1.

Critically examine the role of Social Movements in bringing about change in

society.
Explain with examples from Indian Social Movements.
 A social movement requires sustained collective action over time.
 Characteristics of Movements
Organisation
Leadership I
deology
Strategies (Public Activism to Litigation)
Support base
 Colonial Phase * Indigo Movement * Tribal Resistance * Trade Union * Socio-
Religious * National Movement

Separate State
Demand for Recognition of Language
Dalit Movement
Tribal Movement
Women Movement

 Why These Movements... Autonomy (Political power)

Resource (Access and Control) Identity (Nonmaterial Interests)

Explaining Movements
 Traditional Social Theories are not adequate
Material interest is not the only concern and also movements are not alway
s aimed at dismantling the state
 Old Social Movements (Material Interests)
New Social Movements (Beyond Material Interests)

 Movements are also against social forces – Dalits opposing environmentalists –

Marathas opposing provisions for Dalits –
Religious Groups opposing Section 377 –
Workers opposing environmental groups – Tribals opposing OTFDs

Manual Scavenging:
Manual scavenging is a term used mainly in India for the manual removal of
untreated human excreta from bucket toilets or pit latrines by hand with buckets and
shovels. It has been officially prohibited by law in 1993 due to it being regarded as
a caste-based, dehumanizing practice (if not done in a safe manner).

The workers, called scavengers (or more appropriately "sanitation workers"), rarely have
any personal protective equipment. Manual scavenging is a caste-based occupation,
with the vast majority of workers involved being women.

Yet, it remains unchecked. There is also a distinct lack of effort to make this
objectionable occupation safe and dignified. This is the net result of institutional
indifference.
 The socio-economic and caste census of 2011 had identified 1,80,657 households of
manual scavengers across India. The Safai Karmachari Andolan, an organization
that works for the rights of sanitation workers, argues that the real figure is closer to
more than six times the SECC’s estimate. At around 1.2 million, the figure matches the
census’s estimate of 2.6 million dry latrines in the country.

The working conditions of these sanitation workers have remained virtually unchanged
over the years. Apart from the social stigma that they face, sanitation workers are also
exposed to certain health problems by virtue of their occupation. These health hazards
include exposure to harmful gases, cardiovascular degeneration, musculoskeletal
disorders, hepatitis, leptospirosis and skin problems.

There are two laws:

a. the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines
(Prohibition) Act 1993 — provides for the prohibition of employment of manual
scavengers and the construction of dry latrines.
b. The second legislation was the Prohibition of Employment as Manual
Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, which came into effect from
December 6, 2013. Manual scavenging — the cleaning of dry latrines — was
outlawed in the country in 1993 but it was only in 2013 that the law recognized
the other hazardous aspects of the work. However, the executive retained the
power of prosecution, diluting the legislation. Incidentally, in Safai Karamchari
Andolan and Ors versus Union of India, the Supreme Court made it clear
that entering sewers without safety gear is a crime even in an emergency.
c. Efforts to replace human participation with the help of robots have started
already. The Kerala Water Authority, which manages the sewage department in
the state, has reportedly placed orders for 50 robots, christened Bandicoot, by a
start-up called GenRobotics.
d. Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA), by Bezwada Wilson, an Indian human
rights organization that has been campaigning for the eradication of manual
scavenging, the construction, operation and employment of manual scavengers
which has been illegal in India since 1993.[1] His work at SKA, a community-
driven movement, has been recognized by the Ashoka Foundation and Won
Ramon Magasasys award.
2. Child Labour:
a. Kailash Satyarthi (b. India, January 11, 1954), Nobel Peace Laureate 2014 and
Honorary President of Global March Against Child Labour, is world’s foremost
leader in abolishing child and bonded labour.
b. He continues to campaign against child trafficking and slavery in spite of being
brutally attacked several times. He has organised and led several mass
awareness marches like the 80,000 km long unprecedented Global March
Against Child Labour across 103 countries in 1998 and most recently the
South Asian March Against Child Trafficking in 2007 to raise awareness on
the issue of child trafficking and forced labour.
c. Kailash has played the most significant role in linking the fight against child
labour with the efforts for achieving ‘Education for All’. He has been the pioneer
advocate of the triangular paradigm on child labour, poverty and illiteracy
which has now been acknowledged and established world over.
d. To bring consumers into the fight against child labour and promote ethical trade
practices, he initiated and led the RugMark earlier in 1994, the first social
labelling mechanism for child labour free carpets.
 e. Eg: Child Welfare section, the labourer was child bringing tea
f. Child labour is prominent in rural India - 80% of working children live in India's
villages, where most of them work in agriculture. Some of them also work in
household industries and are employed in home-based businesses. Children
between 14-17 years engaged in hazardous work account for 62.8% of the
India's child labour workforce, 10% of whom are hired in family enterprises. Over
half of working adolescents do not study. This number is higher for adolescents
doing dangerous work. It is not surprising that more boys than girls (38.7 million
vs. 8.8 million) are forced into doing hazardous work (according to International
Labour Organization’s World Report on Child Labour 2015).
g.

Movement Against AFSPA:

Irom Sharmila Chanu, the poet and activist from Manipur whose 16-year long hunger
strike against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act has made her a global symbol of
non-violent resistance. “Stand With Irom Sharmila: Repeal AFSPA” Campaign, a global
campaign endorsed by nearly 1000 women – from pioneers of global women’s
movements to grassroot activists who have dedicated their lives to the struggle for
women’s rights and freedoms.

There is a long history of struggle against the AFSPA by ordinary people in all the areas
where the Act has been imposed. Women directly affected by the impunity spawned by
AFSPA have come on to the streets repeatedly to demand justice for the women and
girls who have been assaulted, raped and murdered in states where AFSPA is in force.
In 2004, a group of Meira Paibis the famous torch-bearing mothers of Manipur, stripped
naked and stood in front of the then army headquarters Kangla Fort, holding a banner
saying “Indian Army, Rape Us”, turning the very bodies of women that are targeted, into
a powerful symbol of protest. Yet the State remained unmoved.

In 2016 the Supreme Court declared ‘indefinite AFSPA’ a mockery of democratic

processes.

Over the years, the Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee; Christof Heynes, UN Special
Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions; Rashida Manjoo, UN
Special Rapporteur on the Causes and Consequences of Violence Against Women,
Margaret Sekaggya, UN Special Rapporteur on Situation of Human Rights Defenders;
the UN CEDAW Committee; former NHRC member, Satyabrata Pal; the Working Group
on Human Rights in India and the UN (WGHR); global human rights bodies and civil
society organisations have consistently called for a repeal of AFSPA and an end to
immunity for crimes committed under its shadow.

Women’s movement to fight patriarchy in religious places

Narmada Bachao Andolan

Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) is an Indian social movement spearheaded by native
tribals (adivasis), farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against a
number of large dam projects across river Narmada, which flows through the states
of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat is one of
the biggest dams on the river and was one of the first focal points of the movement. It is
part of the Narmada Dam Project, whose main aim is to provide irrigation and electricity
to people of the above states.
The mode of campaign under NBA includes court actions, hunger strikes, rallies and
gathering support from notable film and art personalities. The Narmada Bachao
Andolan, with its leading spokespersons Medha Patkar and Baba Amte, have received
the Right Livelihood Award in 1991

Medha Patkar continues to fight for proper rehabilitation of the displaced people in
Madhya Pradesh as well as the reception of the promised compensation by the
Narmada Tribunal.[38] This movement has brought forth the different notions of
development. The Indian government has often argued that the cost of displacements
are outweighed by the benefit derived from the Narmada Project, and thus, justified its
construction. NBA, on the other hand has argued no matter how large the benefits, the
cost to the society cannot be fulfilled.