment
by way of unlawful dowry demands to the woman or her relatives would also be covered under this
definition.
Salient features of the Protection from Domestic Violence Act
The Act seeks to cover those women who are or have been in a relationship with the abuser
where both parties have lived together in a shared household and are related by consanguinity,
marriage or a relationship in the nature of marriage, or adoption. In addition to this relationship
with family members living together as a joint family are also included. Even those women who are
sisters, widows, mothers, single women, or living with the abuser are entitled to get legal protection
under the Act. Domestic violence includes actual abuse or the threat of abuse that is physical,
sexual, verbal, emotional and economic. Harassment by way of unlawful dowry demands to the
woman or her relatives would also be covered under this definition.
Housing: One of the most important features of the Act is the womans right to secure
housing. The Act provides for the womans right to reside in the matrimonial or shared household,
whether or not she has any title or rights in the household. This right is secured by a residence
order, which is passed by a court. These residence orders cannot be passed against anyone who is a
woman.
Protection Order: The other relief envisaged under the Act is that of the power of the court
to pass protection orders. This protection order is issued to prevent the abuser from aiding or
committing an act of domestic violence or any other specified act. The aggressor is also prevented
from entering a workplace or any other place frequented by the abused, attempting to communicate
with the abused, isolating any assets used by both the parties and causing violence to the abused,
her relatives and others who provide her assistance from the domestic violence.
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Protection Officers: The Act against domestic violence provides for appointment of
Protection Officers and NGOs to provide assistance to the woman. These officers will assist the
victim for medical examination, legal aid, safe shelter, etc.
Punishment: The Act provides for punishment for violating the provisions of the act. The
breach of protection order or interim protection order by the respondent as a cognizable and nonbailable offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with
fine which may extend to twenty thousand rupees or with both. Similarly, non-compliance or
discharge of duties by the Protection Officer is also sought to be made an offence under the Act
with similar punishment.
Economic abuse: The new act defines economic violence in clear terms and makes it a
punishable offence under the act. Economic abuse includes deprivation of all or any economic or
financial resources to which the victim is entitled under any law or custom. It is not limited to,
household necessities for the aggrieved person and her children, but also includes, property, jointly
or separately owned by her, payment of rental related to the shared household and maintenance and
disposal of household effects, any alienation of assets, valuables, shares, securities, bonds and the
like or other property in which the victim has an interest by virtue of the domestic relationship
Grievance redressal
An application regarding domestic violence can be presented to the magistrate seeking
reliefs mentioned in sections. The application can be filed by the aggrieved person, Protection
officer on behalf of aggrieved person or by any other person on behalf of aggrieved person. The
first class magistrate court or metropolitan court shall be the competent court to deal with the issue.
Any order made under this Act shall be enforceable throughout India.
Every woman in a domestic relationship shall have the right to reside in the shared
household. This is applicable irrespective of the fact that she has right, title or beneficial interest in
it. The aggrieved person shall not be evicted from the shared house hold by the respondent without
the procedure established by the law.
While disposing application the magistrate shall take in to consideration any domestic
incident report received from the protection officer or service provider. Magistrate can issue
different orders such as Protection order, residence order, monetary relief, custody order or
compensatory orders as per the circumstances of the case.
The magistrate may direct the respondent to pay monetary relief to meet the expenses of the
aggrieved person and any child as a result of domestic violence. This relief includes loss of
earnings, medical expenses and loss caused due to destruction or removal or damage of any
property. The magistrate can also pass order as to maintenance for the aggrieved person as well as
her children if any.
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SEVA (Self Employed Womens Association)

Self Employed Womens Association (SEVA) is a trade union registered in 1972. SEWA
was founded in 1972 by the noted Gandhian and civil rights leader Ela Bhatt. SEWA's main office
is located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and it works in several states of India. SEWA had a membership
of 966,139 in the year 2008. SEWA members are women who earn a living through their own
labour or small business. They do not obtain regular salaried employment with welfare benefits like
workers in the organized sector. They are the unprotected labour force of India. Constituting 93%
of the labour force, these are workers of the unorganised sector. Of the female labour force in India,
more than 94% are in the unorganised sector. However their work is not counted and hence remains
invisible. In fact, women workers themselves remain uncounted, undercounted and invisible.
History of SEWA
The Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) was founded in 1972 as a trade union of
self-employed women. It grew out of the Textile Labour Association (TLA), India's oldest and
largest union of textile workers founded in 1920 by Anasuya Sarabhai. The inspiration for the
union came from Mahatma Gandhi, who led a successful strike of textile workers in 1917. He
believed that by developing unity as well as personality, a worker should be able to hold his or her
own against tyranny from employers or the state. In 1954 TLA formed its Women's Wing. Its
original purpose was to assist women belonging to households of mill workers and its work was
focused largely on training and welfare activities. By 1968, classes in sewing, knitting embroidery,
spinning, press composition typing and stenography were established in centers throughout the city
for the wives and daughters of mill workers. The scope of its activities expanded in the early 1970s
when a survey was conducted to probe complaints by women tailors of exploitation by contractors.
The survey brought out other instances of exploitation of women workers and revealed the large
numbers untouched by government legislation and policies.
In 1971, a small group of migrant women working as cart-pullers in Ahmedabad's cloth
market came to the TLA with their labour contractor. He had heard of a transport workers' union
organized by the TLA and thought they might be able to help the women find some housing. At the
time, the women were living on the streets without shelter. They were sent to see Ela Bhatt, the
Head of Women's Wing. After talking with the women in her office, she went with them to the
areas where they were living and to the market area where they were working. While there, she met
another group of women who were working as head-loaders, carrying loads of clothes between the
wholesale and retail markets. Following the meeting, Ela Bhatt wrote an article for the local
newspaper and detailed the problems of the head-loaders. The cloth merchants countered the
charges against them, denying the allegations and testifying to their fair treatment of the headloaders. The Women's Wing turned the release of this story to their own advantage by reprinting
the merchant's claims on the cards and distributing them to use as leverage with the merchants.
Soon word of this effective ploy spread and a group of used garment dealers approached the
Women's Wing with their own grievances. A public meeting of used garment dealers was called
and over hundred women attended. During the meeting thwere was a suggestion to form an
association of their own. Thus the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) was born in
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December 1971. The women felt that as a workers' association, SEWA should establish itself as a
Trade Union. This was a fairly novel idea, because the self-employed have no real history of
organizing.
The first struggle SEWA undertook was obtaining official recognition as Trade Union. The
Labour Department refused to register SEWA because they felt that since there was no recognized
employer, the workers would have no one to struggle against. `Finally, SEWA was registered as a
Trade Union in April 1972. SEWA grew continuously from 1972, increasing in its membership and
including more and more different occupations within its fold. The beginning of the Women's
Decade in 1975 gave a boost to the growth of SEWA, placing it within the women's movement. In
1977, SEWA's General Secretary, Ela Bhatt, was awarded prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award
and this brought international recognition to SEWA.
By 1981, relations between SEWA and TLA had deteriorated. TLA did not appreciate an
assertive women's group in its midst. Also, the interests of TLA, representing workers of the
organized sector often came into conflict with the demands of SEWA, representing unorganized
women workers. The conflict came to a head in 1981 during the anti-reservation riots when
members of higher castes attacked the Harijans (untouchables), many of whom were members of
both TLA and SEWA. SEWA spoke out in defense of the Harijans (untouchables), whereas TLA
remained silent. Because of this outspokenness, TLA threw out SEWA from its fold. After the
separation from TLA, SEWA grew even faster and started new initiatives. In particular, the growth
of many new co-operatives, a more militant trade union and many supportive services has given
SEWA a new shape and direction.
Major Goals
The main goals of the organization are to organise women workers for full employment.
Full employment means employment whereby workers obtain work security, income security, food
security and social security. SEWA organises women to ensure that every family obtains full
employment. The organization tries to make women autonomous and self-reliant, individually and
collectively, both economically and in terms of their decision-making ability.
SEWA organise workers to achieve their goals of full employment and self reliance through
the strategy of struggle and development. The struggle is against the many constraints and
limitations imposed on them by society and the economy, while development activities strengthen
womens bargaining power and offer them new alternatives. Practically, the strategy is carried out
through the joint action of union and cooperatives. Gandhian thinking is the guiding force for
SEWAs members in organising for social change.
SEWAOrganisations
In order to realize the objectives SEWA is associated with many sister concerns. This
includes:
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SEWA Bank: In order to address the problem of lack of access to timely and efficient
savings and credit facilities and to free themselves from the vicious cycle of eternal debt, SEWA
members established a bank of their own. 4,000 women members of SEWA contributed share
capital of Rs.10 each to establish the Mahila SEWA Co-operative Bank in May 1974.
SEWA Academy: SEWA Academy was created in 1991. It is the organizational wing
responsible for basic membership education and for capacity building, leadership training,
communications and research.
SEWA Communication: SEWA has also explored several channels to support members in
their communication efforts. These include fortnightly news letter and monthly magazine for
adolescent girls. SEWA also publishes an electronic newsletter. Video SEWA was established in
1984 as a means to provide training to the members of SEWA and to motivate, mobilize and
strengthen the existing membership of SEWA through the use of video recordings and tapes.
SEWA Research: Credible, scientific based research has been a critical tool in SEWAs
advocacy efforts. Through research, SEWA strives to bring its members, the self-employed women,
into the mainstream of the world of knowledge.
Gujarat State Womens SEWA Co-operative Federation Ltd.: The Federation has
concentrated in providing comprehensive training in cooperative education, marketing,
management, record keeping, leadership and technical training. It also provides assistance in
various areas of cooperative development.
Vimo SEWA: It is an integrated insurance program aiming to provide social protection for
SEWA members to cover their life cycle needs and the various risks they face in their lives,
through insurance.
SEWA Housing: In 1994, the Gujarat Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (MHT) was registered
with the l objectives of improving the housing and infrastructure conditions of poor women in the
informal sector.
SEWA Trade Facilitation Centre: In response to the demand for creating sustainable
livelihood strategies for the poorest of the poor women producers, The SEWA Trade Facilitation
Centre (STFC) was established in May 2003 as the commercial arm of SEWA by more than 15000
women artisans in the textiles and handicrafts sector.
SEWA ICT: SEWA realized the potential of new information technologies in facilitating
capacity development. SEWA ICT has enabled poor people, particularly women, living in remote
areas to access vital information related to their trade, livelihoods, government schemes including
Panchayati Raj, seeking and sharing expert opinions on disaster management, management of
enterprise, marketing of produce and products. SEWA ICT represented a powerful strategy for
overcoming various notions of a 'digital divide' and making the information available to the
powerless.
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SEWA Bharat: SEWA Bharat is a federation of SEWA member organizations, with the
mandate to highlight issues concerning women working in the informal sector, and to strengthen
the capacity of the organizations that serve the interests of these women. Presently nine such
SEWA member organizations are working in 35 districts of seven states.
HomeNet South Asia: HomeNet South Asia is a network organisation of women home
based workers promoted by UNIFEM and SEWA. It was set up after the Kathmandu Declaration,
formulated in an international conference convened in Nepal in year 2000.
SAKHI
The organization Sakhi for South Asian Women was founded in 1989 by a group of five
South Asian women from diverse professional fields such as banking, film, law, and public health.
The term Sakhi means woman friend. The organization was created to enable women to address
domestic violence within the South Asian community. The stated mission of Sakhi for South Asian
Women is to end domestic violence against women by uniting survivors, communities, and
institutions. Sakhi uses an integrated approach that combines support and empowerment through
service delivery, community engagement, media advocacy, and policy initiatives. Sakhi has served
as a safe conduit to provide South Asian women with ongoing emotional support, culturallysensitive and language-specific assistance in order to face the violence in their lives. Sakhi has also
been at the forefront of the effort to end domestic violence through community engagement,
education, and outreach as well as broad policy and institutional change. The major programmes of
Sakhi includes;
1, Crisis responses- It attends to request from Asian countries with regard to the issues of
women
2,Case management that encompasses translation services, accompaniments to courts,
public benefits offices, health care visits, referrals for health, housing, legal assistance, and
job training & placement.
3,Unique programs developed and tailored in-house to address survivors needs, including
monthly support groups, computer classes, financial literacy workshops, and grants for
educational advancement.
Sakhi is also involved in community engagement and media advocacy. In this field they
undertake presentations and expert testimony, leading the discussion on domestic violence in
different venues locally and nationally. The organization is also active in the creation of innovative
media products, including short films, a public service announcement and a digital monthly
newsletter. Community campaigns to end violence including a neighborhood-based community
action project is also a part of the programme.
In the sphere of policy advocacy, Sakhi conducts a legal access campaign to enhance court
interpretation: via innovative research, presentations, and coalition-building, Sakhi has mobilized
concrete changes in New York State courts including enhanced interpreter testing and training
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procedures as well as a landmark court rule providing access to an interpreter in civil and criminal
cases. The mental health advocacy project includes research and presentations on the link between
mental health and domestic violence as well as expert testimony on the relationship between
suicide and domestic violence.
Major Initiatives
Through the Swarna Chalasani Scholarship Fund, which was established in 2002, Sakhi
advances the ability of survivors of violence to complete higher educational goals and supports
them in obtaining the necessary licensing and vocational certificates in order to obtain and retain
jobs. The Economic Empowerment Program of Sakhi seeks to provide financial stability and
economic security to survivors of domestic violence from the South Asian Diaspora. Sakhi
recognized the close links between domestic violence and economic control as well as selfsufficiency and the ability to make choices that enable safety for women and their families.
Realizing the need for services aimed at improving survivors economic opportunities, Sakhi has
provided skills-enhancement activities since the mid-1990s under the banner of the Economic
Justice Project. Through this project the organization provide case management, workshops and
trainings, and scholarships to women so that they can access public benefits, jobs, credit, banking
and other forms of support so that they can reach their goals of self-sufficiency and safety.
In 2011, Sakhi expanded their area of services to teenagers. It was done through the Youth
Empowerment program which was designed to expose youth to leadership, self-exploration, and
advocacy skills through social, emotional, and academic support. Hosted as an after-school
program, the Youth Empowerment group is open to youth ages 13 to 19 and takes place in the form
of group sessions.
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MODULE-4 DALIT MOVEMENTS IN INDIA

Dalit Issues in India: land Question
Political Consolidation of Dalit-Republican Party of India
Dalit Issues in India
The Dalit movement in India began around the mid-19th century. It was Jyotirao Phule, a
middle caste, social revolutionary from Maharashtra, who questioned the caste system itself and its
evil practices. By the end of the 19th century, there were a number of anti-caste movements in
various parts of India. This includes Phules Satyashodhak movement, Namashudra movement, the
Adi-Hindu movement, the Adi Dharma movement, the Ezahava movement of Sree Narayan
Dharma Paripalana [SNDP] Yogam, the Sadhu Jana Paripalana Samajam [SJPS] and the Pulaya
Mahasabha.
However, these movements were largely socio-religious in nature. Later, Dalit movements
got politicized in the early decades of the 20th century, and especially, When the Britishers
introduced the system of a separate electorate in the Minto-Morley reforms of 1909. By 1917, Dalit
movements got separated from non-Brahmin movements and they got a further fillip after a
resolution was passed in the Indian National Congress in the same year. The resolution stressed on
bringing the attention towards the socio-economic conditions and with the presidency of Gandhi in
1920, this process gathered momentum.
Ambedkar and Dalit issue
By the 1930s, Gandhi and Ambedkar had emerged as competing spokesmen and leaders of
the depressed classes in India. Gandhi thought that untouchablility was a moral issue, which is
internal to the Hindu religion and that there should be a peaceful and gradual abolition of
untouchablility. To Gandhi, there was nothing wrong in the varna system and that atishudrasshould be included in it too as they also constitute the part of the Hindu religion. On the
contrary, Ambedkar found untouchability to be a political and economic issue. He felt that abolition
of the caste system was essential for abolishing untouchability. Ambedkar favored the issue of a
separate electorate of MacDonalds proposal of 1928. But, Gandhi was vehemently against it and
went on a fast unto-death. At Iast, Ambedakar had to give in and signed the Poona Pact that gave
reservations to Dalits within the Hindu community.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was one of the greatest leaders that India has ever produced.
Ambedkar and his ideas provide inspiration, dignity, and a practical way forward for millions of
oppressed people in India. Coming from an Army background, young Bhim got a rare opportunity
to acquire a modern education. He was one of the first untouchables to go through college. He was
Page 47
much influenced by the thoughts of John Dewey. Deweys ideas were very much in the
Enlightenment tradition. Ambedkar, like Dewey, held that reason and scientific temper had the
potential to challenge unexamined tradition and prejudices by cultivating a collective, democratic
will to inquire, to examine, to discriminate, to draw conclusions only on the basis of evidence after
taking pains to gather all available evidence.
He attended the dalit issue as an immediate concern and demanded affirmative action. To
him dalit emancipation is not a matter that can be set aside, but needs more pragmatic approaches
and fruitful policies. For this purpose political organization is a must for the down trodden. A true
dalit consolidation is possible with the awakening of dalit consciousness in India. It is in this
context he attempted to establish political organization for the dalits.This started with the Indian
labour party and later Republican Party of India.
Republican Party of India
Ambedkar formed the Indian Labor Party [ILP] in 1936 bringing in all the depressed
sections of the society- Dalits, non-Brahmins, peasants and workers. However, unable to
consolidate and resolve differences between Dalits and non-Brahmins, he dissolved it and formed
the All India Scheduled Caste Federation (AISCF) in 1942. Later, as some of AISCF non-Brahmin
members got disillusioned with the party and joined the Congress. Finally, Ambedkar had a plan to
establish the Republican Party of India (RPI), which got established posthumously in 1956. But,
eventually, it too met the same fate as the earlier ones, with most of its members disintegrating and
joining the Congress.
The republican party is now divided into various groups. A major group is The Republican
Party of India (Athavale) . After 2004 election, it has a small representation in the Lok Sabha and
was a constituent of the ruling United Progressive Alliance. Its presence is limited to Maharashtra.
Recently, all factions of RPI except Prakash Ambedkar's Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangha reunited to
form a united Republican Party of India. RPI (Athavale) is also merged in this united RPI. In 2011
the party has aligned itself with the BJP-led NDA.
The Emergence of Dalit Panthers (1970s):
The first wave of the new anti-caste movement began with the emergence of the Dalit
Panthers in 1972. It mainly comprised ex-untouchable youth of Maharashtra. The formation of the
Dalit panthers took place against the background of continued atrocities by the upper-caste elites
and such oppressive developments-namely, the repeated failure of the Republican party to fulfill
any of the hopes of the Dalits, rising of tensions on the countryside and of the revolutionary
inspiration provided by the Naxalbari insurrection, which was crushed by the State.
The movement was largely concentrated in cities like Bombay and Poona, which began
with the publication of creative literature (in socialist magazines such as sadhna). It was militant
and aimed at power in its manifesto, yet it did not really carry any political strategy. However, the
Dalit Panthers fought their battle on two fronts: at the symbolic level against Hindu peasants and
artisans who were directly responsible for numerous atrocities committed against ati-shudrs. But
Page 48
like many earlier Dalit movements, it too got engulfed in party politics. There was a split in the
organization when Raja Dhale and Namdev Dhasal (two prominent leaders of Dalit Panthers)
developed differences of opinion. Differences arose over whether Dalits Panthers should be a castebased movement of Scheduled Castes or a class-based movement including the poor people of all
classes. Here Dhale was representing theAmdedkarite position and Dhasal a Marxist. The
Communist Party of India (CPI) wanted to bring Dalits in its fold. But, in the end, it was the
Ambedkarite position that easily won this battle, when in 1974; the Dhale group took control and
expelled Dhasal. This was largely due to the very real fear of the Panthers of control by Brahmin
leftists of supportive organizations, platforms, money for campaigns, even the media. Their deepseated suspicion was that they were now given only hypocritical support by communists.
As far as the Dalit panthers were concerned, it was more symbolic and cultural in focus.
Though militancy continued against the atrocities inflicted on Dalits, but at the broad political level,
Panthers like earlier Dalit leadership continually fell victim to Congress blandishments and
Congress progressive rhetoric: both Dhasal and Dhale supported Indira Gandhi during Emergency
and even the recognized Panthers gradually came to be a kind of political reserve army of the
Congress.
Dalit consolidation in 1980s:
The 1980s can be seen as a period of Dalit and OBC unity. It was prominently marked by
the emergence of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) as the party of Dalits, backwards and minorities.
BSP emerged as a political wing of the Backward and Minority Communities Employees
Federation (BAMCEF), launched by Kanshi Ram in 1978. It made its appearance particularly in the
northern states of India, such as Uttar Pradesh (UP), Rajasthan, Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, and Madhya
Pradesh (MP). The primary agenda of the party was to acquire power through the electoral process,
which it did achieve considerably. But it lacks a wider social, economic or political programme of
action beyond uniting the SCs, STs OBCs, and minorities. Later, by the end of the 1990s, it also
became a part of coalition politics and even went on to join the BJP.
The issue of reservation for OBCs led to riots in Gujarat in 1981 and 1985 (after the Baxi
and Rane Commissions Report, respectively), but unlike Marathwada, here Dalits were targeted by
the upper castes who blamed them for the extension of reservation. In the first riots, the OBCs
remained passive but in the second one, they attacked the upper castes. And then this Dalit/OBC
conflict got transformed into communal riots.
By the early 1990s, the debate about reservation for OBCs became more vehement with the
submission of the Mandal Commission report and its strong opposition by the upper castes. Here
the Dalit movement has narrowed down to pressure groups. The state has, besides providing an
institutional framework of incorporating identity politics, played a very critical role in bringing
about any substantial change as far as the Dalits are concerned. Yet, within the Dalit politics, the
new generation of Dalit leadership has taken into transnational alliances and networks to further the
Dalit cause.
Page 49
THE OBC MOVEMENT

It is difficult to give any precise definition of caste; it is all the more difficult to define
backward castes. This is because backward castes are not a homogeneous category in India.
Most of the scholars consider all castes other than dwija (the twice-born who have the right to wear
the scared thread) as backward castes. But there are several castes in the different parts of the
country, which are not dwija and yet they do not consider themselves backward castes. They enjoy
control over economic resources and political power. They struggle and mobilize for power among
themselves or against the Brahmins, and hence they cannot be considered deprived groups. These
include Kayasthas of Bihar, the Jats of Rajasthan and the Patidars of Gujarat. But then again, all the
backward castes do not enjoy a uniform socio-economic status.
The main debate in the Constituent Assembly was regarding the very definition of the
backward castes and who should be included in it and whether there should be class or castes as the
main criteria of considering any section as backward. Nehru and Ambedkar had a difference of
opinion regarding this, while the former preferred class, the later stressed on caste as the basic
criterion. As far as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were concerned, the situation was
quite clear. However, with regard to OBCs, the Constituent Assembly reached a decision that the
president of the republic can, by decree, nominate a commission formed by persons he considers to
be competent to investigate, within the Indian territory, on the condition of classes suffering of
backwardness as well in social as in education terms, and on the problems they meet, the way of
proposing measures that could be taken by the central or a state government in order to eliminate
difficulties and improve their condition. This argument eventually became Article 340 of the Indian
Constitution. Also, the adoption of preferential treatment of backward-caste people was specifically
sanctioned in Articles 15(4) and 16(4).
The Classification of OBC Movements:
M.S.A.Rao classifies backward caste movements into four types:
1) the non- Brahmin movements concentrated in the southern part of India, for example, the
self- respect movement in Madras in the late 1920s. The non- Brahmin movements in
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu raised cultural issues.
2) Movements led by low and intermediate castes such as the Ahirs and the Kurmis in
Bihar, the Noniyas in Punjab ,the Kolis in Gujarat, and the Malis in Maharashtra.
3) Movements by the depressed classes or untouchables against upper and other backward
castes.
4) The tribal movements.
Rao also deals with two kinds of ideologies with regards to the backward-caste movements.
First, many castes belonging to the other backward classes claimed a higher varana status through a
reinterpretation of and recasting of appropriate mythologies of origin, such as Ahirs in many parts
of north India, the Gopas in Bengal, the Gaulis in Maharashtra, the Gollas in Andhra Pradesh and
Page 50
Karnataka, and the Konnars in Tamil Nadu claimed dissent from the Yadu dynasty. In the second
decade of the 20th century, they organized themselves into an All India Yadava Association. In
parts of north India, especially Bihar, the Yadava came into direct conflict with Bhoomihar
Brahmins, when the former donned the sacred thread (symbol of twice born) in public.
The second variety of protest ideology was based on the rejection of the Brahminical Aryan
religion and culture. Adherent of these views included the Dravida Kazhagam Movement in Tamil
Nadu, which idealized Dravidian culture and religion and attacked Aryan culture and religion. The
Mahar movement in Maharashtra was another movement that abandoned Hinduism altogether.
The OBC Movement in Independent India
After India gained independence, the OBC movement in India concentrated on its demands
for reservation and job quota. Considering Article 340, the Government of India appointed the first
backward Classes Commission in 1953 with Kaka Kalelkar as its head. The Commission identified
2,399 castes as socially and educationally backward classes. The Government, however, did not
accept the recommendations on the grounds that the commission had not applied any objective tests
for identifying the backward classes. The commission was also doubtful about identifying the
backward classes. However, though the report of the first backward classes Commission was
shelved, it created milestone for the low- caste movement in north India. The best example of such
movements is provided by All India Backward Classes Federation.
The next step in the OBC movement was to be accomplished by the political actors. From
the late 1960s onwards, the OBCs were to advance through the socialist movements. While the
southern pattern of the low-caste mobilization was linked to ethinicization and strategies of
empowerment, in north quota politics was the key factor.
In 1978 that Janata coalitions displaced the Congress power at centre. With considerable
support in north India from the backward caste groups, the central government again took up the
issue of the preferential treatment for the backward castes by appointing the Second Backward
classes Commission with B.P Mandal as its chairman. The second commission explicitly
recommended caste as a criterion and 3,248 castes as backward. But by the time the Commission
submitted its report in December 1980, the Congress had returned to power. The Congress
government took no action on the report. In August 1990 Prime Minister V.P Singh, announced a
further 27 per cent reservation in addition to the 22 per cent set aside for SCs and STs.
The commission, here, recommended reservation of jobs for backward castes not as an
egalitarian measure or a step towards secularism or social justice, but primarily to boost the morale
of the backward castes. The implementation of Mandal report led to the politicization of cast in
India, which not only led to various coalitions, but also created various factions, for example, in the
case of Janata Dal, which has around 10 splinter groups.
In fact, caste conflict and competitions came into the forefront of Indian politics only after
the Nehru period, particularly after the split in the Congress in 1969 and during and after the 1971
elections. The Congress led by Mrs. Gandhi intensified its appeal to the disadvantaged group, to
Page 51
counter the power of the state party base, which rested mostly on the upper and landed castes. With
this began the trend of political cooptation by various political parties to bring in various factions
into their fold. In north India, for example, several political parties, particularly the Samyuktha
Socialist Party (SSP) of Ram Manohar Lohia and Bharathiya Kranti Dal (BKD) of Charan Singh,
developed strength among the backward castes and advocated policies of preferential treatment.
While in south India, where the mobilization of the non-Brahmin castes took place earlier
than in the north, neither in Karnataka nor in Tamil Nadu were the non-Brahmin movements
seeking radical change but rather, aiming to gain greater power in administration and in local
elected bodies and state legislatures.
In Karnataka, the Congress leadership in the 1950s came predominantly from Lingaayats
and Vokkaligas. In the 1970s, Devraj Urs as permanent Congress leader in Karnataka broadened
the social base of the party by appealing to the more disadvantaged backward castes and Scheduled
Castes. However, after the defeat of the Congress by the Janatha Dal in 1977 there were differences
between Urs and the Congress which led to a split in the party. After the split, the Congress reduces
its dependence upon the non-dominant backward classes and increased the representation of the
dominant Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities.
In Tamil Nadu, the Dravidian movement was committed to the destruction of caste system
but in practice, it used caste as a means of political mobilization and ultimately increased the
political importance of caste. Through the Congress initially succeeded in gaining the support of
non Brahmin elites, the DMK was ultimately able to win control of the state by transforming its
anti-Brahmin ideology into an anti-northern one.
Though caste lost its moral legitimacy in Independent India, but still the same middle and
lower castes sought equality with the upper castes through the process of Sanskritization.
However, at the same time, they proclaimed their status as backward castes and demanded greater
political power.
New demands after Mandal
Another issue that arose after the Mandal report and during agitation against it was
redefinition of poverty and backwardness by a section of dominant elite. As a result, the Gujarat
Kshatriya Sabha argued that all Kshatriyas should be considered as backward because they were
economically backward and the various castes among the Kshatriyas share a common culture and
social customs. According to Rajputs, those who were unable to compete openly should get the
benefit of reservations. Similarly, the Lingayatas and the Vokkaligas communities, realizing that
they would not get backward status, insisted that the Chinnappa Readdy Commission adopt
economic criteria to identify social and educationally backward classes. But again, one of the
shortcomings of these reservations was that it had largely benefited the upper echelons of the social
hierarchy, leaving large sections of the lower echelons with no access to knowledge and political
power and with no benefits whatsoever.
Page 52
THE ADIVASI MOVEMENT

The adivasi or tribal movements have a long history. Numerous uprising of the tribls have
taken place beginning with the one in Bihar in 1772, followed by many revolts in Andra Pradesh,
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram and Nagaland. Tribal
movements in early India had their origins in religious upheavals like Bhudhism and Vaishnavism,
for example, Meithie in Manipur, Bhumij in West Bengal, Nokte Naga in Assam, Bathudi in
Orrissa, and Kols and Bhils in Rajastan. Then in the 19th and 20th century, the British also faced
tribal movements when they stopped head hunting human sacrifice or slavery in north-eastern
India. There were movements against oppressive landlords, moneylenders and harassment by police
and forests officials in Bihar, Bengal, Orissa and the central Indian states.
The adivasis and their areas largely remained out of the purview of the administration in the
pre- independence period. But the 1930s saw the emergence of a new discourse on tribal
development. Sections 52 and 92 of the Government of India Act, 1935 provided for tribal majority
areas to be demarcated into the excluded areas. This meant that these tracts were to be administered
by the Governor outside the framework of the constitution, and norms and procedures of
governance in the Fifth and Sixth Schedule areas were to be different from the rest of the country.
The assumption of this policy was that tribals have suffered a great deal during the colonial rule and
that their cultural and economic rights should now be protected. The Nehruvian view essentially
was that the economic life of the tribals had to be upgraded and modernized even as their culture
needed protection.
The left, had in general, support the Nehruvian position on both modern tribal development
and the need for protection of tribal from the market forces. The tribal activists have also backed
the idea of Nehruvian protectionism for tribal but only to the extent that it should help in the revival
of traditional tribal institutions. But their ideal is significantly different from the Nehruvian dream
of slowly drawing the tribals into the mainstream of bourgeois democracy. The Left position also
recognizes the importance of democratization of the tribal society, but wanted to develop a different
type of democracy was thus dependent not only on political freedom and self- governing
institutions but also on correcting the inequities between the tribal region and the dominant political
economy.
Nehrus ideas formed the basis of the tribal policy in Independent India and he argued that
modern ideas should be allowed to permeate the institutions of everyday life through the education
and employment of tribal. The bulk of allocations for STs were as grants for educations and social
services.
Among the works on tribal in India, one that stands out is by Verrier Elwin. He was an
English anthropologist who had spent almost his entire life in the association and intimacy with the
tribal in India. He was a symbol and slandered bearer of the movement for the recognition of tribal
rights. In defending tribal people, he clashed often eloquently with those Hindu puritans who were
trying to reform the tribal society in their ascetic mode. Elwin found through experiences with
tribes of Gonds and Baigas that they did not require a new religion but were desperately in need of
Page 53
moral and political support against the oppression and exploitation of the advanced communities.
Elwin had also proposed a policy of development in isolation to the British government in 1939
and its influence could be seen in the five principle of Nehrus Panchasheel, namely to allow people
to develop along their own cultural lines, to respect land rights, to train tribal for the administration
of the schemes, to work through tribal social institutions, and to judge results not by statistics and
expenditure, but by the quality of human character that is evolved.
Classification of tribal movements
The tribal movements may be classified into three groups
(1) Movements due to exploitation of outsiders (like those of Santhals and the Mundas,
(2)movements due to economic deprivation (like those of Gonds in Madhya Pradesh and
the Mahars in Andhra Pradesh), and
(3) Movements due to separatist tendencies (like those of Nagas and Mizos).
The tribal movements may also be classified on the basis of their orientation into four types:
(1) movements seeking political autonomy and formation of a state (Nagas, Mizos, Jharkhand)
, (2) agrarian movements,
(3) forest-based movements, and
(4) socio-religious or socio-cultural movements (the Bhagat movement among the Bhils of
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, movement among the tribals of south Gujarat or Raghunath
Murmus movement among Santhals).
Surajit Sinha referred to five types of tribal movements in India:
(a) Ethnic (tribal) rebellions during the early days of the British rule in the 18th and 19th
centuries: Sardar Larai (1885) and Birsa movement (1895-1900) among the M unda;
Ganganarain Hangama (1857-58); Rebellion of the Kacha Nagas (1880s) and so on.
(b) Reform movements emulating the cultural pattern of the higher Hindu castes: Bhagat
movement among the Oraon; Vaishnavite reform movements emulating the cultural
pattern of higher Hindu castes: Bhagat movement among the Oraon; Vaishnavite reform
movement among the Bhumij; social mobility movement Bhumij for Rajput
recognition; Kherwar movement among the Santal and so on.
(c) Emergence of inter-tribal political associations and movements for recognition as
tribal states within the Indian Union in the post-Independence period: the Jharkhand
movement among the tribes of Chhota Nagpur and Orissa; hills states movement in the
Assam hills; Adisthan movement among the Bhil and so on.
Page 54
(d) Violent secessionist movements among tribes located near the international frontier: the
Nagaland movement; Mizo National Front movement and so on.
(e) Pockets of violent political movements in the tribal belt linked with the general problem
of agrarian unrest and communist movement: Hajng unrest (1944); Naxalbari movement
(1967); Girijan rebellion at Srikakulum (1968-69); Birsa dal movement in Ranchi
(1968-69).
All the above mentioned tribal movements in India were mainly launched for liberation
from (1) oppression and discrimination, (2) neglect and backwardness, and (3) a government which
was callous to the tribals poverty, hunger, unemployment and exploitation. Here, it is also
important to mention that the withdrawal of the State from the social sector and its increasing
tendency to privatize common and natural resources have further jeopardized the future of
displaced people who are mainly adivasis.

After the failure of RPI as a Dalit political party, the 1970s and 1980s were crucial for the
Dalit Movement in UP. The state witnessed a very animated and path breaking movement under the
leadership of Kanshi Ram who had put Dalit Politics in mainstream politics in the state. It was also
the era when the Dalit Panthers emerged. It was a gathering of Dalit youths with a more militant
approach to voicing their concerns. Kanshi Ram, however, was not influenced by these waves of
extremism and paved the way for a wholesome political movement. He had a broader view than
any other Dalit leader in the past of a movement that could unite all the social sections affected by
the discriminatory social arrangement of Hindu society. Kanshi Ram argued that only 15 per cent
the upper castes was ruling over the 85 per cent backward and lower castes along with religious
minorities. Therefore, the fraction of 85 per cent should come together and take the advantage of
democratic politics. Kanshi Ram used the basic principles of representative democracy, which had
been criticised by the early Dalit leaders for not giving space to the Dalit community, i.e. rule of the
majority as a political strategy. This strategy is reflected very clearly in the slogan jiski jitni
sankhya bhari, uski utni bhagidari (share in power according to the ratio in population). Kanshi
Rams view of an egalitarian society was not an idea of absolute equality but of the rational
distribution of the power based on the population strength. In his theory, he is more realistic than
the earlier propagators of the Dalit Movement.
Kanshi Ram and Bahujan
Kanshi Ram established a category called bahujan, which comprises 85 per cent of the
society. He used this category explicitly as a political tool for the Dalit mobilisation. Keeping this
view in his mind, Kanshi Ram established a non-political organisation called the All India
Backward and Minority Castes Employees Federation (BAMCEF) on December 6, 1973. The
membership of the organisation was open only to Dalits employed in the public sector. The
BAMCEF widened its base swiftly across the country. The BAMCEF remained a base organisation
which accepted membership only from the government employees so that they could contribute
Page 55
economically for the implementation its further agendas. This was a strategic and organised
technique to precede the Dalit Movement.
After leveling the ground for his progress to the political arena, in 1981, Kanshi Ram
established the Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti, popularly known as DS-4, which was a
political organisation.In 1984; Kanshi Ram turned the DS-4 into a full-fledged political party,
namely the BSP. It was launched on Ambedkars birthday with the slogan vote hamara, raj
tumhara; nahi chalega, nahi chalega (we vote but you rule, it wont continue). The goal was based
on an axiom of Ambedkar that political power was the key to all problems. The establishment of
the BSP as a political party was part of a broader Dalit Movement initiated by Kanshi Ram in
northern India mainly in UP.
The BSP has been very successful in grasping the Dalits votes in UP. At the beginning of
its political career, the BSP could make its presence felt only marginally, but very soon it occupied
an influential place in state politics. When the BSP contested the election for the first time, it had
already nearly 10 per cent of the votes as its social base. The Assembly elections in 1993 proved a
turning point for the BSP when it made a political coalition with the SP to prevent the BJP from
coming to power. This election was launched the BSP and it created more political space with an
increase in its vote share from 10.26 to 28.53 per cent of the seats for which the party contested.
The year 1989, when BSP entered into the competitive electoral politics, was the time when the
Dalit Movement in UP turned into a complete political movement with less focus on social reforms
and economic equality.
The BSPs political strategy was mainly based on caste rather than classes. It was heavily
dependent on the lower castes and could garner political support only from the Scheduled Castes
and not other sections of society. This development restricted the expansion of the BSPs electoral
base. Therefore, BSP brought a decisive and surprising shift in its basic ideology and electoral
strategy. During the initial years of the first decade of the 21st Century, the BSP focused on social
engineering to bring Brahmins and other upper castes together through the policy of Sarvajan.
Though the BSP claims in all public forums and political manifestos that this policy brings the
Dalits and upper castes together, it included only Brahmins in its political strategy with explicit
focus. This social engineering brought Dalit and Brahmins together. The logic offered to rationalise
this peculiar coalition was that if both castes could remain on one political platform, the atrocities
and deprivation of the Dalits that were being caused by the Brahmins could be stopped.
Dalits and Land issue
Land is a major problem that leads to discontent and sufferings in the marginalized groups.
This is very particular in the case of dalits and tribals in India. In the state of Kerala around 30 per
cent of the tribal house holds are landless. Landlessness is lowest in the former princely state of
Travancore and Cochin. The proportion of landless tribal households is highest in the Malabar area,
with the districts of Wayanad and Palakkad taking the lead. The Paniya and Adiya were
traditionally slaves and had not owned any land in recent centuries. As a result of the large-scale
influx of non-adivasis, particularly from the former Travancore state, a sizeable chunk of arable
Page 56
land, which the adivasis had used for shifting cultivation, have been encroached upon depriving
them of their only means of subsistence. The post-second world war grow more food campaign
initiated by the government contributed considerably to this migration to the Malabar region.
Extensive tracts of tribal land were surreptitiously acquired or usurped by cultivators who
emigrated from the plains and the adivasis were reduced to the position of landless serfs of these
exploiters. The greatest suffering has naturally been inflicted on the Paniya and Adiya. Large
number of Kurichian and Kuruman who were traditionally landholding tribes were dispossessed
from the mid 19th century in the wake of expansion of a land market to the forest region. In
Attapady, the migration of plainsmen started in the 1950s. Within a span of 25 years, 20 per cent of
the tribal households in the district have been rendered landless.
As the successive waves of non-tribal immigrants pushed the adivasis to inferior lands, the
proportion of cultivable land to the total area possessed progressively declined. On the whole 62
per cent of the land holding tribal house holds in the state possessed less than two acres of land on
an average. In this context, land in their traditional homelands has become the single most crucial
element for the survival of these communities.

The Gothra Maha Sabha is an organization which stands for the rights of tribals. It operates
in the tribal areas of the state. C K Janu and M Geethanandan were the prominent leaders of this
organization. In the initial stages the organization effectively motivated the tribals on their fight to
right to land. The land question was one of the major problems faced by the tribal communities in
Kerala. They were not given any clear titles to their land holdings as many of these possessions
were located near or inside forests. The governmental attitude to the adivasi issue was also not
positive. There were many developmental programmes in the state but many of them failed to bring
the intended benefits to the marginalized sections. It is in this context that the tribals organized
under the banner of Gothra Maha Sabha and demanded their rights.
Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha and Muthanga Incident
The major incident that consolidated the organization of tribals under Adivasi Gothra Maha
Sabha (AGMS) was the Muthanga Incident. Muthanga is a place in Wayanad district of Kerala
state. The Muthanga struggle has a long history that was closely linked with the land rights of
adivasis.
As a result of land alienation and consequent economic crisis, in mid-July 2001, 32
starvation deaths were reported from the tribal areas of Palakkad, Kannur and Wayanad districts.
Responding to this, an intense struggle was launched with the setting up of refugee camps before
the residence of the chief minister and the Secretariat at Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. It
was this struggle that spawned the AGMS and negotiated the historic 2001 accord with the
government. The major components of the commitment undertaken by the government are the
following:
Page 57
(1) Five acres of land to all adivasi families having less than one acre of land. To begin
with, 42,000 acres of land of between1-5 acres would be distributed and the work would begin
from January 1 to December 31, 2002.
(2) A master plan would be made before December 2001, to be included in the 10th fiveyear plan beginning from 2002.
(3) A cabinet decision to include adivasi areas in the V schedule and a proposal would be
made which shall be sent to the centre for further notification by the president
(4) A tribal mission would be constituted to carry out all the above headed by a senior IAS
officer.
However, the state bureaucracy and its political leadership failed to implement these
clauses.Only 3 per cent of the Promised Land has been allotted in a year. At this rate it would take
the government another 33 years to complete the task. Also the rate of allotment has gone down .In
May 2002; the head of the tribal mission was replaced by a forest official of the governments
choice.
As the government was not positive to their demands and assurances given on January 4,
2003, AGMS had entered the deforested portions of Muthanga. This area was planted with
eucalyptus and was successfully passed off as forest state and forest department. The number of
adivasis had swollen to over 1,100 families since then. They had gone there in pursuance of their
demand for land. It was in continuation with an earlier agreement between the state government
and the Adivasi Dalit Samara Samithi (ADSS) headed by C K Janu and M Geethanandan on
October 16, 2001. The decision to move to Muthanga evolved out of wide spread consultative
process across the states adivasi belt. It was decided that the AGMS would go by the timeschedule that the government had drawn up for itself, after which it would be the bounden and
solemn duty of AGMS to bring the agreement into effect. This participatory democratic process
culminated in a huge gathering of thousands of adivasis from across the state at Mananthavady in
Wayanad district on August 25, 2002 when a 60 member tribal court representing different tribal
communities was constituted. The tribal court declared once again that in view of the nonimplementation of the agreement, the adivasis shall establish their rights by occupying the lands.
It was thus that thousands of adivasis had moved into Muthanga after the deadline prescribed by the
government expired on December 31, 2002.
Adivasi groups and families belonging to the Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha (AGS) encroached
upon and occupied a stretch of land in the Muthanga sanctuary. For 45 days the drama of forced
occupation of forestland, continued unhindered. On February 17, clashes between the police and
adivasis erupted following a mysterious fire and the capture and detention of government officials.
While the number of dead still remains a matter of speculation, the harsh clampdown has led to
several adivasi families being displaced, while many have been detained or are missing. The events
marked a sordid highpoint in the five-decade struggle waged by different adivasi groups for
restoration of alienated land. In October 2001, following a seven-week agitation, the government
had reached an agreement with the AGS, promising an amicable end to the agitation. Though the
Page 58
events at Muthanga sent shock waves across the state, there were attempts by the government to
justify its brutal actions. The government has refused to constitute a judicial probe into the incident.
However Muthanga incident established the political foundations of Gothra Maha sabha. It proved
that tribal political consolidation is no more a myth and that no government can ignore the power of
marginalized groups. Since then successive governments handled the land issue with more care and
prudence
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BA Politics - VI Sem. Additional Course - New Social Movements

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NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

School of Distance Education

Additional Course (In lieu of Project)

NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

Dr. Sabu Thomas,

School of Distance Education

Module-1 New Social Movements

Concept and approaches-Gandhian-Liberal-Marxian and Postmodernist

Dalit Issues in India: land Question

New Social Movements

School of Distance Education

Concept and approaches-Gandhian-Liberal-Marxian and Postmodernist

New Social Movements

School of Distance Education

Charles Tilly defines social movements as a series of contentious performances, displays

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New Social Movements

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Civil society and new movements

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New Social Movements

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collective behavior/collective action theories

relative deprivation theory

New Social Movements

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political process theory

new social movement theory

New Social Movements

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growth of political pluralism

decline in effectiveness of repression

a broadening of access to institutional participation in political processes

support of organized opposition by elites

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School of Distance Education

New Social Movements

School of Distance Education

1, Boycotts against oppressive regimes,

They claim to represent the people the downtrodden Indian masses.

Most of these movements are against the demerits of globalization.

They criticize the mainstream industrialized, corporate West.

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New Social Movements

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New Social Movements

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MOVEMENTS AGAINST POLLUTION IN RIVER CHALIYAR

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