SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 

1. Civil Liberties and Human Rights Movements

1. Rights necessary to lead civilised life are civil rights
1. Eg- right to life, liberty, property, equality before law, etc
2. Based on philosophy of liberalism
1. Basic purpose is to check the arbitrary power of executive and maintain rule of law
3. Indian freedom movement was also civil and political rights movement.
1. Eg- early leaders asked for freedom of press, greater representation
4. 1936; Indian Civil Liberties Union was established at initiative of Pt. Nehru
5. Indian constitution incorporates spirit of human rights
6. FR available to non-citizen also
7. Unfortunate that preventive detention is in FR
1. Art 22: rights under preventive detention, only for namesake
2. Misuse to curb political opposition
3. Sec 124A: sedition
1. Outlaws aspect of freedom of expression
4. Nehru's govt was first to use it against communist leader AK Gopalan
8. 1970s: new phase of civil rights movements
1. Since India was becoming police state
2. Emergency
9. Proliferation of civil rights group in India
1. Citizen for Democracy, Association for Democratic Reforms, People union for civil liberties
10. After emergency, judiciary also became active participant of civil and human rights movements

 

2. Human Rights Movement

1. 1980s : around the world, growth in consciousness of human rights
2. Civil society with judiciary has led to beginning of human rights activism
3. PIL institutionalised by PN Bhagwati
4. SC became champion of social and economic rights
5. Rights like right to education, health, clean environment, right to life with dignity
6. Government of India established advocacy group like RTI, NHRC
7. UNHRC conducts periodic review
1. Up till now 2 in 2008 and 2012
2. Government of India not able to meet its target
8. prominent human rights concern in  India are
1. Large no. of under trials
2. Poor situation in prisons
3. Human rights violation by members of armed forces under AFSPA
4. Extremely slow judicial system
5. Presence of colonial law like IPC, sec 124A
6. Misuse of preventive detention laws
7. Caste and religion based violence and exclusion
8. Negative sex ratio
9. Hunger
9. Human right activism has not resulted into qualitative improvement
10. Weakness in human rights movement
1. Prof. Upendra Baxi: no human right movement in India, rather human right industries
1. Advocacy group employ management graduates rather than social activists
2. Raised issues in biased manner hence lack legitimacy
1. Eg- human rights issue of militant but not of armed forces
2. Nandita Hakpar:
1. HRM has to work within defined limits
2. Indian state doesn't tolerate any activism going beyond nationalist discourse
3. Whenever zero tolerance towards terrorism, results into zero tolerance into human rights
11. So long India will suffer threat will territorial  integrity, there will be justification with AFSPA
12. India should bring reforms in NHRC, give it greater power
13. Ensure discipline among enforcement agencies
14. Reform police system, prison reform, judicial reform, criminal justice system reform

 

3. Environmental Movements

1. Revolve around
1. Democracy
2. Development
2. Challenged the model of development
3. Major participants are the weakest section: Tribals
4. Long history in India
1. Tribal movements against British
5. Ramchandra Guha: 
1. Compared environmentalist in north and south
2. North led by scientists (full stomach)
3. South led by poors (empty stomach)
4. Odisha tribals challenged Vedanta
5. 3 phases in India
1. 1. 1970s: book- The Unquiet Woods
1. modern environmental movement origin in Chipko movement in central Himalayas
2. posed challenge to dominant meaning of development
3. movements were considered as interloper 
4. conservation of nature considered luxury of rich nation
5. age of Environmental Innocence
6. environmentalists: Sunderlal Bahuguna, Chandi Prasan Bhatt were seen as CIA agents
2. 2. Phase: 1980s
1. growth of environmental consciousness
2. got media attention
3. environmental journalists: Anil Agrawal, Nagesh Hegde, Shekhar Pathak
4. GoI set up Department of Environment which later upgraded to ministry
3. 3. Phase; 1990s
1. growth of professionalism
2. scientist and social activists took it as area of research
3. IISc started Centre for Ecological Science
4. growth of NGOs: including foreign
5. growth of New economic Policy: rise of left wing extremism
6. environmentalists now dismissed as Old Socialist Guy
7. project clearances have become formality by MoE which have resulted into high level of pollution and depleted ground water
8. India today is basket case of environmental tragedies: polluted skies, dead river, disappearing forest, displaced peasants and tribal
9. Madhav Gadgil: book- the Fissured Land; An ecological history of India: co-authored
1. Advocates empowerment of people, proper valuation of natural resources and knowledge dissemination
10. another book:- Ecology and equity
1. Offered critic of development model followed by India since independence
11. 3 strands in Indian movement (Guha)
1. Crusading Gandhians: suggested alternative model of development
2. Appropriate technology: focus on technological solution
3. Ecological Marxist: working at grassroot movement and support radical democracy
12. Change in value system is required
6. Sunita Narayan: centre of Science and environment
1. Categorises Indian movement as 'Utilitarian Conservatism'
2. Western movement: protectionist conservatism
3. Gives concept of new environmentalism
4. Environmentalism is about protecting democracy
1. calls for idea without dogmas and idealism which is practical
5. Highlighted weaknesses of environmental movement
1. 'The fighting approach' : not been able to Strategise themselves
2. Not been able to change the policy
6. Till it doesn't become issue of electoral politics, its impact is going to be limited
7. Challenges faced by environmental movements
1. Lack of resources
2. Lack of expertise
3. Bureaucratic aparthied
4. Corruption
5. Crony capitalism
6. Global environmental rules are now being shaped by countries of north rather than south
8. It is about social ecology
7. Vandana Shiva and Jayant Bandopadhyay- art: Political economy of ecology Movement
1. developmental process in India is resource intensive
2. disrupted traditional life
3. hence, movement started

Alberto Melucci : social movements are the laboratories in which new experiments are conducted to challenge the dominant code of everyday life.