• Social movement is one of the major forms of collective behavior.
• The study of social movements has gained attention from sociologists in both India and the West.
• Social movements arise for various purposes, such as:
  • Reservation for SCs, STs, and other backward classes.
  • Counter movements demanding the cancellation or status quo of such reservations.
  • Movements to save the environment, wildlife, and world peace.
  • Movements for or against the construction of the Sri Ram Temple at the Ayodhya site.
  • Various political, ideological, and social movements like Fascist, Communist, Naxalite, Tribal, Peasants’, Women’s, Youth, Labour, Civil Rights, Human Rights, and Aforestation movements.
• Social movement is defined in different ways:
  • Turner and Killian: “A social movement is a collective action with some continuity to promote or resist change in society or a group.”
  • Horton and Hunt: “A social movement is a collective effort to promote or resist change.”
  • Nell J. Smeiser: “A social movement is an organized group effort to generate or resist social change.”
  • Rudolf Herberle: “A social movement is a collective effort to transform established relations within a particular society.”

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

• M.S.A. Rao, a prominent Indian sociologist, discusses the nature of social movements in his book “Social Movements in India”.

• According to Rao, social movements have two characteristics that most sociologists agree on:

  1. Collective Action:
     • Social movements involve collective action but become a movement only when sustained over a long period.
     • The action does not need to be formally organized; it could also be an informal attempt.
     • It must create interest and awakening in a large number of people.
  2. Oriented towards Social Change:
     • Social movements aim at bringing about social change, which can be partial or total.
     • The movement targets changing the values, norms, and ideologies of the existing system.
     • Counter attempts to resist change aim to maintain the status quo, and are generally defensive and restorative rather than innovative.

• Sociologists agree on the above two characteristics but differ on other criteria, such as:

  1. Ideology behind the Movement:
     • An ideology distinguishes a social movement from mere collective mobilization.
     • Example: A student strike may involve collective mobilization and change but lacks an ideology if it is a one-time event.
     • If committed to an ideology, it can last longer and become a movement.
  2. Organisational Framework:
     • Paul Wilkinson emphasizes that a social movement needs a minimum organizational framework for success or to maintain momentum.
     • The framework helps distinguish leaders and followers, clarify the movement’s purposes, persuade people to participate or support, and adopt different techniques to achieve goals.
  3. Techniques and Results:
     • A social movement may adopt various techniques to achieve its goals, including peaceful or violent, compulsive or persuasive, and democratic or undemocratic methods.
     • The results of a movement are unpredictable; it could be successful, partially successful, or at least create general awareness on an issue.
     • The results of a movement are closely related to its ideology and organizational framework.

THE FORMATION OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

• Social movements do not emerge spontaneously like a crowd or mob. They evolve through stages.
• Herbert Bhumer (1951) theorized that social movements involve several stages in their formation.
• The Preliminary Stage is also called the unrest stage, where discontent or confusion among people leads to restlessness.
• Discontent is caused by a relationship between objective conditions and ideas about them. Without dissatisfaction, no social movement emerges.
• For a movement to emerge, people must believe that deprivations are man-made and can be addressed through collective actions.
• The Popular Stage is when the movement rallies around a leader who promises to alleviate the people’s suffering. The leader may be charismatic and able to inspire people.
• The leader may talk about reform, revolution, or resistance, making followers believe that solutions will come through his leadership.
• The Formalisation Stage is when programmes are developed, alliances are formed, and organisations are created.
• In this stage, an alternative vision, world-view, or ideology is put forward to solve the crisis.
• Once the ideology gains acceptance, efforts are made to translate it into a programme calling for collective action, leading to the birth of the movement.
• Not all movements are launched by charismatic leaders; they may be sponsored or led by organisations that support the cause.
• An organisation may form to strengthen the movement, or existing organisations may take up the cause and lead it.
• The success of the movement depends on the organisation functioning more like a movement and less like a rigid formal structure.
• People may lose faith in charismatic leaders and gravitate towards organisational leaders.
• The Institutionalisation Stage occurs if the movement succeeds, where it becomes an institution.
• At this stage, the movement is no longer collective behaviour but is organised, follows accepted norms, and assumes that change will take time.
• The institutionalisation stage leads to the end of the active life of the movement, as it becomes routinised and bureaucratic.
• Horton and Hunt state that in institutionalisation, organisations take over from early leaders, and bureaucracy is entrenched, crystallising the ideology and programme.
• The Dissolution Stage happens when the movement becomes an enduring organisation or fades away.
• It may be revived later, but the movement is no longer active in its original form.
• Horton and Hunt argue that the dissolution stage fits poorly for expressive and migratory movements but applies to utopian, reform, revolutionary, and resistance movements.
• Sociologist Abel (1937) discussed conditions for a successful social movement.
• Conditions for success:
  • Many individuals must experience events perceived as a threat.
  • The reaction to events must be a strong emotional dissatisfaction.
  • Personal values must be involved.
  • There must be a clear focus of dissatisfaction and opposition.

Socio-Religious Movements

• The best-studied social movements in India include Social and Religious Reform Movements, Backward Classes Movement, Dalit Movement, Tribal Movement, Peasant Movement, and to a lesser extent, the Women’s Movement.
• Reform movements seek to introduce changes in norms, values, and social relations within the existing societal framework, using legitimate means without disturbing the overall structure of society.
• Examples of Social and Religious Reform Movements include the Brahmo Samaj Movement (led by Raja Ram Mohan Roy), the Arya Samaj Movement (led by Swami Dayanand Saraswati), the Aligarh Movement (led by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan), and the Tablighi Jamaat Movement (led by Moulana Ilyas).
• The Brahmo Samaj Movement was a precursor to social reform in modern India, emerging from the influence of modern Western education.
• A liberal intellectual class emerged, trying to reinterpret Hinduism in a rational, humanistic, and liberal framework, addressing social evils like Sati, polygamy, untouchability, idol worship, and dogmatism.
• Raja Ram Mohan Roy, reacting against social evils, launched the Brahmo Samaj Movement in 1829, with the objective of purifying Hinduism and promoting the worship of one God.
• The movement emphasized reason, rationality, and the Vedas, incorporating teachings from other religions.
• It condemned Sati and untouchability, promoted human dignity, modern secular education, and played a key role in the Sati abolition legislation.
• The Brahmo Samaj Movement also promoted widow remarriage and women’s education and worked against the rigidity of the caste system and child marriage.
• The movement had limited influence, mostly among urban Bengalis, but had a significant impact on socio-cultural, political, and intellectual life in Bengal during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
• Internal dissensions weakened the movement but it continued to inspire future generations of reformers.
• The Arya Samaj Movement had a broader scope than the Brahmo Samaj, founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1875.
• Arya Samaj was revivalistic, considering the Vedas as the infallible source of all knowledge.
• Swami Dayanand condemned rituals as profit-driven and introduced the slogan ‘Back to the Vedas’.
• Arya Samaj aimed to abolish the hereditary caste system and replace it with the four varna system, attacked untouchability, and promoted social status based on merit.
• The movement emphasized gender equality, women’s education, but opposed co-education.
• Arya Samajists established a network of DAV (Dayanand Anglo-Vedic) Colleges and a university (Gurukul) near Haridwar to propagate educational ideas.
• The movement attracted prominent nationalists, including Lala Lajpat Rai.
• Despite promoting national awakening, Arya Samaj generated hostility towards Islam and Muslims.
• In the 1920s, the Shuddhi campaign (a reconversion movement) created communal tensions, preventing Arya Samaj from becoming truly national or cosmopolitan.
• The movement’s negative stance towards minorities, especially Muslims, hindered the growth of secular nationalism.
• Two well-known reform movements among Muslims in India are the Aligarh Movement and the Tablighi Movement.
• Aligarh Movement, led by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, holds a special place in Muslim social reform in India.
• Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was a visionary who emphasized the reconciliation between modernity and Islam, influenced by English education and modern scientific thought.
• He accepted the Quran as an authoritative work and rejected interpretations conflicting with modern science or reason.
• Sir Syed fought against obscurantism and irrationality, advocating for a critical approach and freedom of thought.
• He promoted Hindu-Muslim unity, viewing them as “two eyes of the beautiful bride called India”, and encouraged mutual tolerance and goodwill.
• As the founder of the Aligarh Movement, he promoted modern education and translated several Western educational books into Urdu for the benefit of North Indian Muslims.
• He founded the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875 at Aligarh, which later became the Aligarh Muslim University.
• The college was run on non-communal lines, admitting students from various castes and communities.
• Sir Syed’s reforms included promoting women’s education, discouraging the Purdah system, and condemning polygamy and easy divorce.
• His views often put him in conflict with the orthodox section of Indian Muslims.
• Some critics accused him of being too close to the British rulers and criticized his separatist ideas towards the end of his life.
• After Sir Syed’s death, the Aligarh Movement couldn’t be sustained vigorously but continued to inspire reformative elements in Muslim society in the Indian subcontinent.
• In contrast to the progressive Aligarh Movement, the Tablighi Movement is religious-oriented and revivalist.
• The Tablighi Jamaat is one of the most widespread yet least studied Islamic movements, active in over 100 countriestoday.
• It originated in the 1920s in Mewat, a culturally distinct region in Haryana and Rajasthan, home to the Meo tribal community.
• The movement was founded by the charismatic Islamic scholar Moulana Muhammad Ilyas.
• The immediate cause for the movement’s creation was the Shuddhi campaign by the Arya Samaj, which aimed to reconvert neo-Muslims back to Hinduism.
• Ilyas realized that to prevent neo-Muslims from being absorbed into the Hindu fold, they needed to develop a strong Islamic identity and learn the basics of Islam.
• He initially focused his missionary efforts on the Meos, a neo-Muslim group.
• The movement aimed to restore the purity of Islamic practices by removing Hindu customs and practices.
• While this strengthened the Islamic identity of the Meos, it weakened traditional ties between the Meos and their Hindu neighbors.
• Sociologically, Little Traditions, shared by different religious groups at the local level, act as a cultural bridge. The Tablighi Movement’s efforts could promote cultural exclusivity, potentially hindering social and national integrationdespite being considered a religious reform effort.

Arya Samaj

Arya Samaj is a monotheistic Hindu reform movement in India that supports principles and practices based on the Vedas’ irrefutable authority. On 10 April 1875, the sannyasi (ascetic) Dayanand Saraswati created the samaj. Arya Samaj was the first Hindu group to practice proselytization. Since 1800, the group has also campaigned to advance the civil rights struggle in India.

• Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1824-83) founded the Arya Samaj in 1875. He was a Sanskrit expert who had never studied English.
• He issued the slogan, “Back to the Vedas.”
• He was unconcerned with the Puranas. Swami learned Vedanta from a blind instructor named Swami Virajananda in Mathura. His viewpoints were similar to Ram Mohan Roy’s.
• The Arya Samaj’s social values include, among other things, God’s fatherhood and Man’s fraternity, gender equality, total justice, and fair play between man and man and country and nation.
• Intercaste marriages were also promoted, as were widow remarriages.
• Disbelief in polytheism and image worship, hostility to caste-based limitations, child marriage, opposition to the ban of sea journeys, and advocacy for female education and widow remarriage were all key programs shared by Brahmo Samaj and Arya Samaj members.
• Swami Dayananda Saraswati, like other reformers of his day, held the Vedas to be everlasting and infallible.

Arya Samaj – Features

• Believes in the infallibility of the Vedas and regards them as the ultimate source of all truth and knowledge.
• It was believed that post-Vedic books such as Puranas were to blame for the contamination of the Vedic religion.
• Opposes God’s idolatry and reincarnation idea, but supports the notion of ‘Karma’ and soul transmigration.
• Dayanand also rejected the doctrine of fate/destiny Niyati.
• Believes in a single God who does not have a physical existence.
• Rejects Brahmanical domination over Hindu spiritual and social life. Brahmins’ claim to be conduits between man and God is condemned.
• Supported the Four Varna System, however, it should be based on merit rather than birth.
• Everyone has an equal position in the spiritual and social lives of Hindus.
• Advocated for women’s equality in society. There is no place for any type of gender discrimination against women.
• Supported widow remarriage and female education while opposing polygamy, child marriage, Sati, and other practices.
• Supported the spread of Hindi and Sanskrit. Considered good education to be the foundation of a decent and robust social order.
• It conducted outstanding work in the realm of education, particularly for women.
• Animal sacrifices, religious pilgrimages, feeding the dead through sraddhas, sorcery and charms, and other socio-religious sins are condemned.
• According to Swami Dayanand, these sins occur in society owing to a lack of understanding of the Vedic teachings.

Ten Guiding Principles of the Arya Samaj

• God is the originator of all real knowledge.
• God alone is deserving of worship as the all-truth, all-knowledge, omnipotent, immortal, creator of the Universe.
• The Vedas are the genuine scriptures of wisdom.
• An Arya should always be willing to embrace the truth and reject the lie.
• The guiding concept of all activities should be dharma or careful consideration of right and evil.
• The Samaj’s primary goal is to promote global well-being in material, spiritual, and social terms.
• Everyone deserves to be treated with compassion and justice.
• Ignorance must be removed, and knowledge must be expanded.
• One’s advancement should be dependent on the advancement of all others.
• The collective well-being of humanity is to take precedence above an individual’s well-being.

• The Arya Samaj set the minimum marriageable age for guys at 25 years old and girls at 16 years old.
• Swami Dayananda reportedly derisively referred to the Hindu race as “the offspring of children.”
• The Arya Samaj became well-known for its humanitarian work after natural disasters such as earthquakes, famines, and floods. It also took the lead in promoting education.
• After Dayananda’s death in 1883, the samaj’s work was carried on by prominent members. Education was a critical area for the samaj.
• The Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (D.A.V.) The college was founded in Lahore in 1886.
• The Arya Samaj was able to instill self-esteem and confidence in Hindus, which aided in dispelling the illusion of white supremacy and Western civilization.
• In order to safeguard Hindu civilization from the invasion of Christianity and Islam, the Samaj launched the shuddhi (purification) movement, which sought to reintegrate converts to Christianity and Islam into Hindu society.
• During the 1920s, an active shuddhi movement resulted in increased communication of social life, which eventually snowballed into communal political consciousness.
• The shuddhi movement also tried to convert persons considered untouchables and outside the Hindu caste system into pure caste Hindus.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati

• Swami Dayananda Saraswati, a social and religious reformer, was born on February 12, 1824. He was born in the Gujarat town of Tankara.
• On April 7, 1875, he established the Arya Samaj.
• Dayananda, born Mul Shankar Tiwari, was a prominent Hindu religious reformer.
• After his sister and uncle died, he began to explore the purpose of life.
• Mul Shankar, who was engaged to be married when he was in his teens, decided he wanted to live an ascetic life and ran away from home.
• During this period, he began to practice Yoga. Virajanand Dandeesha was his spiritual instructor.
• Dayananda saw that Hinduism has deviated from its roots. He promised his Guru that he would work hard to restore the Vedas to their due place in the Hindu faith and way of life.
• He warned against the practice of making contributions to priests.
• He emphasized One God and condemned idol worship via this reform effort. He also spoke out against the revered role of priests in Hinduism.
• He was hostile to the diversity of castes. Furthermore, he believed that the conversion of lower castes to Christianity and Islam was mostly due to caste multiplicity.
• He also founded Vedic schools to educate females and boys of all castes. Students at these schools were provided with free literature, clothes, shelter, and food, as well as instruction in the Vedas and other ancient writings.
• Arya Samaj conducted a long-running campaign against untouchability and pushed for the abolition of caste inequalities.
• The establishment of the Dayanand Anglo Vedic Trust and Management Society in Lahore in 1886 was an attempt to unify the samaj and its operations.
• They also campaigned for the protection of widows and other social causes such as assisting victims of natural or man-made disasters.
• He wrote a lot of novels. Satyartha Prakash is his most notable contribution. Other books include the Sanskarvidhi, the Rig Veda Bhashyam, and many more.

Peasant Movement

Peasant movements are an important socio-political phenomenon in which rural populations get organized to redress their grievances pertaining to land, labor, and economic issues. Throughout history, such movements have cropped up as spontaneous responses to the inhuman exploitation, economic suffering, and socio-economic imbalances faced by peasants. In most instances, they have played a very significant role in fighting oppressive systems, land reforms, and striving for social justice. These movements express the struggles of farmers for broader equity and change within agrarian societies.

What is Peasant Movement?

A peasant movement could be defined as any rural or agrarian-based collective action or mobilization that is oriented toward redressing grievances over land, labor, and other parameters of the broader socio-economic condition. The movements usually arise as a response to the exploitation, inequality, and political powerlessness that mark the lives of peasants or small-scale farmers. Commonly, the goals of the peasant movements are the advocacy of reforms in landholding and labor conditions and improved living conditions with greater representation in the political sphere. 

Peasant Movement in India

The peasant movements in India have remained very significant in changing the socio-political and economic scene within the country. Such movements have come up at times as natural outbursts against the exploitation and hardships which the rural population has been suffering while being linked with different agrarian systems ranging from colonial rule to post-independence policies. 

Moplah

The Moplah Uprisings, also known as the Moplah Rebellion of 1921, was the conclusion of a series of riots in Kerala by Mappila Muslims against the British and Hindu landowners in the 19th and early 20th century (Northern Kerala). It was an armed uprising. Variyamkunnath Kunjahammed Haji headed it.

• Muslims came in Kerala as traders across the Arabian Sea in the 7th century AD, much before north India was overrun by Muslim forces from the west.
• The native kings granted them permission to trade and reside. Many of them married local women, and their offspring were known as Moplahs (which means son-in-law in Malayalam).
• Prior to Tipu Sultan’s raid on Malabar, in the old Malabar land system, the Jenmi or landlord possessed the land that was leased to others for agriculture. There were three hierarchical levels of ownership, including the cultivator, and each received a portion of the harvest.
• Under this arrangement, the Moplahs were mostly land farmers, whereas the Jenmis were upper-caste Hindus.
• During Hyder Ali’s 18th-century invasion of Malabar, many Hindu landlords moved to neighbouring territories to avoid persecution and forced conversions.
• The Moplah tenants were given ownership rights to the fields at this period.
• Following Tipu Sultan’s demise in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799, Malabar came under British control as part of the Madras Presidency.
• The British sought to reclaim the Jenmis’ ownership rights after they had abandoned the territory.
• Jenmis were now granted absolute ownership of the land, which was not previously the case.
• The peasants were now faced with excessive rents and a lack of tenure security.
• Beginning in 1836, this sparked a series of disturbances by the Moplahs.
• Between 1836 and 1896, they assassinated a large number of government authorities and Hindu landlords.

Moplah Uprisings

• Increased tax demand and field size, along with state harassment, culminated in significant peasant revolt among Malabar’s Moplahs.
• Between 1836 and 1854, there were twenty-two rebellions. None of them, however, were successful.
• The second Moplah rebellion happened after the Moplahs were organised by the Congress and followers of Yasser Arafat during the Non-Cooperation Movement.
• However, Hindu-Muslim divisions separated the Congress and the Moplahs.
• The Khilafat Movement began in India in 1919 to advocate the restoration of the caliphate in Turkey. It was supported by the Indian National Congress (INC).
• The Malabar Khilafat gatherings instilled communal attitudes among the Moplahs, resulting in a movement oriented against both the British and the Hindu landlords of Malabar.
• There was widespread violence, with Hindus and British officials being persecuted on a systematic basis. A large number of houses and temples were destroyed.
• Ali Musaliyar and Variyankunnath Kunjahammed Haji were famous rebel commanders.
• From August 1921 through the end of the year, the insurgents controlled significant sections of Malabar.
• The British, who had established a special battalion, the Malabar Special Force, for the riot, had suppressed the insurrection by the end of the year.
• In November 1921, 67 Moplah convicts were slain while being carried from Tirur to the Central Prison in Podanur in a confined freight waggon.
• They were suffocated to death. The Wagon Tragedy is the name given to this occurrence.
• The Moplah rebellion is a contentious issue, with some claiming it was a nationalist movement against the British and others claiming it was a communally heated series of disturbances.
• Former INC President Sir C Shankaran Nair criticised Gandhi’s backing for the Khilafat Movement as one of the reasons for the uprising’s bloodshed.

Environmental Movement

The environmental movement (often called the ecology movement) is a push to save nature from harmful practices and create sustainable ways of living. The environmental movement is a wide-ranging and ever-changing effort to tackle environmental problems and boost sustainability. It came to the forefront in the 1900s and covers various attempts to fight pollution, save natural resources, and shield ecosystems. This movement has grown from early conservation work into a worldwide push for thorough environmental policies and actions. It brings together different organizations, activists, and local campaigns working to address today’s urgent environmental challenges.

What are Environmental Movements?

Environmental movements are group efforts to address and minimize environmental issues while advocating for sustainability and safeguarding natural resources. These movements encompass various activities, groups, and campaigns that fight to conserve biodiversity, raise public awareness, and influence policy. They involve local activism scientific research, and collaboration between different entities such as non-profits, community groups, and government bodies.

Key Aspects of Environmental Movements

Environmental movements have key aspects that include different ways to tackle and reduce environmental problems. These movements use advocacy, try to shape policies, start grassroots efforts, conduct scientific studies, and work together to push for sustainability and protect nature. Knowing about these aspects helps us see how environmental movements bring about real change and build a better connection between humans and the environment.

Advocacy and Awareness

Environmental movements try to make people become more aware of the environmental issues like pollution, climate change, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity. They help in implementing the for steps to prevent these problems and find solutions often through public campaigns, education programs, and reaching out to the media.

Policy Influence

Many environmental movements want drive towards changing the public policies and laws about protecting the environment. They work to promote rules and regulations that tackle environmental challenges such as cutting emissions, conserving resources, and setting up protected areas.

Grassroots Activism

Grassroots organizations and local groups have an impact on environmental movements. They get people in the community to act accordingly. This has activities such as the setting up protests, cleaning up neighborhoods, and starting local projects to protect nature. Grassroots activism helps turn big environmental goals into real local actions.

Scientific and Research Contributions

Environmental movements often back and depend on scientific studies to look into environmental issues and come up with good solutions. Research groups and scientists who study the environment help in giving key data and insights. These help shape policies and inform public talks about the environment.

Global and Local Focus

Environmental movements work on both worldwide and community levels. Worldwide movements tackle global problems like climate change through international deals and teamwork, while community movements address specific local issues such as pollution or habitat loss in their areas.

Teamwork and Connections

Effective environmental movements often involve partnerships between various groups, including non-profits, government bodies, companies, and international groups. By joining forces, these groups can combine resources, exchange know-how, and boost their effect on environmental concerns.

Chipko Movement

The Chipko movement, also known as the Chipko Andolan, was a nonviolent movement started in 1973 in the Himalayan region of Uttarakhand. The protestors who hugged trees to protect them from loggers gave the movement its name since the word “chipko” literally means “hugging”. This environmental movement was launched by rural Indian peasants, notably women, in the 1970s. The primary objective of the Chipko movement was to defend forests and trees from government-sponsored logging.

• The first recorded event of Chipko, however, occurred in 1730 AD in village Khejarli, Jodhpur district.
• Here 363 Bishnois, led by Amrita Devi, sacrificed their lives while hugging green Khejri trees.
• The trees were considered sacred by the community, and they braved the axes of loggers sent by the local ruler, and is now seen as an inspiration and a precursor for the Chipko movement of Garhwal.

• It is a social-ecological movement that used Gandhian methods of satyagraha and nonviolent resistance by hugging trees to keep them from falling.
• The modern Chipko movement began in the early 1970s in Uttarakhand’s Garhwal Himalayas, with growing concern about rapid deforestation.
• On March 26, 1974, a group of peasant women in Reni village, Hemwalghati, Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India, took action to prevent tree cutting and reclaim their traditional forest rights, which were threatened by the state Forest Department’s contractor system.
• Their actions sparked hundreds of similar grassroots actions across the region.
• By the 1980s, the movement had spread throughout India, resulting in the development of people-sensitive forest policies that put an end to open felling of trees in areas as far flung as the Vindhyas and the Western Ghats.

• The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh saw a rise in development after the Sino-Indian border conflict was resolved in 1963, particularly in the rural Himalayan areas.
• Many international logging corporations looking for access to the region’s abundant forest resources were drawn to the interior routes constructed during the conflict.
• The government’s policy prevented the villagers from managing the lands and denied them access to the lumber, despite the fact that the rural villagers relied heavily on the forests for subsistence—directly, for food and fuel, and indirectly, for services like water purification and soil stabilization.
• Commercial logging operations were frequently poorly managed, and the clear-cutting of forests reduced agricultural yields, caused erosion, depleted water supplies, and increased flooding in a large portion of the surrounding communities.
• This served as the cause for the Chipko Movement.

• The widespread involvement of female villagers was one of Chipko’s most noticeable features.
• Women were most directly impacted by environmental degradation and deforestation as the foundation of Uttarakhand’s agrarian economy, and as a result, they could relate to the difficulties the easiest.
• Academic circles have argued vehemently over how much this engagement affected or resulted from Chipko’s beliefs.
• Despite this, a number of female and male activists, like Gaura Devi, Sudesha Devi, and Ghanasyam Raturi, a Chipko poet whose songs are still well-liked in the Himalayan region, played important roles in the struggle.
• In 1982, Chandi Prasad Bhatt received the Ramon Magsaysay Award, and in 2009, Sunderlal Bahuguna received the Padma Vibhushan.

• The leader of the Chipko movement is the well-known Gandhian Sundarlal Bahuguna (1927–2021).
• He is also credited for creating the Chipko tagline “Ecology is the Permanent Economy.”
• He spread the idea that ecology and ecosystems are more significant later, in the 1970 Chipko movement.
• Additionally, he believed that nature and economy should coexist.
• Sundarlal Bahuguna educated the locals by emphasizing the value of trees in the environment since they prevent soil erosion, bring about rain, and produce clean air.
• Bahuguna also played a role in Prime Minister Gandhi’s decision to implement the 1980 green-felling ban.

• After a decade of fierce protests, the Chipko Movement produced results in 1980.
• Additionally, the government put a 15-year prohibition on cutting down trees in Uttar Pradesh’s Himalayan forests.
• Additionally, forests in the Vindhyas and the Western Ghats were included in the prohibition on green-felling.
• Along with this movement, it aided in raising awareness of forest rights and the power of grassroots activism to shape public policy.
• Additionally, India’s forest cover increased somewhat between 2015 and 2017, as reported by the yearly State of Forests Report 2017.
• It was a major source of inspiration for the massive Appiko campaign in the Western Ghats, which helped to galvanize support for other anti-environmental destruction initiatives.

Dalit Movement

The Dalit movement began as a protest movement to bring socio-political transformation in the status of dalits in India. Dalits have been ruthlessly exploited and inhumanly subjugated by the upper castes for centuries. They have been isolated, fragmented and oppressed by the hegemony of Brahmin culture. The new polity, the post modern administrative framework, the rational judicial system, the current forms of land tenure and taxation, the new patterns of trade, the liberal education system, and the network of communications emphasized the spirit of liberty, equality and social justice for Dalits. The Dalit movement asserts rights and privileges to the Dalits. Ruman Sutradhar (2014) writes that the Dalit Movement is a social revolution aimed for social change, replacing the age old hierarchical Indian society, and is based on the democratic ideals of liberty, equality and social justice. He also explains that the socio-cultural exclusion, economic deprivation and political exploitation of centuries made the Dalits break out of such kinds of age-old prejudices. Hence, they began to protest with the help of literature, or forming organizations like the Dalit Panthers, and this protest movement came to be recognized as the Dalit Movement.

The post modern researchers, social scientists and academia have developed their interest to study the dalit movement as it is one of the important social movements in India. Different dalit leaders through their organization and political parties have mobilized and motivated the dalit mass to achieve the overall objectives of creating an inclusive society. Due to stronger mobilization by the Bahujan Samaj Party, the dalits could participate in the democratic electoral process in the country and create a separate identity for themselves. The dalit leaders unleashed the movement for maintaining or increasing reservations in political offices, government jobs and welfare programmes. It is called the new political movements of dalits. Dalit movement brought a transformation in the caste structure of Indian society and emphasized the fight for self dignity. The present reservation system is the outcome of dalit movement.

WHO IS A DALIT ?

Dalits have different names in different parts of our country. They are called Holaya, Panchama, Chandala, Samagara, Chammar, Adikarnataka, and Adidravida etc.The word “Dalit” is derived from the Sanskrit word Dal, means”ground”, “suppressed”, “crushed”, or “broken to pieces”. It was first used by Jyotiba Phule, the founder of the Satya Shodak Samaj, a non-Brahmin movement in Maharashtra. He used the term to refer to the outcastes and untouchables as the victims of the caste-based social division of the Indian society in the nineteenth century. Victor Premasagar writes that the term expresses the Dalits’ “weakness, poverty and humiliation at the hands of the upper castes in the Indian society.”The term Dalit has become a political identity, similar to the way African Americans in the United States moved away from the use of the term “Negro”, to the use of “Black” or “African-American.” Dalits today use the term “Dalit” as they believe the term is more than being broken and is in fact an identity born of struggle and assertion. The word dalit is a degraded term which was replaced by the British rulers who named it as depressed class in 1919. Gandhij lovingly called them Harijan. The Brtitish administration defined them as Scheduled castes in 1935. Again the term Dalit was popularized by the Dalit Panther Movement of Maharashtra in 1970.

In Varna Vyavastha, untouchables are placed as Panchama Varna. They occupy the lowest position in Indian society. They are the members of the menial caste and they are considered as impure and polluted and they have been regularly facing discrimination and violence which prevents them from enjoying the basic human rights and dignity promised to all citizens of India. They were denied access to roads, temples, schools, etc. to avoid “pollution” of other castes. They are forced to accept polluting occupations like disposing dead bodies, working with leather, cleaning toilets and sewage, etc.

The total percentage of Dalits is 16.6 percent in India. They are highly concentrated in states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa and Maharastra. Dalits are mainly poor peasants, share-croppers and agricultural labourers in the rural economy. In the urban economy they basically form the bulk of the labouring population. Sutrdhar (2014) writes that Dalits began their movement against the exploitation by Brahmans, and that they have not succeeded even now. There are varied reasons why the movement could not be successful and one of the most important is that Brahmanism is deep rooted in the social structure of India .The Arya-Brahmins, the originators of the Vedas have actually institutionalized discrimination through the institution of caste. The majority are accepting caste system because the dominant ideology is inflicted in the people’s minds by the process of hegemony. Brahmanism, in order to continue discrimination has made use of Gramscian hegemony‘through social institutions like schools, and temples, to maintain their hegemonic status.

The Brahmins have very systematically deprived the Dalits of their own land and resources. The dominant Brahmanical ideology of caste is being resisted by a small group that took the shape of the Dalit Movement. A few educated Dalits organized the majority to begin the movement.

As Gail Omvedt (1976) perceptibly observes, the autonomous Dalit movement had to engage with three forces in colonial society:

1. It developed in opposition to the socially and culturally pervasive and historically deep-rooted hegemony of Brahminical Hinduism.
2. It had to contend with the hegemony of the nationalist movement, which under the leadership of the Congress, strove to take over the agendas of several subaltern movements while restraining their democratic and egalitarian potential.
3. It had to face a difficult relationship with the communist movement.

Dravidian Movement

The Dravidian Movement was a socio-political and cultural movement that emerged in Tamil Nadu in the early 20th century as a response to Brahminical dominance, caste-based discrimination, and North Indian hegemony. It sought to promote the identity and autonomy of the Dravidian people, a term broadly used to refer to the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam-speaking populations of South India. The movement played a pivotal role in shaping the political, social, and linguistic landscape of Tamil Nadu, ultimately leading to the rise of Dravidian political parties and the transformation of governance in the region.

Origins of the Dravidian Movement

The origins of the Dravidian Movement can be traced back to the Non-Brahmin Movement that emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During British rule, South Indian society was deeply stratified along caste lines, with the Brahmins enjoying a disproportionate share of education, government jobs, and administrative power. The Madras Presidency, which covered much of South India, was marked by a strong Brahminical influence in bureaucracy and public life, leading to growing resentment among non-Brahmin communities.

In response, the Justice Party was formed in 1916 by C. Natesa Mudaliar, Dr. T. M. Nair, and P. Theagaraya Chetty. The party aimed to challenge Brahminical dominance and demand greater representation for non-Brahmins in education and employment. The Justice Party’s ideology laid the groundwork for the Dravidian Movement, emphasizing secularism, social justice, and caste-based reservations.

However, it was the emergence of E. V. Ramasamy (Periyar) and his Self-Respect Movement in 1925 that gave the Dravidian Movement a radical and ideological foundation. Periyar, who was initially a member of the Indian National Congress, became disillusioned with the party’s upper-caste dominance and its focus on Hindu nationalism. He argued that Brahminical Hinduism was a tool of oppression used to subjugate the Dravidian people, and he called for the rejection of Vedic traditions, Sanskrit influence, and caste hierarchy.

Ideology and Objectives of the Dravidian Movement

The Dravidian Movement was based on a distinct set of ideological principles that differentiated it from mainstream Indian nationalism. The core tenets of the movement included anti-Brahminism, social justice, rationalism, linguistic pride, and regional autonomy.

Anti-Brahminism was one of the central pillars of the movement. Periyar and his followers believed that Brahmin dominance in social, religious, and political spheres was a major obstacle to equality and social progress. They argued that caste oppression was perpetuated by religious orthodoxy, particularly through texts such as the Manusmriti, which legitimized caste discrimination. As a result, the movement advocated for the eradication of caste-based privileges and the promotion of non-Brahmin leadership.

Social justice and equality were fundamental goals of the movement. The Dravidian leaders demanded caste-based reservations in education and government jobs to uplift Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes. They also promoted women’s rights, opposing child marriage, the dowry system, and the subjugation of women under patriarchal traditions.

Rationalism and atheism were actively promoted by the movement, particularly under Periyar’s leadership. He argued that religion was a tool of exploitation and called for scientific thinking, questioning of religious superstitions, and the rejection of rituals. His radical stance led to iconoclastic campaigns, such as the burning of Hindu scriptures and the breaking of Hindu idols, as symbolic acts of resistance against religious orthodoxy.

Linguistic pride and Tamil identity were central to the movement. The Dravidian ideologues strongly opposed the imposition of Hindi as a national language, arguing that it was a form of North Indian cultural imperialism. They championed the Tamil language and literature, celebrating its antiquity and promoting the idea of Dravidian cultural supremacy over Aryan traditions. This led to large-scale anti-Hindi agitations, particularly in the 1930s and later in the 1960s.

Regional autonomy and self-rule were also advocated by radical sections of the movement. Some Dravidian leaders, particularly in the 1940s, supported the idea of a separate Dravidian nation, often referred to as “Dravida Nadu”. This concept was later abandoned due to political realities but continued to influence demands for greater state autonomy within the Indian Union.

Political Evolution and the Rise of Dravidian Parties

The Justice Party, which was the first organized political front of the Dravidian Movement, remained in power in the Madras Presidency for several years but gradually declined due to internal divisions and its inability to connect with grassroots movements. By the 1940s, the party had lost much of its influence, and Periyar transformed the Self-Respect Movement into a more organized political force.

In 1944, Periyar renamed the Justice Party as Dravidar Kazhagam (DK), marking the beginning of a more militant phase of the movement. However, differences arose between Periyar and younger leaders such as C. N. Annadurai, who wanted to participate in electoral politics. This led to a split, and in 1949, Annadurai formed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which would go on to become one of Tamil Nadu’s most influential political parties.

The DMK successfully mobilized public support through mass movements, anti-Hindi protests, and cultural revivalism. It also leveraged cinema as a tool of political propaganda, with actors and filmmakers playing a crucial role in spreading Dravidian ideology. In 1967, the DMK won the Tamil Nadu state elections, marking the first time a non-Congress party took control of a major Indian state.

In the 1970s, a faction led by M. G. Ramachandran (MGR) broke away to form the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which also became a dominant political force in Tamil Nadu. Over the decades, both the DMK and AIADMK have shaped Tamil Nadu’s governance, implementing progressive welfare policies, reservation systems, and linguistic pride initiatives.

Impact of the Dravidian Movement

The Dravidian Movement had far-reaching consequences in Tamil Nadu and beyond. It led to the decline of Brahminical dominance in politics, administration, and public institutions. The movement successfully ensured higher representation for backward communities through extensive affirmative action policies.

It played a key role in preventing the imposition of Hindi, ensuring that Tamil remained the primary language of education and administration in the state. It also redefined Tamil cultural identity, promoting Dravidian history, literature, and social reforms.

On the socio-political front, the movement contributed to the rise of regional parties in India, demonstrating that state-based political formations could effectively challenge national parties. It also set a precedent for secular and welfare-oriented governance, with Tamil Nadu becoming a leader in public health, education, and poverty alleviation programs.

However, the movement also faced criticism for its aggressive stance against Hindu traditions, which some viewed as excessively confrontational. Additionally, internal factionalism and power struggles within Dravidian parties have sometimes diluted the movement’s original ideological goals.

Conclusion

The Dravidian Movement was one of the most transformative socio-political movements in modern Indian history. It reshaped Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, ensuring social justice, linguistic rights, and regional autonomy. While its radical elements diminished over time, its legacy continues to influence Tamil politics, governance, and cultural identity. The movement’s emphasis on equity, rationalism, and self-respect remains deeply embedded in the socio-political fabric of Tamil Nadu, making it a defining force in India’s democratic and pluralistic evolution.