Important Questions: Rise of Popular Movements | Political Science Class 12 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Q1: Highlight any two main demands of the anti-arrack movement.
Ans: Following are the main demands of the anti arrack movement:

• Women demanded a ban on the sale of alcohol (arrack) in their neighborhood.
• To prevent violence against women.

Q2: How does party-based movement differ from the non-party movement?
Ans: The party-based movement differs from the nonparty movement in the following ways.

• Party-based movement is affected by politics, but the non-party movement is separate from politics.
• In comparison to party-based movement, non-party movement is more useful for democracy.

Q3: Which sections of Indian Society are most affected by the Chipko movement?
Ans: The most affected Indian Society by the Chipko movement is concerning villagers like a male, farmer, and especially women.

Q4: Highlight the most novel aspect of the Chipko Movement.
Ans: Women’s active participation in the Chipko Movement was a very novel aspect of the movement.

Q5: What was the Anti-Arrack Movement?
Ans: Anti-Arrack Movement was started in Andhra Pradesh and demanded prohibition on the sale of arrack (alcohol).

Q6: What was the main objective of the Dalit Panthers?
Ans: The Panthers’ aim was to unite the Dalit and to bring them into their fold.

Q7: Shetkari Sanghatahna and Raitha Sangha belonged to which two respective states?
Ans: Shetkari Sanghatahna belonged to Maharashtra and Raitha Sangha belonged to Karnataka.

Q8: Which popular movement led to the empowerment of women?
Ans: Chipko movement led to the empowerment of women.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q9: Explain the role of Environ¬mental movements to meet the challenge of environmental degradation.
Ans: Following are the role of Environmental movements to meet the challenge of environmental degradation-

• Chipko Movement: Chipko Movement literally means ‘Hug the Trees’ Movement. This movement began in two or three villages of Uttarakhand in 1972. There was a dispute between the local villagers and a logging contractor who had been allowed to fell trees in a forest close to the village. The villagers protested against the logging contractor and the government. Chipko Movement is seen not only as a movement to save the environment but also as a feminist movement.
• Narmada Bachao Andolan: Narmada Bachao Aandolan is a movement to save the Narmada river. It was around 1988-89 that issues crystallized under the banner of the NBA. Initially, the movement demanded proper and just rehabilitation of all those who were directly or indirectly affected by the project.

Q10: Mention four weaknesses of Mass Movements.
Ans:

• National Interest is Ignored. Generally, the aims of all Mass movements are to fulfill the local and regional needs. No importance is given to the national interest.
• Sometimes Turns Violent. Many times in the past mass movements have turned violent to achieve their objectives. Thus, it is often believed that mass movements may become violent.
• Narrow Outlook. The Mass Movements have a very narrow outlook because generally, these movements revolve around only one issue.
• Creates Problems in Law and Order. To get their demands fulfilled all types of methods are used by the mass movements. Many times illegal and unconstitutional methods create law and order problems.

Q11: State any two main demands of the Narmada Bachao Aandolan.
Ans:

• In the beginning, the movement demanded proper rehabilitation of all those who were directly or indirectly affected by the Narmada Project.
• The NBA also emphasized that people of the area must have a say in decision-making. They should also have effective control over natural resources like water, forests, etc.

Q12: Describe any four demands made by the Bharatiya Kian Union after 1980?
Ans:

• It demanded removing inter-state restrictions on the movement of foodgrains.
• Electricity rates should be reduced.
• The government floor price of sugarcane and wheat should be raised.
• The repayment of the loans to the farmers should be waived. The government should provide pensions to farmers.

Q13: Describe any two issues which made the Anti-Arrack movement a women’s movement.
Ans:

• Anti-Arrack Movement in Andhra Pradesh was definitely a movement of women. In the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, women came together in a spontaneous local initiative to protest against arrack (Local alcohol) and forced the closure of wine shops. The news spread very fast and women of about 5000 villages got inspired and met together in meetings, passed resolutions for the complete prohibition, and sent these resolutions to the District Collector and higher authorities. Due to women’s protests, the arrack auctions in the Nellore district were postponed 17 times. In 1992, women took out a big procession in Hyderabad to protest against the sale of ‘arrack’.
• Women also raised the issue of domestic violence: the Anti-arrack movement became a part of the women’s movement.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q14: Write an essay on the Women’s Movement in India.
Ans: No doubt the condition of the women even today, is not good, but a psychological change has been witnessed in the women. The personality cult of women is on the rise and they have become active for the protection of their interests. The women’s movement has played a very important role in the emancipation of the dignity and status of women. Women’s Movement in the 19th century. The Women’s movement in India had its origin in the nineteenth century. Mahila Mandals were organized for the first time by the Arya Samaj and the Brahmo Samaj. The Ramakrishna Mission and Theosophical Society which were established at the end of the 19th century worked for the welfare of women. These societies especially emphasized women’s education. In the 19th century, the Women’s movement was dominated by men. The main issues of Women’s movements were purdah, child marriage, enforced widowhood, etc. Sati was banned in 1829.
Women’s Movement in the 20th century. In 1924, the All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) was established. This organization demanded-education for women, economic equality, the right to inheritance, divorce, pension of widows, etc. AIWC also raised a voice for the right to vote for women. In 1931, AIWC put demands for creches, nursery schools, ante-natal and post-natal care, and maternity homes in factories where women worked in considerable numbers. Due to Mahatma Gandhi, women also started participating in the Gandhian Movement. After independence, the Indian Constitution was formulated on the concept of equality – legal, social, and economic. Hindu Code Bill was passed for the welfare of Hindu Women. But there is a great need for a Common Civil Code. In local bodies, 30% of seats are reserved for women.
According to a UNICEF Report (1988), a hundred million women work on the margins of life in India’s vast unorganized sector to tackle the twin problems of poverty and discrimination. In the unorganized sector, the implementation of minimum wages has not been done. Autonomous Women’s Movement. In the 70s many autonomous Women’s movements such as Chipko Movement (1974-77). Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) was established in 1972 in Gujarat. The Working Women’s Forum (WWF) was established in Chennai by Jay Arunachalam in 1978. By the 1990s, the WWF began to function in four states – Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh. At present, various women organizations in India are working for the protection of the interests of women. The main organizations among them are -All India Women Conference, National Council of Women in India, Bharatiya Gram Mahila Sangh, National Federation of Indian Women, etc.

Q15: What are the recommendations of the Mandal Commission? What was the aftermath of the Mandal Commission?
Ans: The Mandal Commission was set up by the Janata government on Jan. 1, 1979. The Mandal Commission was headed by B.P. Mandal, former Chief Minister of Bihar. The Mandal Commission was to determine the criteria for defining the socially and educationally backward classes. It was to recommend necessary measures for the advancement of the backward classes. The Mandal Commission identified 3,743 other backward classes. The recommendations of the Mandal Commission are as follows :

• Twenty-seven percent of the posts in public services should be reserved for OBCs. They do make 52 percent of the total population yet the reservation quota for them cannot exceed this limit.
• Welfare programs specially meant for other backward classes should be financed by the Government of India in the same manner and to the same extent already done in the case of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• Radical land reforms should be brought about by states to free small landholders from their heavy dependence on rich peasants for their subsistence.
• Other Backward Classes should be encouraged and helped to set up small-scale industries.
• Special educational schemes, with emphasis on vocational training, should be started for OBCs. They should also be given special coaching in technical and professional institutions to enable them to compete with students from the open quota.

Implementation of the Mandal Report. The Commission submitted its report to the government in December 1980. It was presented to both the Houses of the Parliament on April 30, 1982. Ever since then there has been a continuous and persistent demand for an outright acceptance of its recommendations without any further scrutiny. National Front had promised in its poll manifesto to implement the Mandal Commission Report. But the ruling party leaders had aired conflicting views about it. However, Prime Minister Mr. V.P. Singh announced all of a sudden the acceptance of the Mandal Report on August 7, 1990, in the Parliament without taking into confidence even his own Cabinet colleagues for reasons of political expediency.
But this move of Mr. V.P. Singh had alienated his senior-most colleagues, provoked the Bharatiya Janata Party and C.P.M. to denounce publicly this rash decision. The student community that had been seriously hit by the implementation of the Report had launched a massive movement throughout the country and initially brought the government to a collapsing point. The anti-reservationists stir had reached a new peak of frenzied violence especially in New Delhi, Chandigarh, Kurukshetra, Jammu, Jaipur, and many other cities of north India. In November 1992 the Supreme Court held the order of V.P. Singh’s government to be valid and enforceable subject to the exclusion of the ‘Creamy Layer’ or the more advanced section of the beneficiary backward classes within four months. The Supreme Court also held that the maximum size of all reservations together must not exceed 50 percent.

Q16: What was Narmada Bachao Andolan? What were its main issues? What democratic strategy did it use to put forward its demands?
Ans: The Narmada Valley project was conceived in 1946, but final planning and work on it started only after the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal passed its order in 1978. In the early eighties, an ambitious development project was launched in the Narmada Valley of Central India. If completed, the Narmada Project will rank as the largest irrigation project planned and implemented in the world. The Narmada Project consisted of 30 big dams, 135 medium-sized dams, and 3000 minor dams. Out of the thirty major dams, the most controversial ones are the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) in Gujarat and the Narmada (Indira) Sagar Project in Madhya Pradesh.
Narmada Project has given rise to a powerful social movement. The movement against the Sardar Sarovar Project started in 1985. In 1986, Narmada Dharangrast Samiti (NDS) began to investigate the problem under the leadership of Medha Parker. They found that environmental impact has not been studied, the number of people to be displaced was not known, an estimate of land to get irrigation water had been exaggerated, etc.
Thus, in 1989, organizations like NDS, Maharashtra Ghati Navnirman Samiti, Narmada Asargrasta Sangharsha Samiti, and few others emerged to form Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). Since the formation of the NBA, there have been many protests, demonstrations, Jal Samadhi, and sit-ins. One of the important events in the history of the NBA has been the filing of a petition against the dam by the NBA in 1994. In May 1997, the Supreme Court halted the construction of the dam, but in its 2000 judgment, it gave a green signal for it. Narmada Bachao Andolan has also become the center of national and international concerns.
In the beginning, the movement demanded proper rehabilitation of all those who were directly or indirectly affected by the Narmada Project. The NBA also emphasized that people of the area must have a say in decision-making. They should also have effective control over natural resources like water, forests, etc. In 2003, the government formulated National Rehabilitation Policy and this is a major achievement of the NBA. Criticism of NBA. NBA has been criticized by many on the ground that its demand to stop the construction of dams is against the process of development. For the development of the area, the construction of the Narmada Project is very essential.

Q17: Suppose you are an important leader of the Farmers agitation, The government authorities ask you to present any three demands on j behalf of the farmers. On a priority j basis, which three demands will you make? Support your demands with appropriate arguments.
Ans: As a leader of farmers’ agitation, one can put the following demands on behalf of the farmers:

• The government should solve the problem of land acquisition. Without the approval and consent of the farmers, government or builders, etc., should have no right to acquire the land of farmers. Even if the farmers give their consent to acquiring their land, they should also be given proper compensation for that particular land.
• Another important demand and problem are sugarcane crops. Sufficient delay and wastage of time and energy are suffered by the farmers in bringing their sugarcane crops to sugar mills. Poor farmer wastes their days and nights together just in sitting on the trucks of sugarcane. Even the mill owners do not pay the price of their crops in time and properly. The government should intervene from the side of farmers for proper-payment of crops and avoid unnecessary delay.
• In spite of sufficient stocks and good qualities of urea, poor farmers do not get this facility in time. So as a leader of the Kisan Union, the government should be pressurized the supply urea and other fertilizers in time.
• Government should make efforts to provide pension to the farmers so that they can lead the rest of the life in comfort.
• In case some farmers face too many hardships when their crops fail due to recurrent floods or irregular monsoon. These farmers are unable to repay loans as they are caught in the debt trap. The vicious circle of poverty makes their condition so miserable that in an agony of being unable to repay loans are forced to commit suicide in order to relieve themselves. In such conditions, their families too suffer the same hardships. Thus in such cases, governments should exempt such farmers from paying loans.
• The electricity should be supplied to the farmers at reasonable rates. There should also be easy inter-state movements for farmers’ goods without any restrictions.