CHAPTER 16 : Rise of Popular Movements NCERT SOLUTION CLASS 12TH POLITICAL SCIENCE | EDUGROWN NOTES

Very Short Answer Type Questions:

Q1. What was the main demand of Chipko movement?
Answer: 1. The villagers demanded that no forest exploiting contracts should be given to outsiders.
2. Local communities should have effective control over natural resources like water, land and forests.
3. They also demanded the government to provide low cost materials to small industries and ensure development of region without disturbing ecological
– balance.
4. This movement took up economic issues of landless forest workers and asked for guarantees of minimum wages.

Q2. Highlight any two main demands of Anti¬arrack movement.
Answer: 1. Prohibition on the sale of arrack.
2. Provided a platform to discuss private issues of domestic violence.

Q3. Mention any two demands of Bharatiya Kisan Union.
Answer: 1. Higher government floor price for sugarcane and wheat.
2. Guaranteed supply of electricity at reasonable rates.

Q4. How does party based movement differ from non-party movement?
Answer: Party based movements are those movements supported by political parties i.e. Trade Union Movement in Mumbai, Kolkata and Kanpur etc., whereas non-party movements have lost faith in existing democratic institutions and electoral politics to be merged of students and young political activists in mass-mobilisation.

Q5. Which two issues were addressed by Dalit Panthers? 
Answer: Dalit Panthers was a militant organisation of Dalit Youth formed in 1972 in Maharashtra:
1. These groups mainly fought against the perpetual caste based inequalities and material injustices that Dalits faced inspite of constitutional guarantees of equality and justice.
2. Dalits faced collective atrocities over minor symbolic issues of caste pride. Hence, they demanded effective implementation of reservations and other such policies of social just.
Ans. 1. The villagers demanded that no forest exploiting contracts should be given to outsiders.
2. Local communities should have effective control over natural resources like water, land and forests.

Q6. Mention any two party based movement.
Answer: 1. Naxalite movements.
2. Trade Union movement of Mumbai, Kolkata and Kanpur.

Q7. List any four activities conducted by Bharatiya Kisan Union to pressurize the state for accepting its demands.
Answer: 1. BKU conducted rallies, demonstrations and Jail Bharo agitations.
2. These protests involved thousands so over lakhs farmers from western UP’s adjoining regions.
3. BKU operated as a pressure group in politics with its strength of sheer members.

Q8. Which action of the government of India threatened the fish workers’ lives in a major way? Which organisation did they form at national level?
Answer: The government policies of economic liberalisation opened up India’s waters to large commercial vessels including multinational fishing companies which threatened the local fishworkers who came together on a national level platform in the form of organisation ‘National Fishworkers Forum’ needed by fishworkers from Kerala.

Q9. In what ways social movement raised various issues about the model of economic development of India at the time of independence?
Answer: 1. Chipko movement brought about the issues of ecological depletion.
2. The BKU farmers organisation complained a neglect of agricultural sector.
3. Dalits led mass struggle against social and material conditions.
4. Anti-arrack movement focused on negative fallouts of what was considered development.

Short Answer Type Questions:

Q1. Assess any two positive aspects of the Chipko Movement.
Answer: (i) The Chipko Movement started in early 1973 in the state that is now Uttarakhand. The movement was unique in the sense that it presented a very unusual form of collective action in which men and women from a village of this state were engaged. These villagers protested against the practices of commercial logging that the government had permitted. They used a novel tactic for their protest— that of hugging the trees to prevent them from being cut down. The struggle soon spread across many parts of the Uttarakhand region.
(ii) Women’s active 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 region for fifteen years, until the green cover was fully restored.

Q2. Where and when was the organisation ‘Dalit Panthers’ formed? Describe any three of its activities.
Answer: Dalit Panthers denotes to a militant organisation of Dalit Youth to be formed in 1972 in Maharasthra.
Its activities can be summed up as follows:
1. These groups mainly fought against the perpetual caste based inequalities and material injustices that Dalits faced in spite of constitutional guarantees of equality and justice.
2. Dalits faced collective atrocities over minor symbolic issues of caste pride.
3. They demanded effective implementation of reservations and other such policies of social justice.

Q3. What are popular movements? Explain any three issues related to women which brought social awareness amongst them.
Answer: Popular movements are the movements organised by dalits and farmers under the banner of various social organisations to voice their demands.
Women in Nellore came together in spontaneous local initiatives to protest against arrack and forced the closure of wine shops.
And this movement spread slowly all over the state.
Issues relating to movements:
1. The Anti-Arrack movement aimed at prohibition on the sale of arrack.
2. Its demand touched upon larger section of social, economic and political issues which had established a close nexus between crime and politics.
3. Women openly discussed the issue of domestic violence like dowry, sexual violence etc.
4. Anti-Arrack movement provided a platform to discuss private issues of domestic violence.

Q4. What is the Right to Information Act? When was it passed in India?
Answer: The ‘Right to Information Act’ is a law to empower the people to find out happenings in government and act as a watchdog of democracy:
1. It was passed in October 2005 by Government of India.
2. This Act ensures its citizens all information about functioning of government machinery.
3. This right has been expanded to cover various services provided by government i.e., if any purchased product is defective it can be -asked for replacement.
4. This right gives political actors incentives to good things to help to control corruption.

Q5. What was Narmada Bachao Aandolan? What was criticism against it?
Answer: Narmada Bachao Aandolan linked its opposition to Sardar Sarovar Project with larger issues concerning the nature of ongoing development projects with the . dreams of cost benefit analysis due to construction of dams submerged around 245 villages to require two and a half lakh population to be relocated.
Its criticism:
1. The obstruction to the process of development.
2. Denial to the access to water to many people.
3. Hurdle to economic development.

Q6. “Movement are not only about collective assertions or only about rallies and protests but something else as well”. Justify.
Answer: Though movements are the result of collective assertions, still these are associated with a “Gradual process of coming together of people” with common intentions, common problem, demands and common expectations. These movements make people aware also by performing educative role towards expansions of democracy.

Long Answer Type Questions:

Q1. 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.
Answer: Farmers’ agitation is not new in our country. It has been in existence time to time for particular goals. We know that the Indian farmers have been the worst sufferers in the country. They are the backbone of the country in development, yet they are not given much attention. Governments come and go, but the tragedy of our farmers remain the same. Being the leader of the farmers’ agitation I have several demands in my mind for the benefit of the poor farmers but here I would mention only three demands on their behalf:
(i) Proper banking facilities so that farmers should not depend on the village moneylenders who give them money at a very high rate. Most of the time the poor farmers fall into debt trap which make their life a hell.
(ii) Proper irrigation facilities in case there is poor/weak monsoon.
(ii) Insurance of crops will save farmers from committing suicide. The unexpected rain in the months of March and April this year devastated the standing crops in the field. The nature’s fury aggravated the miseries of the farmers some of whom could not bear and committed suicide.

Q2. What was Narmada Bachao Aandolan? What were its main issues? What democratic strategies did it use to put forward its demands?
Answer: 1. Narmada Bachao Aandolan linked its opposition to Sardar Sarovar project with larger issues concerning the nature of ongoing developmental projects, efficacy of model of development that the country followed and 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 a half lakh population to be relocated.
3. The movement demanded proper rehabilitation of all those to be affected from the construction of these projects.
4. This movement also questioned the nature of decision making process to be in forming 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 compreh ensive National Rehabilitation Policy formed by government in 2003.
Democratic strategies used by it:
1. Mobilisation of support at inter-national level.
2. Appeals to judiciary.
3. Public rallies
4. Forms of Satyagraha

Q3. What is meant by Chipko movement? When did it start and where? What is the significance of this movement?
Answer: 1. The Chipko movement began in two or three villages of Uttarakhand on refusal of permission to villagers to fell ash trees for making agricultural tools, and allotted the same land to sports manufacturers for commercial uses.
2. The villagers protested against the practices of logging to be permitted by the government.
3. Villagers used a novel tactic to hug the trees to protect them from being cut down.
Impact of movement:
1. It soon spread across many parts of Uttarakhand and larger issues of ecological and economic exploitation were also raised.
2. Government issued a ban on felling of trees in Himalayan region for fifteen years until green cover was fully restored.
3. Active participation of women was also a very novel aspect of the movement.
4. This movement was started with a single issue but became symbol of many such popular movements emerging in different parts of country during 1970s.

Q4. Mention any three social movements of India. Explain their main objectives.
Answer: 1. The Chipko Movement:
(a) It raised the issues of ecological and economic exploitation.
(b) Active participation of women was a novel aspect of the movement.
(c) The villagers protested against the practices of logging to be permitted by the government.
2. Anti-Arrack movement:
(a) This movement focused on issues of sexual violence against women either within family or outside.
(b) Women joined the campaign against dowry and demanded personal and property laws based on gender equality.
(c) These campaigns contributed a great deal in increasing social awareness as well as shifted from legal reforms to open social confrontations.
3. Narmada Bachao Aandolan:
(a) Narmada Bachao Aandolan linked its opposition to Sardar Sarovar Project with larger issues concerning the nature of ongoing developmental projects.
(b) It demanded cost benefit analysis of major developmental projects to relocate the people suffered from construction of dams.
(c) This movement also questioned the nature of decision making process to be in framing of mega scale development projects.