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DAILY
CLASS NOTES
Sociology

Lecture - 148
SOCIAL MOVEMENT IN
INDIA
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Social movement in India

Social movement: involves sustained collective mobilization. It has an orientation to bring
some change in society either partial or total. This change could be in structure,
institution, relationship etc.

 key characteristics and elements that define a social movement.

 Collective and Continuous Action: Social movements involve sustained and

organized efforts carried out by a group of individuals over time.

 Challenging State Policies: They direct their actions towards influencing changes
in government policies or practices.

 Structured Organization: Unlike random protests, social movements exhibit

some level of organization with leadership, decision-making processes, and
coordination.

 Shared Goals and Beliefs: Participants share common objectives and ideological
viewpoints, fostering a sense of unity.

 Guiding Approach: Social movements follow a general strategy or approach to

bring about desired changes, using methods like protests or advocacy.

 Adaptable Nature: Characteristics of a social movement may change over its

lifespan, including goals, tactics, and leadership.

 Issue-Centric: Social movements typically emerge in response to specific societal

issues, such as equality or environment, aiming to address them.

 Countering the Status Quo: Counter movements can arise in defence of existing
norms against the efforts of social movements, seeking to maintain the status
quo.

 M.S.A. Rao:

According to him, it is a large collective involving a large number of people, a

specific enunciation of the objectives and the goals of the movements. And they must
have an ideology to follow.
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He further advocated that movements must be organised and must have a division
of labour, framed rules and leadership.

Social movement in India:

In India, social movements encompass a wide spectrum beyond just protests and dissent.
They include reform, reactionary, social, religious, and freedom movements. These
movements emerge as collective endeavours to either encourage or resist change. They
originated in response to shifts in intellectual perspectives, alterations in social structures,
and changes in ideological influences.

Gail Omvedt: According to her, social inequality and unequal distribution of resources are
the reasons for social movement in India

(A)Peasant and farmer movements

 Indian peasants exhibit the following characteristics:

 Small-scale Production: They function as small producers, engaging in modest

agricultural activities.

 Limited Family Land: Typically, they work on a small plot of land owned by
their family.

 Simple Technology and Family Labor: Peasants rely on uncomplicated tools and
methods, often employing family members for labour.

 Sustaining Consumption Needs: Their farming efforts primarily serve to fulfil

their own consumption requirements.

 Emotional Bond with Land: There's a deep emotional connection between

peasants and the land they cultivate.

 According to Eric Wolf, peasants are such a population that is involved in cultivation
and make customary divisions regarding the process of cultivation. They revolt
against taxation policy, Land control., New technology, Land eviction etc.

 Theodore Shanin: Peasants have got a paradoxical social identity. He highlights their
socially subordinate and marginalized status and culturally unsystematic and
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unreflected nature, characterized by limited tradition and subsistence practices. As a

result, Shanin suggests that peasant movements are often instigated by outsiders
rather than emerging organically from within the peasant community.

Evolution of peasant movement.

 Peasant Movement And Their Uprising After the 1857 Revolt:

Colonial economic policies, a new land revenue system, a colonial administrative and
judicial system, ruin of the handicrafts leading to the overcrowding of land
Transformed the agrarian structure and impoverished the peasantry.
Movements Included:
1. Indigo revolt (1859-60)
2. Champaran
3. Bardoli
4. Pabna revolt (1870s-80s)
 Peasant movement In the 1930s and 40s :
They were under national leadership. The peasant movement was linked to the
national cause and assumed a national character.
According to Karyanand Sharma and Sahajanand Saraswati, peasants protested for
the following grievances.
1. Fallow land control.
2. Remission from tenancy laws.
3. Sharecroppers demanded 2/3 crops instead of 50%
During this time, All India Kisan Sabha emerged as an umbrella organisation.
 In post-independence India,
The evolution of peasant movements can be divided into distinct phases:
Phase 1: Land Reforms and Agrarian Rights
 This phase saw a focus on land reforms aimed at addressing issues related to land
ownership, tenancy, and sharecropping.
 The Bargadari movement in Bengal was a significant part of this phase. It aimed
to secure the rights of sharecroppers, who often faced exploitation from
landowners.
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 Land reform policies were introduced to redistribute land and provide rights to
tenants, attempting to alleviate rural inequality.
Phase 2: Green Revolution
 The Green Revolution, marked by the introduction of high-yielding crop varieties
and modern agricultural techniques, aimed to boost agricultural productivity.
 While it led to increased agricultural output, it also brought challenges like
environmental concerns, dependence on expensive inputs, and disparities between
regions.
Phase 3: Post-Green Revolution and Landless Agriculture
 After the Green Revolution, issues related to landless agricultural labourers gained
prominence. The shift towards intensive agriculture led to increased mechanization
and decreased demand for labour.
 Landless peasants faced marginalization, and the focus of peasant movements
shifted to issues of landlessness, wage rates, and labour rights.
 The weakening of traditional agrarian communities due to urbanization and
modernization further influenced the dynamics of these movements.
 Sociological perspective on peasant and peasant movements
 As per K.K. Sarkar, ‘Caste’ killed the peasant movement.
 Barrington Moore: The peasant movement was not successful as peasants
fought for their own caste. Thus, the Indian peasantry was not united as one
class.
 There are three schools of thought:
1. According to Barrington Moore, the absence of a peasant movement in
India can be attributed to the country's divergence from feudal Europe.
The key factor lies in the societal division based on caste, a unique feature
of Indian society. This division prevents the Indian peasantry from
uniting as a cohesive class. Consequently, the development of class
consciousness is hindered, giving rise instead to various forms of
consciousness such as those rooted in caste and religion.
2. Marxist scholars like Gail Omvedt, David Hardiman, and Ashok Rudra
present an alternative perspective on peasant movements in India. They
argue that these movements share similarities with those in Europe. Prior
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to independence, both Indian and European peasant movements were

driven by common goals: the elimination of intermediaries,
enhancements to irrigation infrastructure, and resistance against
oppressive taxation. The British colonial policies aggravated exploitative
traits, leading to the marginalization of countless farmers. This situation
created a fertile ground for discontent and resentment, mirroring the
circumstances in Europe.
3. These scholars contend that despite variations in regional origins, belief
systems, and castes, Indian peasants managed to come together for
shared objectives. This unity allowed them to transcend these differences
and function as an organized class movement, driven by their collective
interests. In this sense, the Indian peasant movement resembled the
coordinated efforts witnessed in Europe, illustrating the power of shared
grievances to unify diverse groups for a common cause.
4. DN Dhanagare and Ashok Gadgil, adopting a nationalist perspective,
propose a different interpretation. They assert that Indian peasants are
not merely an economic class but rather represent integral components
of the larger Indian society. In this view, peasants are considered small
but crucial constituents of the overall social fabric. Moreover, these
scholars advocate for viewing peasant movements as foundational
elements of the broader national movement. According to their
perspective, the agrarian concerns and struggles of peasants are pivotal
to the nationalist cause. They argue that the seeds of the nationalist
movement can be traced back to the very issues and challenges faced by
the agrarian sector. Thus, they emphasize the importance of agrarian
questions as the starting point for the broader movement aimed at
achieving national goals.

(B) Farmers' movement

Sociological Perspectives on Farmer’s Movement
 P. C Joshi: He notes that the transition from peasant to farmer movements
reflects the shift from feudalism to capitalism in India.
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 Ashok Gadgil: Attributes farmer movements to capitalist initiatives like the green
revolution and the growth of agricultural cooperatives. He points out that the
green revolution primarily benefited the affluent and middle-class segments of
society. They formed front organizations to advocate for their own interests,
functioning as pressure groups.
 Kannan highlights that the cooperative movement didn't benefit the poor farmers.
Instead, it favoured the wealthier and middle peasants, leading to a concentration
of cooperative holdings among them.
 Chakravarti identifies hegemonic domination persisting in India where targeted
benefits for farmers are appropriated by the rich peasantry.
 The phenomenon of farmer suicides across the country reflects this unequal
distribution of benefits.
 T k oomen Advocates that farmers' issues and present mobilisation have changed
drastically over a period of time. He also highlights that no longer there are calls
for land to the tiller by the leadership of the farmers' movement. The green
revolution and its success made agriculture profitable for a rich section of farmers
and now they have specific demands from States like free waste supply, free
electricity, subsidized fertilizers and a rise in MSPs.
 Dhanagare considers them as class movements and essentially as capitalist
movements

(C) Women's movement

Sociological Perspectives on WOMEN’s Movement
 Neera Desai: women's movements in India are sustained as collective action which
is committed to achieving gender equality.
According to her gender equality has the following dimensions:
1. Redressing the disadvantages.
2. Countering stigma and violence in society.
3. Transforming social institutions.
4. Facilitating political participation.
Women's movement in India takes up the cause for issues such as reproductive rights,
domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, sexual harassment, and sexual violence.
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 According to A. Lingam, the feminist movement in India is slowly leading towards

NGO-ization. She finds out that thousands of NGOs working around the country
are taking up women's issues differently in different spaces. She believes that the
women's movement in India should be integrated in order to become more focused
in approach and appeal.
Evolution of women's movement:
Phase 1 (1850 - 1915):
 Focused on addressing social evils like Sati (widow immolation), advocating for age of
consent laws, and promoting widow remarriage.
 Led by male activists, often those educated in Western ideals.
Phase 2 (1915 - 1947):
 Women's roles expanded beyond traditional caregiving roles.
 Women-exclusive organizations emerged, such as the All India Women's Conference,
which united Indian women nationally.
 Issues shifted to encompass women's political participation, aligning with national
causes.
 Women extended their focus beyond women-specific concerns to broader national
issues.
 Emphasis on affirmative actions, including maternal health and gender equality.
 State began to play a role in supporting women's causes in a paternalistic manner.
Contemporary Times / Post-Independence:
 The women's movement evolved into a participatory movement, involving a wider
array of women.
 Increased women's leadership within the movement.
 Gradual improvement in the socioeconomic status of women.
 Growing participation of women in education.
 Despite progress, challenges remain.
The trajectory of the women's movement in India reflects distinct phases: from
challenging social evils to broader political participation and empowerment. Over time,
women have assumed more prominent roles, both within the movement and in society at
large. While advancements have been made, there is recognition that there is still
progress to be achieved to ensure gender equality and women's rights.
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 Kalpana Shah divided the Indian feminist movement into three types:
1. Moderate: It talks of gender equality and sensitisation of the state towards
the needs of women.
2. Socialist: Largely influenced by Marist ideology and speak about class
mobilization and class action.
3. Liberal: It is concerned with an integrative approach to women's issues
involving the state, women's organisations women's research centres etc.
 Maitrayee Chaudhuri: According to her, patriarchy is deeply embedded in Indian
society therefore women's movement took the shape of a participatory movement
as a result the was a gradual improvement in socio-economic indicators for
women. However, irrespective of increased women's leadership and improved
socio-economic indicators mobilization is still low for women's movements. A large
number of women's participation is still lacking in the movement.
 Gail Omvedt: according to her, post-independence ideology became an important
character in the women's movement. And that is why firstly we see the women's
equality movement which focuses on achieving equality in the political, economic,
and social spheres. Secondly, was the women's liberation movement which wanted
a change of structure. Therefore, it is issued to challenge the political, economic
and social structure.

(D)Backward classes and Dalit movements

Sociological Perspectives on Backward class’s Movement
 MSA Rao: Sociologically, backward class consist of a large number of backward
classes which remain above the scheduled caste and below the upper caste.
Therefore, these castes consist of intermediate caste, cultivating caste, artisans and
service castes. Backward classes refer to the socially and economically deprived
section of societies.
According to MSA Rao, backward class movement can be categorised into kinds of
variations that could be distinguished on the basis of structural cleavages and
manifest conflicts.
1. Upper non-Brahmin castes and their movement.
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2. Second kind of backward class movement hinges on the cleavages within the
categories of non-Brahmins castes. It was between the Upper caste and
intermediate and low caste Hindus.
3. There was opposition between certain non-Brahmin castes on one hand and
depressed classes on the other.
4. Fourth kind was Tribal movements.
 According to Gail Omvedt, Phule’s solution to the upliftment of the marginalised is
strikingly modern. For example, he recommended the use of biotechnology, the
construction of dams, the breeding of animals, crop rotation etc. He emphasised
vidya (secular education) above shastra (religious education). Thus, these
recommendations were far ahead of his time. However, Omvedt and Harold
consider satyashodhak samaj was not a reform movement but rather a
transgressive movement (transformation through aggression) and it provided a
platform for the Dalit movement.
 David Hardiman: according to him, satyashodhak samaj and initiatives undertaken
by Dr Ambedkar have been instrumental for b the rise of the sub-Altern
movement in West India.

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