What traumatic event does Zitkala-Sa describe at the school?

The forcible cutting of her long hair

Why was the cutting of her hair so humiliating to Zitkala-Sa?

Among her people, shingled hair was worn by cowards and mourners

What are the defining features of a social movement?

Sustained collective action over time, marked by organisation, leadership, a structure, shared objectives and ideology, and a general orientation towards bringing about or preventing change.

Why is spontaneous protest not a social movement?

Because a social movement requires sustained, organised collective action with leadership and shared objectives, whereas spontaneous, disorganised protest lacks these.

What is a counter-movement? Give an example.

A movement that arises to defend the status quo against another movement, such as the Dharma Sabha that opposed the campaign against sati.

Distinguish between reformist, redemptive and revolutionary movements.

Redemptive movements change personal consciousness, reformist movements seek gradual change in arrangements, and revolutionary movements seek to radically transform social relations, often by capturing state power.

How do 'old' social movements differ from 'new' social movements?

Old movements were class-based and worked through political parties and trade unions to reorganise power; new movements focus on quality-of-life and identity issues and often unite people across classes.

What issues did the Chipko Movement bring together?

The livelihood needs of villagers against commercial logging, ecological sustainability against deforestation and floods, and resentment against a distant, indifferent government.

Name two classical peasant movements at the time of Independence.

The Tebhaga movement (1946-47), a struggle of Bengal sharecroppers, and the Telangana movement (1946-51) against feudal conditions in the princely state of Hyderabad.

Why is the Dalit movement described as a struggle to be touched?

Because beyond economic and political demands it is a struggle for recognition as fellow human beings, for self-dignity and self-determination, and against the stigma of untouchability.

How did the Jharkhand tribal movement develop?

Over more than a century, with Birsa Munda as an icon; literate adivasis built a shared Jharkhandi identity against dikus, and a middle-class leadership demanded a separate state, formed in 2000.

Social Movements

Q: How do social movements differ from social change in general?

Social change is continuous, ongoing and unplanned, the sum of countless actions; social movements are directed towards specific goals through long, deliberate collective effort.

Class 12 Sociology · Social Change and Development in India · Chapter 8

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Many rights we take for granted — the eight-hour day, the weekend, equal pay, social security, the right to vote — were won through social movements, which have shaped the modern world and continue to do so. A social movement requires sustained collective action over time, marked by organisation, leadership, shared objectives and ideology, and a general orientation towards bringing about or resisting change; spontaneous, disorganised protest is not a social movement. Movements often provoke counter-movements that defend the status quo. Social movements differ from social change in general, which is continuous and unplanned, whereas movements aim at specific goals. The chapter distinguishes types of movements — redemptive (changing personal consciousness), reformist (gradual change) and revolutionary (radical transformation, often by capturing state power) — and contrasts 'old' social movements (class-based, working through parties and trade unions) with 'new' social movements concerned with quality-of-life and identity issues. It surveys major Indian movements: ecological movements (the Chipko Movement, which interlinked livelihood, ecology and political representation); class-based peasant movements (Bardoli, Champaran, Tebhaga, Telangana) and new farmers' movements; workers' movements and trade unions; caste-based movements (the Dalit movement as a struggle for dignity, and Backward Class movements); tribal movements (Jharkhand led by Birsa Munda, and the North-East); and the women's movement, from 19th-century reform and early organisations to its renewal in the mid-1970s around issues like violence against women, land rights and dowry.

Key terms

Social movement

Sustained, organised collective action aimed at bringing about or resisting social change.

Counter-movement

A movement that arises in defence of the status quo against another movement.

Reformist movement

A movement seeking gradual, incremental change in existing arrangements.

Revolutionary movement

A movement seeking to radically transform social relations, often by capturing state power.

New social movements

Movements focused on quality-of-life and identity issues rather than class alone.

Chipko Movement

An ecological movement in which villagers hugged trees to prevent felling.

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A social movement requires:

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Social Movements

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Key terms

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Practice quiz · Social Movements

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