NCERT Textbook - Rise of Popular Movements | Political Science for Grade 12 PDF Download

 Page 1


I ts chptr…
?????? ???????? ?????? ?????????????? ???? ??????? ????? ?????????? ???
???? ??????????? ?????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ????
????????? ????????? ??? ????? ???????? ????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ??????????
?????????? ???? ?????????? ???????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??? ??????
???????? ??????????? ?????????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ??????? ???????
????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ???? ???????? ????? ????? ??????????? ????????? ????
???? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????????? ??????????? ????? ????? ?????????
?????? ???? ??????? ??? ???????? ??????? ?????????????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????????
?????? ??????????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ?????????? ??? ???? ???????
?????????????????????????????
??? ????? ???????? ??? ?????? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ??????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?? ???????????????????????????
?? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?? ???????????????????????????????????????????
?? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Photograph on this 
and the facing page 
are of the participants 
and leaders of the 
Chipko Movement, 
recognised as one of 
the first environmental 
movements in the 
country. 
Credit: Bhawan Singh
2022-23
Page 2


I ts chptr…
?????? ???????? ?????? ?????????????? ???? ??????? ????? ?????????? ???
???? ??????????? ?????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ????
????????? ????????? ??? ????? ???????? ????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ??????????
?????????? ???? ?????????? ???????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??? ??????
???????? ??????????? ?????????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ??????? ???????
????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ???? ???????? ????? ????? ??????????? ????????? ????
???? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????????? ??????????? ????? ????? ?????????
?????? ???? ??????? ??? ???????? ??????? ?????????????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????????
?????? ??????????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ?????????? ??? ???? ???????
?????????????????????????????
??? ????? ???????? ??? ?????? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ??????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?? ???????????????????????????
?? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?? ???????????????????????????????????????????
?? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Photograph on this 
and the facing page 
are of the participants 
and leaders of the 
Chipko Movement, 
recognised as one of 
the first environmental 
movements in the 
country. 
Credit: Bhawan Singh
2022-23
Nr  lr vmts
Take a look at the opening image of this chapter. What do you see 
there? Villagers have literally embraced the trees. Are they playing 
some game? Or participating in some ritual or festival? Not really. The 
image here depicts a very unusual form of collective action in which 
men and women from a village in what is now Uttarakhand were 
engaged in early 1973. These villagers were protesting 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. These protests marked the 
beginning of a world-famous environmental movement in our country  
– the Chipko movement. 
Chipko movement
The movement began in two or three villages of Uttarakhand when the 
forest department refused permission to the villagers to fell ash trees 
for making agricultural tools. However, the forest department allotted 
the same patch of land to a sports manufacturer for commercial 
use. This enraged the villagers and they protested against the move 
of the government. The struggle soon spread across many parts of 
the Uttarakhand region. Larger issues of ecological and economic 
exploitation of the region were raised. The villagers demanded that 
no forest-exploiting contracts should be given to outsiders and local 
communities should have effective control over natural resources 
like land, water and forests. They wanted the government to provide 
low cost materials to small industries and ensure development of 
Fascinating!  
But I wonder how it 
relates to the history of 
politics.
Two historic 
pictures of the 
early Chipko 
movement in 
Chamoli, 
Uttarakhand.
Credit: Anupam Mishra
7
chapter
rise of popular 
MoveMents
2022-23
Page 3


I ts chptr…
?????? ???????? ?????? ?????????????? ???? ??????? ????? ?????????? ???
???? ??????????? ?????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ????
????????? ????????? ??? ????? ???????? ????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ??????????
?????????? ???? ?????????? ???????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??? ??????
???????? ??????????? ?????????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ??????? ???????
????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ???? ???????? ????? ????? ??????????? ????????? ????
???? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????????? ??????????? ????? ????? ?????????
?????? ???? ??????? ??? ???????? ??????? ?????????????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????????
?????? ??????????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ?????????? ??? ???? ???????
?????????????????????????????
??? ????? ???????? ??? ?????? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ??????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?? ???????????????????????????
?? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?? ???????????????????????????????????????????
?? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Photograph on this 
and the facing page 
are of the participants 
and leaders of the 
Chipko Movement, 
recognised as one of 
the first environmental 
movements in the 
country. 
Credit: Bhawan Singh
2022-23
Nr  lr vmts
Take a look at the opening image of this chapter. What do you see 
there? Villagers have literally embraced the trees. Are they playing 
some game? Or participating in some ritual or festival? Not really. The 
image here depicts a very unusual form of collective action in which 
men and women from a village in what is now Uttarakhand were 
engaged in early 1973. These villagers were protesting 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. These protests marked the 
beginning of a world-famous environmental movement in our country  
– the Chipko movement. 
Chipko movement
The movement began in two or three villages of Uttarakhand when the 
forest department refused permission to the villagers to fell ash trees 
for making agricultural tools. However, the forest department allotted 
the same patch of land to a sports manufacturer for commercial 
use. This enraged the villagers and they protested against the move 
of the government. The struggle soon spread across many parts of 
the Uttarakhand region. Larger issues of ecological and economic 
exploitation of the region were raised. The villagers demanded that 
no forest-exploiting contracts should be given to outsiders and local 
communities should have effective control over natural resources 
like land, water and forests. They wanted the government to provide 
low cost materials to small industries and ensure development of 
Fascinating!  
But I wonder how it 
relates to the history of 
politics.
Two historic 
pictures of the 
early Chipko 
movement in 
Chamoli, 
Uttarakhand.
Credit: Anupam Mishra
7
chapter
rise of popular 
MoveMents
2022-23
130                                                                    P

	s  Ini nc Indpndnc
the region without disturbing the ecological balance. The movement 
took up economic issues of landless forest workers and asked for 
guarantees of minimum wage. 
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 regions for fifteen years, until the green cover 
was fully restored. But more than that, the Chipko movement, which 
started over a single issue, became a symbol of many such popular 
movements emerging in different parts of the country during the 1970s 
and later. In this chapter we shall study some of these movements. 
Party based movements
Popular movements may take the form of social movements or political 
movements and there is often an overlap between the two.  The 
nationalist movement, for example, was mainly a political movement. 
But we also know that deliberations on social and economic issues 
during the colonial period gave rise to independent social movements 
like the anti-caste movement, the kisan sabhas and the trade union 
movement in early twentieth century. These movements raised issues 
related to some underlying social conflicts.  
Some of these movements continued in the post-independence 
period as well. Trade union movement had a strong presence among 
industrial workers in major cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and Kanpur. 
All major political parties established their own trade unions for 
mobilising these sections of workers. Peasants in the Telangana 
region of Andhra Pradesh organised massive agitations under the 
leadership of Communist parties in the early years of independence 
and demanded redistribution of land to cultivators. Peasants and 
agricultural labourers in parts of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, 
Bihar and adjoining areas continued their agitations under 
the leadership of the Marxist-Leninist workers; who were 
known as the Naxalites (you have already read about the 
Naxalite movement in the last chapter). The peasants’ 
and the workers’ movements mainly focussed on issues of 
economic injustice and inequality.
These movements did not participate in elections 
formally. And yet they retained connections with political 
parties, as many participants in these movements, as 
individuals and as organisations, were actively associated 
with parties. These links ensured a better representation of 
the demands of diverse social sections in party politics. 
I don’t get it. How can you do 
politics without a party?
2022-23
Page 4


I ts chptr…
?????? ???????? ?????? ?????????????? ???? ??????? ????? ?????????? ???
???? ??????????? ?????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ????
????????? ????????? ??? ????? ???????? ????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ??????????
?????????? ???? ?????????? ???????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??? ??????
???????? ??????????? ?????????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ??????? ???????
????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ???? ???????? ????? ????? ??????????? ????????? ????
???? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????????? ??????????? ????? ????? ?????????
?????? ???? ??????? ??? ???????? ??????? ?????????????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????????
?????? ??????????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ?????????? ??? ???? ???????
?????????????????????????????
??? ????? ???????? ??? ?????? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ??????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?? ???????????????????????????
?? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?? ???????????????????????????????????????????
?? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Photograph on this 
and the facing page 
are of the participants 
and leaders of the 
Chipko Movement, 
recognised as one of 
the first environmental 
movements in the 
country. 
Credit: Bhawan Singh
2022-23
Nr  lr vmts
Take a look at the opening image of this chapter. What do you see 
there? Villagers have literally embraced the trees. Are they playing 
some game? Or participating in some ritual or festival? Not really. The 
image here depicts a very unusual form of collective action in which 
men and women from a village in what is now Uttarakhand were 
engaged in early 1973. These villagers were protesting 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. These protests marked the 
beginning of a world-famous environmental movement in our country  
– the Chipko movement. 
Chipko movement
The movement began in two or three villages of Uttarakhand when the 
forest department refused permission to the villagers to fell ash trees 
for making agricultural tools. However, the forest department allotted 
the same patch of land to a sports manufacturer for commercial 
use. This enraged the villagers and they protested against the move 
of the government. The struggle soon spread across many parts of 
the Uttarakhand region. Larger issues of ecological and economic 
exploitation of the region were raised. The villagers demanded that 
no forest-exploiting contracts should be given to outsiders and local 
communities should have effective control over natural resources 
like land, water and forests. They wanted the government to provide 
low cost materials to small industries and ensure development of 
Fascinating!  
But I wonder how it 
relates to the history of 
politics.
Two historic 
pictures of the 
early Chipko 
movement in 
Chamoli, 
Uttarakhand.
Credit: Anupam Mishra
7
chapter
rise of popular 
MoveMents
2022-23
130                                                                    P

	s  Ini nc Indpndnc
the region without disturbing the ecological balance. The movement 
took up economic issues of landless forest workers and asked for 
guarantees of minimum wage. 
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 regions for fifteen years, until the green cover 
was fully restored. But more than that, the Chipko movement, which 
started over a single issue, became a symbol of many such popular 
movements emerging in different parts of the country during the 1970s 
and later. In this chapter we shall study some of these movements. 
Party based movements
Popular movements may take the form of social movements or political 
movements and there is often an overlap between the two.  The 
nationalist movement, for example, was mainly a political movement. 
But we also know that deliberations on social and economic issues 
during the colonial period gave rise to independent social movements 
like the anti-caste movement, the kisan sabhas and the trade union 
movement in early twentieth century. These movements raised issues 
related to some underlying social conflicts.  
Some of these movements continued in the post-independence 
period as well. Trade union movement had a strong presence among 
industrial workers in major cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and Kanpur. 
All major political parties established their own trade unions for 
mobilising these sections of workers. Peasants in the Telangana 
region of Andhra Pradesh organised massive agitations under the 
leadership of Communist parties in the early years of independence 
and demanded redistribution of land to cultivators. Peasants and 
agricultural labourers in parts of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, 
Bihar and adjoining areas continued their agitations under 
the leadership of the Marxist-Leninist workers; who were 
known as the Naxalites (you have already read about the 
Naxalite movement in the last chapter). The peasants’ 
and the workers’ movements mainly focussed on issues of 
economic injustice and inequality.
These movements did not participate in elections 
formally. And yet they retained connections with political 
parties, as many participants in these movements, as 
individuals and as organisations, were actively associated 
with parties. These links ensured a better representation of 
the demands of diverse social sections in party politics. 
I don’t get it. How can you do 
politics without a party?
2022-23
R ?  P???lr M?vm‚ts                                                  131  
Non-party movements
In the 1970s and 1980s, many sections of the society became 
disillusioned with the functioning of political parties. Failure of 
the Janata experiment and the resulting political instability were 
the immediate causes. But in the long run the disillusionment 
was also about economic policies of the state. The model of 
planned development that we adopted after Independence 
was based on twin goals of growth and distribution. You have 
read about it in Chapter Three. In spite of the impressive 
growth in many sectors of economy in the first twenty years 
of independence, poverty and inequalities persisted on a large 
scale. Benefits of economic growth did not reach evenly to all 
sections of society. Existing social inequalities like caste and 
gender sharpened and complicated the issues of poverty in many 
ways. There also existed a gulf between the urban-industrial 
sector and the rural agrarian sector. A sense of injustice and 
deprivation grew among different groups. 
Many of the politically active groups lost faith in existing 
democratic institutions and electoral politics. They therefore 
chose to step outside of party politics and engage in mass 
mobilisation for registering their protests. Students and young 
political activists from various sections of the society were in 
the forefront in organising the marginalised sections such as 
Dalits and Adivasis. The middle class young activists launched 
service organisations and constructive programmes among 
rural poor.  Because of the voluntary nature of their social work, 
many of these organisations came to be known as voluntary 
organisations or voluntary sector organisations.
These voluntary organisations chose to remain outside 
party politics. They did not contest elections at the local or 
regional level nor did they support any one political party. Most 
of these groups believed in politics and wanted to participate in 
it, but not through political parties. Hence, these organisations 
were called ‘non-party political formations’. They hoped that 
direct and active participation by local groups of citizens would 
be more effective in resolving local issues than political parties. 
It was also hoped that direct participation by people will reform 
the nature of democratic government. 
Such voluntary sector organisations still continue their 
work in rural and urban areas. However, their nature has 
changed. Of late many of these organisations are funded by 
external agencies including international service agencies. The 
ideal of local initiatives is weakened as a result of availability of 
external funds on a large scale to these organisations.
Popular movements have inspired artistic production like these posters. 
The three posters (from Top to Bottom) are from a campaign against a Coca 
Cola plant, agitation against a highway and Save Periyar river movement.
Credit: Design and People
2022-23
Page 5


I ts chptr…
?????? ???????? ?????? ?????????????? ???? ??????? ????? ?????????? ???
???? ??????????? ?????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ????
????????? ????????? ??? ????? ???????? ????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??? ??????????
?????????? ???? ?????????? ???????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ??? ??????
???????? ??????????? ?????????? ???????? ??? ???? ??????? ???????? ??????? ???????
????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? ???? ???????? ????? ????? ??????????? ????????? ????
???? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????????? ??????????? ????? ????? ?????????
?????? ???? ??????? ??? ???????? ??????? ?????????????? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????????
?????? ??????????? ??????? ???? ????? ??? ???????? ?????????? ??? ???? ???????
?????????????????????????????
??? ????? ???????? ??? ?????? ???? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ???????? ??????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?? ???????????????????????????
?? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?? ???????????????????????????????????????????
?? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Photograph on this 
and the facing page 
are of the participants 
and leaders of the 
Chipko Movement, 
recognised as one of 
the first environmental 
movements in the 
country. 
Credit: Bhawan Singh
2022-23
Nr  lr vmts
Take a look at the opening image of this chapter. What do you see 
there? Villagers have literally embraced the trees. Are they playing 
some game? Or participating in some ritual or festival? Not really. The 
image here depicts a very unusual form of collective action in which 
men and women from a village in what is now Uttarakhand were 
engaged in early 1973. These villagers were protesting 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. These protests marked the 
beginning of a world-famous environmental movement in our country  
– the Chipko movement. 
Chipko movement
The movement began in two or three villages of Uttarakhand when the 
forest department refused permission to the villagers to fell ash trees 
for making agricultural tools. However, the forest department allotted 
the same patch of land to a sports manufacturer for commercial 
use. This enraged the villagers and they protested against the move 
of the government. The struggle soon spread across many parts of 
the Uttarakhand region. Larger issues of ecological and economic 
exploitation of the region were raised. The villagers demanded that 
no forest-exploiting contracts should be given to outsiders and local 
communities should have effective control over natural resources 
like land, water and forests. They wanted the government to provide 
low cost materials to small industries and ensure development of 
Fascinating!  
But I wonder how it 
relates to the history of 
politics.
Two historic 
pictures of the 
early Chipko 
movement in 
Chamoli, 
Uttarakhand.
Credit: Anupam Mishra
7
chapter
rise of popular 
MoveMents
2022-23
130                                                                    P

	s  Ini nc Indpndnc
the region without disturbing the ecological balance. The movement 
took up economic issues of landless forest workers and asked for 
guarantees of minimum wage. 
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 regions for fifteen years, until the green cover 
was fully restored. But more than that, the Chipko movement, which 
started over a single issue, became a symbol of many such popular 
movements emerging in different parts of the country during the 1970s 
and later. In this chapter we shall study some of these movements. 
Party based movements
Popular movements may take the form of social movements or political 
movements and there is often an overlap between the two.  The 
nationalist movement, for example, was mainly a political movement. 
But we also know that deliberations on social and economic issues 
during the colonial period gave rise to independent social movements 
like the anti-caste movement, the kisan sabhas and the trade union 
movement in early twentieth century. These movements raised issues 
related to some underlying social conflicts.  
Some of these movements continued in the post-independence 
period as well. Trade union movement had a strong presence among 
industrial workers in major cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and Kanpur. 
All major political parties established their own trade unions for 
mobilising these sections of workers. Peasants in the Telangana 
region of Andhra Pradesh organised massive agitations under the 
leadership of Communist parties in the early years of independence 
and demanded redistribution of land to cultivators. Peasants and 
agricultural labourers in parts of Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, 
Bihar and adjoining areas continued their agitations under 
the leadership of the Marxist-Leninist workers; who were 
known as the Naxalites (you have already read about the 
Naxalite movement in the last chapter). The peasants’ 
and the workers’ movements mainly focussed on issues of 
economic injustice and inequality.
These movements did not participate in elections 
formally. And yet they retained connections with political 
parties, as many participants in these movements, as 
individuals and as organisations, were actively associated 
with parties. These links ensured a better representation of 
the demands of diverse social sections in party politics. 
I don’t get it. How can you do 
politics without a party?
2022-23
R ?  P???lr M?vm‚ts                                                  131  
Non-party movements
In the 1970s and 1980s, many sections of the society became 
disillusioned with the functioning of political parties. Failure of 
the Janata experiment and the resulting political instability were 
the immediate causes. But in the long run the disillusionment 
was also about economic policies of the state. The model of 
planned development that we adopted after Independence 
was based on twin goals of growth and distribution. You have 
read about it in Chapter Three. In spite of the impressive 
growth in many sectors of economy in the first twenty years 
of independence, poverty and inequalities persisted on a large 
scale. Benefits of economic growth did not reach evenly to all 
sections of society. Existing social inequalities like caste and 
gender sharpened and complicated the issues of poverty in many 
ways. There also existed a gulf between the urban-industrial 
sector and the rural agrarian sector. A sense of injustice and 
deprivation grew among different groups. 
Many of the politically active groups lost faith in existing 
democratic institutions and electoral politics. They therefore 
chose to step outside of party politics and engage in mass 
mobilisation for registering their protests. Students and young 
political activists from various sections of the society were in 
the forefront in organising the marginalised sections such as 
Dalits and Adivasis. The middle class young activists launched 
service organisations and constructive programmes among 
rural poor.  Because of the voluntary nature of their social work, 
many of these organisations came to be known as voluntary 
organisations or voluntary sector organisations.
These voluntary organisations chose to remain outside 
party politics. They did not contest elections at the local or 
regional level nor did they support any one political party. Most 
of these groups believed in politics and wanted to participate in 
it, but not through political parties. Hence, these organisations 
were called ‘non-party political formations’. They hoped that 
direct and active participation by local groups of citizens would 
be more effective in resolving local issues than political parties. 
It was also hoped that direct participation by people will reform 
the nature of democratic government. 
Such voluntary sector organisations still continue their 
work in rural and urban areas. However, their nature has 
changed. Of late many of these organisations are funded by 
external agencies including international service agencies. The 
ideal of local initiatives is weakened as a result of availability of 
external funds on a large scale to these organisations.
Popular movements have inspired artistic production like these posters. 
The three posters (from Top to Bottom) are from a campaign against a Coca 
Cola plant, agitation against a highway and Save Periyar river movement.
Credit: Design and People
2022-23
132                                                                    P

	s  Ini nc Indpndnc
D… P‚trs
Read this poem by well-known Marathi poet Namdeo Dhasal. Do you 
know who these ‘pilgrims of darkness’ in this poem are and who the 
‘sunflower-giving fakir’ was that blessed them? The pilgrims were the 
Dalit communities who had experienced brutal caste injustices for a 
long time in our society and the poet is referring to Dr. Ambedkar as 
their liberator. Dalit poets in Maharashtra wrote many such poems 
during the decade of seventies.  These poems were expressions of 
anguish that the Dalit masses continued to face even after twenty 
years of independence. But they were also full of hope for the future, a 
future that Dalit groups wished to shape for themselves. You are aware 
of Dr. Ambedkar’s vision of socio-economic change and his relentless 
struggle for a dignified future for Dalits outside the Hindu caste-based 
social structure.  It is not surprising that Dr. Ambedkar remains an 
iconic and inspirational figure in much of Dalit liberation writings.
Origins
By the early nineteen seventies, the first generation Dalit graduates, 
especially those living in city slums began to assert themselves from 
various platforms. Dalit Panthers, a militant organisation of the Dalit 
youth, was formed in Maharashtra in 1972 as a part of these assertions. 
In the post-Independence period, Dalit groups were mainly fighting 
against the perpetual caste based inequalities and material injustices 
that the Dalits faced in spite of constitutional guarantees of equality 
and justice. Effective implementation of reservations and other such 
policies of social justice was one of their prominent demands. 
You know that the Indian Constitution abolished the practice 
of untouchability. The government passed laws to that effect in the 
1960s and 1970s. And yet, social discrimination and violence against the 
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?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
???????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
???????????????????????????????????????????????
????????????????????????????????????????????
???????????????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????
Has the 
condition of 
Dalits changed much 
since that time? I keep 
reading about atrocities 
against Dalits. Did these 
movements fail? Or is it 
the failure of the entire 
society?
2022-23