Why did the Narmada Bachao Aandolan oppose the dam projects in the Narmada Valley?
Narmada Bachao Aandolan was a collective local organisation's movement to save river Narmada which opposed the construction of multi-purpose dam „ "The Narmada Sagar Project"and questioned the ongoing developmental projects in country:
1. Narmada Bachao Aandolan linked its opposition to Sardar Sarovar Project with larger issues concerning the nature of ongoing developmental projects, efficiency of model of development that the country followed and about what constituted public interest in a democracy.
2. It demanded that there should be a cost benefit analysis of the major developmental projects due to construction of dam submerged around 245 villages to require two and a half lakh population to be relocated.
3. The movement demanded proper rehabilitation of all those to be effected from the construction of these projects.
4. This movement also questioned the nature of decision making process to be in framing of mega scale development projects.
5. Movement also insisted that local communities must have a say in such decision making alongwith an effective control over natural resources.
6. Hence, NBA achieved a comprehensive National Rehabilitation Policy formed by government in 2003.
"Movement are not only about collective assertions or only about rallies and protests but something else as well". Justify.
On a political outline map of India locate and label the following and symbolise them as indicated.
Questions
1 .The state where Anti-Arrack movement started in October 1992.
2. The state where Dalit Panthers Organisation was active.
3. The state related with Chipko movement.
4. The states associated with Narmada Bachao Aandolan.
Some of the statements below are incorrect. Identify the incorrect statements and rewrite those with necessary correction.
(a) Social movements are hampering the functioning of India's democracy.
(b) The main strength of social movements lies in their mass base across social sections.
(c) Social movements in India emerged because there were many issues that political parties did not address.
Where and when was the organisation ‘Dalit Panthers' formed? Describe any three of its activities.
Which of these statements are incorrect: The Chipko Movement
(a) was an environmental movement to prevent cutting down of trees.
(b) raised questions of ecological and economic exploitation.
(c) was a movement against alcoholism started by the women.
(d) demanded that local communities should have control over their natural resources.
List any four activities conducted by Bharatiya Kisan Union to pressurize the state for accepting its demands.
Read the passage and answer questions below:
…., nearly all ‘new social movements' have emerged as corrective to new maladies – environmental degradation, violation of the status of women, destruction of tribal cultures and the undermining of human rights – none of which are in and by themselves transformative of the social order.
They are in that way quite different from revolutionar}1- ideologies of the past. But their weakness lies in their
being so heavily fragmented
…a large part of the space occupied by the new social movements seem to be suffering from … various characteristics which have prevented them from being relevant to the truly oppressed and the poor in the form of a solid unified movement of the people. They are too fragmented, reactive, ad hocish, providing no comprehensive framework of basic social change. Their being anti-this or that (anti-West, anti-capitalist, anti-development, etc.) does not make them any more coherent, any more relevant to oppressed and peripheralized communities.
-Rajni Kothari
(a) What is the difference between new social movements and revolutionary ideologies?
(b) What according to the author are the limitations of social movements?
(c) If social movements address specific issues, would you say that they are ‘fragmented' or that they are more focused? Give reasons for you answer by giving examples.
In the poem what does the term "Pilgrims of darkness"signify? To whom the poet has referred as the liberator?
The Bharatiya Kisan Union is a leading organisation highlighting the plight of farmers. What were the issues addressed by it in the nineties and to what extent were they successful?
What is meant by Chipko movement? When did it start and where? What is the significance of this movement?
Suppose you are an important leader of the Farmers' agitation. The government authorities ask you to present any three demands on behalf of the farmers. On priority basis, which three demands will you make? Support your demands with appropriate arguments.
Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions:
Movements are not only about collective assertions or only about rallies and protests. They involve a gradual process of coming together of people with similar problems, similar demands and similar expectations. But then movements are also about making people aware of their rights and the expectations that they can have from democratic institutions. Social movements in India have been involved in these educative tasks for a long time and have thus contributed to expansion of democracy rather than causing disruptions.
Questions
1. What is the importance of popular movements in democracy?
2. How do popular movements help the
government?
3. What factors make the people come together in a particular movement?
Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions:
Sardar Sarovar Project is a multipurpose mega-scale dam. Its advocates say that it would benefit huge areas of Gujarat and the three adjoining states in terms of availability of drinking water and water for irrigation, generation of electricity and increase in agricultural production. Many more subsidiary benefits like effective flood and drought control in the region were linked to the success of this dam. In the process of construction of the dam 245 villages from these States were expected to get submerged. It required relocation of around two and a half lakh people from these villages. Issues of relocation and proper rehabilitation of the project- affected people were first raised by local activist groups. It wrns around 1988-89 that the issues crystallised under the banner of the NBA – a loose collective of local voluntary organisations.
Questions
1. Why is Sardar Sarovar Project mentioned as multipurpose mega scale dam?
2. Why was it opposed by villagers?
3. Name the organisation which led the movement against this project.
4. What was the main demand of Local Activist Groups?
The anti-arrack movement in Andhra Pradesh drew the attention of the country to some serious issues. What were these issues?
What was Narmada Bachao Aandolan? What were its main issues? What democratic strategies did it use to put forward its demands?
What are popular movements? Explain any three issues related to women which brought social awareness amongst them.
Which action of the government of India threatened the fish workers' lives in a major way? Which organisation did they form at national level?
Do movements and protests in a country strengthen democracy? Justify your answer with examples.
Identify the reasons which led to the Chipko Movement in U.P. in early 1970s. What was the impact of this movement?
In what ways social movement raised various issues about the model of economic development of India at the time of independence?