Indian Society, Development and Social Movements
Indian society, development and social movements
This domain links development ideas to collective action. Colonial development extracted resources; post-independence planning used Five-Year Plans, land reform, community development and the Green Revolution. Liberalisation after 1991 expanded markets, services and inequality. Development is contested: it can raise incomes and literacy while causing displacement, environmental damage and regional imbalance.
Movements
Social movements are sustained, organized challenges to authority or cultural norms. Old movements focused on labour, peasants and nationalism; new movements address environment, women, Dalits, human rights and displacement. Examples include Chipko (forest protection), Narmada Bachao Andolan (dam displacement), Dalit movements against caste, and women’s movements against violence and unequal law. Movements use protest, litigation, lobbying, networking and media.
Worked example
Question: Was the Narmada Bachao Andolan anti-development? A strong answer rejects the binary: it opposed specific displacement and environmental costs while demanding just rehabilitation and participation. It assesses outcomes-awareness, policy change, delays-and constraints, showing how movements redefine development rather than simply reject it.
Traps
Do not equate movement with NGO or riot. Do not treat development as neutral or purely economic. Do not ignore internal differences within movements. Movements may decline or institutionalize; success is not only policy victory but changed discourse.