NCERT Textbook - Social Movements | Sociology Class 12 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

 Page 1


Social 
Movements
8
Chapter 8.indd   109 14 September 2022   12:05:16
Reprint 2024-25
Page 2


Social 
Movements
8
Chapter 8.indd   109 14 September 2022   12:05:16
Reprint 2024-25
A great many students and office-workers around the world go to work only 
for five or six days and rest on the weekends. Yet, very few people who relax 
on their day off realise that this holiday is the outcome of a long struggle by 
workers.  That the work-day should not exceed eight hours, that men and 
women should be paid equally for doing the same work, that workers are 
entitled to social security and pension — these and many other rights were 
gained through social movements.  Social movements have shaped the world 
we live in and continue to do so.
We often assume that the rights we enjoy just happened to exist. It is 
important to recall the struggles of the past, which made these rights possible. 
You have read about the 19
th
 century social reform movements, of the struggles 
against caste and gender discrimination and of the nationalist movement in 
India that brought us independence from colonial rule in 1947.  You are familiar 
also with the many nationalist movements around the world in Asia, Africa 
and Americas that put an end to colonial rule. The socialist movements world 
over, the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s 
that fought for equal rights for Blacks, the anti-apartheid struggle in South 
Africa have all changed the world in fundamental ways. Social movements not 
The Right to Vote
Universal adult franchise, or the right of every adult 
to vote, is one of the foremost rights guaranteed 
by the Indian Constitution. It means that we cannot be 
governed by anyone other than the people we have ourselves 
elected to represent us. This right is a radical departure from 
the days of colonial rule when ordinary people were forced 
to submit to the authority of colonial officers who represented 
the interests of the British Crown. However, even in Britain, 
not everyone was allowed to vote. Voting rights were limited 
to property-owning men. Chartism was a social movement for 
parliamentary representation in England. In 1839, more than 
1.25 million people signed the People’s Charter asking for 
universal male suffrage, voting by ballot, and the right to stand 
for elections without owning property. In 1842, the movement 
managed to collect 3.25 million signatures, a huge number for 
a tiny country. Yet, it was only after World War I, in 1918 that 
all men over 21, married women, women owning houses, and 
women university graduates over the age of 30, got the right 
to vote.  When the suffragettes (women activists) took up the 
cause of all adult women’s right to vote, they were bitterly 
opposed and their movement violently crushed.  
Box 8.1
Compare your life with your 
grandmother. How is it different from 
yours? What are the rights you take 
for granted in your life and which she 
did not have? Discuss. 
Activity 8.1
Social Change and Development in India
110
Chapter 8.indd   110 14 September 2022   12:05:16
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Page 3


Social 
Movements
8
Chapter 8.indd   109 14 September 2022   12:05:16
Reprint 2024-25
A great many students and office-workers around the world go to work only 
for five or six days and rest on the weekends. Yet, very few people who relax 
on their day off realise that this holiday is the outcome of a long struggle by 
workers.  That the work-day should not exceed eight hours, that men and 
women should be paid equally for doing the same work, that workers are 
entitled to social security and pension — these and many other rights were 
gained through social movements.  Social movements have shaped the world 
we live in and continue to do so.
We often assume that the rights we enjoy just happened to exist. It is 
important to recall the struggles of the past, which made these rights possible. 
You have read about the 19
th
 century social reform movements, of the struggles 
against caste and gender discrimination and of the nationalist movement in 
India that brought us independence from colonial rule in 1947.  You are familiar 
also with the many nationalist movements around the world in Asia, Africa 
and Americas that put an end to colonial rule. The socialist movements world 
over, the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s 
that fought for equal rights for Blacks, the anti-apartheid struggle in South 
Africa have all changed the world in fundamental ways. Social movements not 
The Right to Vote
Universal adult franchise, or the right of every adult 
to vote, is one of the foremost rights guaranteed 
by the Indian Constitution. It means that we cannot be 
governed by anyone other than the people we have ourselves 
elected to represent us. This right is a radical departure from 
the days of colonial rule when ordinary people were forced 
to submit to the authority of colonial officers who represented 
the interests of the British Crown. However, even in Britain, 
not everyone was allowed to vote. Voting rights were limited 
to property-owning men. Chartism was a social movement for 
parliamentary representation in England. In 1839, more than 
1.25 million people signed the People’s Charter asking for 
universal male suffrage, voting by ballot, and the right to stand 
for elections without owning property. In 1842, the movement 
managed to collect 3.25 million signatures, a huge number for 
a tiny country. Yet, it was only after World War I, in 1918 that 
all men over 21, married women, women owning houses, and 
women university graduates over the age of 30, got the right 
to vote.  When the suffragettes (women activists) took up the 
cause of all adult women’s right to vote, they were bitterly 
opposed and their movement violently crushed.  
Box 8.1
Compare your life with your 
grandmother. How is it different from 
yours? What are the rights you take 
for granted in your life and which she 
did not have? Discuss. 
Activity 8.1
Social Change and Development in India
110
Chapter 8.indd   110 14 September 2022   12:05:16
Reprint 2024-25
only change societies; they also 
inspire other social movements. 
You saw in Chapter 3 how the 
Indian national movement 
shaped the making of the Indian 
Constitution. And how in turn 
the Indian Constitution played 
a major role in bringing about 
social change.
8.1 Features o F a Social Movement 
A social movement requires sustained collective action over time.  Such action 
is often directed against the state and takes the form of demanding changes in 
state policy or practice. Spontaneous, disorganised protest cannot be called a 
social movement either. Collective action must be marked by some degree of 
organisation. This organisation may include a leadership and a structure that 
defines how members relate to each other, make decisions and carry them 
out. Those participating in a social movement also have shared objectives and 
ideologies. A social movement has a general orientation or way of approaching 
to bring about (or to prevent) change. These defining features are not constant. 
They may change over the course of a social movement’s life.
Social movements often arise with the aim of bringing about changes on 
a public issue, such as ensuring the right of the tribal population to use the 
forests or the right of displaced people to settlement and compensation. Think 
of other issues that social movements have taken up in the past and present.  
While social movements seek to bring in social change, counter movements 
sometimes arise in defence of status quo. There are many instances of such 
counter movements. When Raja Rammohun Roy campaigned against sati 
and formed the Brahmo Samaj, defenders of sati formed Dharma Sabha and 
petitioned the British not to legislate against sati. When reformers demanded 
education for girls, many protested that this would be disastrous for society. 
When reformers campaigned for widow remarriage, they were socially boycotted. 
When the so called ‘lower caste’ children enrolled in schools, some so called 
‘upper caste’ children were withdrawn from the schools by their families.  
Peasant movements have often been brutally suppressed. More recently the 
social movements of erstwhile excluded groups, like the Dalits, have often 
invoked retaliatory action. Likewise proposals for extending reservation in 
educational institutions have led to counter movements opposing them. Social 
movements cannot change society easily. Since it goes against both entrenched 
interests and values, there is bound to be opposition and resistance. But over 
a period of time changes do take place. 
While protest is the most visible form of collective action, a social 
movement also acts in other, equally important ways. Social movement 
Try and think of any example that will 
show you how society is changed by 
social movements and also how a social 
movement can lead to other social 
movements.
Activity 8.2
Social Movements
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Page 4


Social 
Movements
8
Chapter 8.indd   109 14 September 2022   12:05:16
Reprint 2024-25
A great many students and office-workers around the world go to work only 
for five or six days and rest on the weekends. Yet, very few people who relax 
on their day off realise that this holiday is the outcome of a long struggle by 
workers.  That the work-day should not exceed eight hours, that men and 
women should be paid equally for doing the same work, that workers are 
entitled to social security and pension — these and many other rights were 
gained through social movements.  Social movements have shaped the world 
we live in and continue to do so.
We often assume that the rights we enjoy just happened to exist. It is 
important to recall the struggles of the past, which made these rights possible. 
You have read about the 19
th
 century social reform movements, of the struggles 
against caste and gender discrimination and of the nationalist movement in 
India that brought us independence from colonial rule in 1947.  You are familiar 
also with the many nationalist movements around the world in Asia, Africa 
and Americas that put an end to colonial rule. The socialist movements world 
over, the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s 
that fought for equal rights for Blacks, the anti-apartheid struggle in South 
Africa have all changed the world in fundamental ways. Social movements not 
The Right to Vote
Universal adult franchise, or the right of every adult 
to vote, is one of the foremost rights guaranteed 
by the Indian Constitution. It means that we cannot be 
governed by anyone other than the people we have ourselves 
elected to represent us. This right is a radical departure from 
the days of colonial rule when ordinary people were forced 
to submit to the authority of colonial officers who represented 
the interests of the British Crown. However, even in Britain, 
not everyone was allowed to vote. Voting rights were limited 
to property-owning men. Chartism was a social movement for 
parliamentary representation in England. In 1839, more than 
1.25 million people signed the People’s Charter asking for 
universal male suffrage, voting by ballot, and the right to stand 
for elections without owning property. In 1842, the movement 
managed to collect 3.25 million signatures, a huge number for 
a tiny country. Yet, it was only after World War I, in 1918 that 
all men over 21, married women, women owning houses, and 
women university graduates over the age of 30, got the right 
to vote.  When the suffragettes (women activists) took up the 
cause of all adult women’s right to vote, they were bitterly 
opposed and their movement violently crushed.  
Box 8.1
Compare your life with your 
grandmother. How is it different from 
yours? What are the rights you take 
for granted in your life and which she 
did not have? Discuss. 
Activity 8.1
Social Change and Development in India
110
Chapter 8.indd   110 14 September 2022   12:05:16
Reprint 2024-25
only change societies; they also 
inspire other social movements. 
You saw in Chapter 3 how the 
Indian national movement 
shaped the making of the Indian 
Constitution. And how in turn 
the Indian Constitution played 
a major role in bringing about 
social change.
8.1 Features o F a Social Movement 
A social movement requires sustained collective action over time.  Such action 
is often directed against the state and takes the form of demanding changes in 
state policy or practice. Spontaneous, disorganised protest cannot be called a 
social movement either. Collective action must be marked by some degree of 
organisation. This organisation may include a leadership and a structure that 
defines how members relate to each other, make decisions and carry them 
out. Those participating in a social movement also have shared objectives and 
ideologies. A social movement has a general orientation or way of approaching 
to bring about (or to prevent) change. These defining features are not constant. 
They may change over the course of a social movement’s life.
Social movements often arise with the aim of bringing about changes on 
a public issue, such as ensuring the right of the tribal population to use the 
forests or the right of displaced people to settlement and compensation. Think 
of other issues that social movements have taken up in the past and present.  
While social movements seek to bring in social change, counter movements 
sometimes arise in defence of status quo. There are many instances of such 
counter movements. When Raja Rammohun Roy campaigned against sati 
and formed the Brahmo Samaj, defenders of sati formed Dharma Sabha and 
petitioned the British not to legislate against sati. When reformers demanded 
education for girls, many protested that this would be disastrous for society. 
When reformers campaigned for widow remarriage, they were socially boycotted. 
When the so called ‘lower caste’ children enrolled in schools, some so called 
‘upper caste’ children were withdrawn from the schools by their families.  
Peasant movements have often been brutally suppressed. More recently the 
social movements of erstwhile excluded groups, like the Dalits, have often 
invoked retaliatory action. Likewise proposals for extending reservation in 
educational institutions have led to counter movements opposing them. Social 
movements cannot change society easily. Since it goes against both entrenched 
interests and values, there is bound to be opposition and resistance. But over 
a period of time changes do take place. 
While protest is the most visible form of collective action, a social 
movement also acts in other, equally important ways. Social movement 
Try and think of any example that will 
show you how society is changed by 
social movements and also how a social 
movement can lead to other social 
movements.
Activity 8.2
Social Movements
111
Chapter 8.indd   111 14 September 2022   12:05:16
Reprint 2024-25
activists hold meetings to mobilise people around 
the issues that concern them. Such activities help 
shared understanding, and also prepare for a feeling 
of agreement or consensus about how to pursue the 
collective agenda.  Social movements also chart out 
campaigns that include lobbying with the government, 
media and other important makers of public opinion.  
You will recall this discussion from Chapter 3. Social 
movements also develop distinct modes of protest. This 
could be candle and torch light processions, use of black cloth, street theatres, 
songs, poetry. Gandhi adopted novel ways such as ahimsa, satyagraha and 
his use of the charkha in the freedom movement. Recall the innovative modes 
of protest such as picketing and defying of the colonial ban on producing salt.  
112
Make a list of different social movements 
that you have heard or read of. What 
changes do they want to bring about?  
What changes do they want to prevent?
Activity 8.3
The repertoire of satyagraha
The fusion of foreign power and capital was the focus of social protest during India’s 
nationalist struggle.  Mahatma Gandhi wore khadi, hand-spun, hand-woven cloth, to support 
Indian cotton-growers, spinners and weavers whose livelihoods had been destroyed by the 
government policy of favouring mill-made cloth.  The legendary Dandi March to make salt was 
a protest against British taxation policies that placed a huge burden on the consumers of basic 
commodities in order to benefit the empire.  Gandhi took items of everyday mass consumption 
like cloth and salt, and transformed them into symbols of resistance.
Box 8.2
Social Change and Development in India
112
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Page 5


Social 
Movements
8
Chapter 8.indd   109 14 September 2022   12:05:16
Reprint 2024-25
A great many students and office-workers around the world go to work only 
for five or six days and rest on the weekends. Yet, very few people who relax 
on their day off realise that this holiday is the outcome of a long struggle by 
workers.  That the work-day should not exceed eight hours, that men and 
women should be paid equally for doing the same work, that workers are 
entitled to social security and pension — these and many other rights were 
gained through social movements.  Social movements have shaped the world 
we live in and continue to do so.
We often assume that the rights we enjoy just happened to exist. It is 
important to recall the struggles of the past, which made these rights possible. 
You have read about the 19
th
 century social reform movements, of the struggles 
against caste and gender discrimination and of the nationalist movement in 
India that brought us independence from colonial rule in 1947.  You are familiar 
also with the many nationalist movements around the world in Asia, Africa 
and Americas that put an end to colonial rule. The socialist movements world 
over, the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s 
that fought for equal rights for Blacks, the anti-apartheid struggle in South 
Africa have all changed the world in fundamental ways. Social movements not 
The Right to Vote
Universal adult franchise, or the right of every adult 
to vote, is one of the foremost rights guaranteed 
by the Indian Constitution. It means that we cannot be 
governed by anyone other than the people we have ourselves 
elected to represent us. This right is a radical departure from 
the days of colonial rule when ordinary people were forced 
to submit to the authority of colonial officers who represented 
the interests of the British Crown. However, even in Britain, 
not everyone was allowed to vote. Voting rights were limited 
to property-owning men. Chartism was a social movement for 
parliamentary representation in England. In 1839, more than 
1.25 million people signed the People’s Charter asking for 
universal male suffrage, voting by ballot, and the right to stand 
for elections without owning property. In 1842, the movement 
managed to collect 3.25 million signatures, a huge number for 
a tiny country. Yet, it was only after World War I, in 1918 that 
all men over 21, married women, women owning houses, and 
women university graduates over the age of 30, got the right 
to vote.  When the suffragettes (women activists) took up the 
cause of all adult women’s right to vote, they were bitterly 
opposed and their movement violently crushed.  
Box 8.1
Compare your life with your 
grandmother. How is it different from 
yours? What are the rights you take 
for granted in your life and which she 
did not have? Discuss. 
Activity 8.1
Social Change and Development in India
110
Chapter 8.indd   110 14 September 2022   12:05:16
Reprint 2024-25
only change societies; they also 
inspire other social movements. 
You saw in Chapter 3 how the 
Indian national movement 
shaped the making of the Indian 
Constitution. And how in turn 
the Indian Constitution played 
a major role in bringing about 
social change.
8.1 Features o F a Social Movement 
A social movement requires sustained collective action over time.  Such action 
is often directed against the state and takes the form of demanding changes in 
state policy or practice. Spontaneous, disorganised protest cannot be called a 
social movement either. Collective action must be marked by some degree of 
organisation. This organisation may include a leadership and a structure that 
defines how members relate to each other, make decisions and carry them 
out. Those participating in a social movement also have shared objectives and 
ideologies. A social movement has a general orientation or way of approaching 
to bring about (or to prevent) change. These defining features are not constant. 
They may change over the course of a social movement’s life.
Social movements often arise with the aim of bringing about changes on 
a public issue, such as ensuring the right of the tribal population to use the 
forests or the right of displaced people to settlement and compensation. Think 
of other issues that social movements have taken up in the past and present.  
While social movements seek to bring in social change, counter movements 
sometimes arise in defence of status quo. There are many instances of such 
counter movements. When Raja Rammohun Roy campaigned against sati 
and formed the Brahmo Samaj, defenders of sati formed Dharma Sabha and 
petitioned the British not to legislate against sati. When reformers demanded 
education for girls, many protested that this would be disastrous for society. 
When reformers campaigned for widow remarriage, they were socially boycotted. 
When the so called ‘lower caste’ children enrolled in schools, some so called 
‘upper caste’ children were withdrawn from the schools by their families.  
Peasant movements have often been brutally suppressed. More recently the 
social movements of erstwhile excluded groups, like the Dalits, have often 
invoked retaliatory action. Likewise proposals for extending reservation in 
educational institutions have led to counter movements opposing them. Social 
movements cannot change society easily. Since it goes against both entrenched 
interests and values, there is bound to be opposition and resistance. But over 
a period of time changes do take place. 
While protest is the most visible form of collective action, a social 
movement also acts in other, equally important ways. Social movement 
Try and think of any example that will 
show you how society is changed by 
social movements and also how a social 
movement can lead to other social 
movements.
Activity 8.2
Social Movements
111
Chapter 8.indd   111 14 September 2022   12:05:16
Reprint 2024-25
activists hold meetings to mobilise people around 
the issues that concern them. Such activities help 
shared understanding, and also prepare for a feeling 
of agreement or consensus about how to pursue the 
collective agenda.  Social movements also chart out 
campaigns that include lobbying with the government, 
media and other important makers of public opinion.  
You will recall this discussion from Chapter 3. Social 
movements also develop distinct modes of protest. This 
could be candle and torch light processions, use of black cloth, street theatres, 
songs, poetry. Gandhi adopted novel ways such as ahimsa, satyagraha and 
his use of the charkha in the freedom movement. Recall the innovative modes 
of protest such as picketing and defying of the colonial ban on producing salt.  
112
Make a list of different social movements 
that you have heard or read of. What 
changes do they want to bring about?  
What changes do they want to prevent?
Activity 8.3
The repertoire of satyagraha
The fusion of foreign power and capital was the focus of social protest during India’s 
nationalist struggle.  Mahatma Gandhi wore khadi, hand-spun, hand-woven cloth, to support 
Indian cotton-growers, spinners and weavers whose livelihoods had been destroyed by the 
government policy of favouring mill-made cloth.  The legendary Dandi March to make salt was 
a protest against British taxation policies that placed a huge burden on the consumers of basic 
commodities in order to benefit the empire.  Gandhi took items of everyday mass consumption 
like cloth and salt, and transformed them into symbols of resistance.
Box 8.2
Social Change and Development in India
112
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Reprint 2024-25
Distinguishing s oci Al c h Ange An D s oci Al Move Ments 
It is important to distinguish between social change in general and social 
movements.  Social change is continuous and ongoing. The broad historical 
processes of social change are the sum total of countless individual and 
collective actions gathered across time and space. Social movements are 
directed towards some specific goals. It involves long and continuous  social 
effort and action by people. To draw from our discussion in Chapter 2, we can 
view sanskritisation and westernisation as social changes and see the 19
th
 
century social reformers’ efforts to change the society as social movements. 
8.2 s ociology and Social Movements Why the s tu Dy of s oci Al Move Ments is i Mport Ant for 
s ociology 
From the very beginning, the discipline of sociology has been interested in social 
movements.  The French Revolution was the violent culmination of several 
movements aimed at overthrowing the monarchy and establishing ‘liberty, 
equality and fraternity’. In Britain, the industrial revolution was marked by 
great social upheaval. Recall our discussion on the emergence of sociology in 
the west in NCERT Class XI textbook Introducing Sociology. Poor labourers 
and artisans who had left the countryside to find work in the cities protested 
against the inhuman living conditions into which they were forced. Food riots in 
England were often suppressed by the government. These protests were perceived by 
elites as a major threat to the established order of society.  Their anxiety about 
maintaining social order was reflected in the work of sociologist Emile Durkheim. 
Durkheim’s writings about the division of labour in society, forms of religious 
life, and even suicide, mirror his concern about how social structures enable 
social integration. Social movements were seen as forces that led to disorder.
Scholars influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx offered a different view of 
violent collective action.  Historians like E. P. Thompson showed that the 
‘crowd’ and the ‘mob’ were not made up of anarchic hooligans out to destroy 
society.  Instead, they too had a ‘moral economy’. In other words, they have 
their own shared understanding of right and wrong that informed their actions. 
Their research showed that poor people in urban areas had good reasons for 
protesting.  They often resorted to public protest because they had no other 
way of expressing their anger and resentment against deprivation.
Social Movements
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