ECOLOGICAL

MOVEMENT
• Chipko Movement
• Social Globalisation
The environmental
movement (sometimes
referred to as the ecology
movement ), also
including conservation
and green politics, is a
diverse scientific, social,
and political movement
for addressing
environmental issues
o The environment plays a vital role in human living and it
is our responsibility to protect it.
o Nonetheless, due to technical advancement and other
reasons, there is a lot of misuse of natural resources, in
the form of land degradation, water pollution, air
pollution, and deforestation.
o All these factors lead to worsening of environment
o Great efforts are being made in order to regain the
environment by people through voluntary organizations,
which have concerns about the environment.
o There are cases where people have revoked and
adopted non-violent action movements to protect their
environment.
 Chipko Movement
o Unquite Woods, book by Ramachandra Guha mentions about
the movement.
o At stake were villagers’ subsistence
o Most relied on forest to get fire wood, fodder and other daily
necessities
o Conflict was between the villagers and the government
o Villagers including large number of women came to prevent
tress from being felled.
o This movement raised issues of social inequalities and ecological
sustainability
o Cutting down of forest resulted in:
o Floods
o Landslides
o The red and green issues were interlinked
o Survival depended on the survival of forest, the
villagers also valued the forest as a form of ecological
wealth, benefiting all
o This movement expressed resentment of hill villagers
against a distant government headquartered in the plains
that seemed indifferent and hostile to their concerns
o Schemes that Government of India planned to create a
balance, structure and quality in India’s ecology:
o Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission (Namami
Gange)
o Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
o The monsoon of 1970 in the Alaknanda valley,
water inundated 100sq kms of land, washed
away 6 metal bridges and 10 kms of motor
roads, 24 buses and several other vehicles; 366
houses collapsed and 500 acres of standing
paddy crops are destroyed. The loss of human
life and bovine life was considerable.
o It marks a turning point in the ecological
history of the region.
o The Dashuali Gram Swaraja Sangh(DGSS), a
cooperative organization based in Chamoli
district took up the villagers’ cause.

“The men stopped the bus shortly before Reni. They started heading to
the village. A small girl rushed back to Gauri Devi. She quickly
mobilized the other housewives and went to the forest. They tried to
plead with the labourers to not cut the trees and initially meet with abuse
and threat. When the women refused to budge, the men were forced to
retreat. “
Social Movements and Globalization
o In the current information age, social movements around the
globe are able to join together in huge regional and
international networks comprising non-governmental
organizations, religious and humanitarian groups, Human
Rights association and others those who campaign in the public
interest.
o For example, the enormous
protest against the World Trade
Organization that took place in
Seattle was organized through
internet-based network.
WOMEN’S
MOVEMENT
• 19th century
movements
• Agrarian Struggles
• Post 1947
 The Women’s Movement
The 19th Century Social Reform Movements and
Early Women’s Organizations:
o The early 20th century saw the growth of women’s
organizations at the national and the local level.
o The Women’s India Association(WIA)(1917), All
India Women’s Conference(AIWC)(1926) and
National Council for Women in India(NCWI)
(1925) are some women organizations.
 Features:
o It had organizations, ideology, leadership, a
shared understanding and the aim of bringing
about changes of public issue.
o They created an atmosphere where the women’s
questions could not be ignored.
Agrarian Struggles and Revolts
o It is often assumed that only middle class
educated women are involved in social
movements.
o Women participated along with men in struggles
and revolts originating in tribal and rural areas
in the colonial period.
o Eg: The Tebhaga movement in Bengal , the
Telangana arms struggle from the erstwhile
Nizam’s rule and the Warli tribal’s revolt against
bondage in Maharashtra.
POST 1947
o Many women who were involved in the
nationalist movement got involved in the
nation building task.
o The trauma of partition is also citied as a
reason for the lull.
o In the mid 1970’s, there was a renewal of the
women’s movement in India.
o Some call it the second phase of the Indian
women’s movement.
o The concerns remained the same but there was a
change in organizational strategy and ideologies.
o There was a growth of autonomous women’s
movements.
o “Autonomous” meant autonomy or
independence from political parties.
o It was felt that political
parties marginalize issues
of women.
o New issues like violence against women were
focused upon and numerous campaigns were taken
up.
o Issues of land rights, employment have been fought
alongside rights against sexual harassment and
dowry.
o There has been a
recognition that while
women are
disadvantages vis-à-vis
men, all women do not
suffer the same level or
kind of discrimination.
o There has also been
greater recognition that
both men and women
are constrained by the
dominant gender
identities.
o As such there is a strive for a
gender just society.
o It rests on the idea that for true
freedom to grow and develop,
injustices of all kinds have to end.
o The idea of a Gender just society is
based on two important Factors:
o 1)Educated women with multiple
roles.
o 2)Improved sex ratio.
o The program of the government-
o “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” is an
important effort towards a gender
just society.
 QUESTIONS.
1. Elucidate on the issues of social inequality and
ecological sustainability as brought out by the
Chipko movement.
2. Name a few women organizations from the
early 20th century.
3. Elaborate the organizational changes in the
women’s movement post independence.
4. “While all women are in some way
disadvantaged vis-à-vis men, all women do not
suffer the same level or kind of
discrimination.” Justify.