Social And Political Movements

Note: To get the right price for agricultural product is the main demand of farmers’ movement. Shetkari Sanghatana, Bharatiya Kisan Union, All India Kisan Sabha are some of the important farmers organisations that fight for the rights of farmers in India.

Note: To increase agricultural production and become self-sufficient with regard to food grains Green revolution was initiated. In took place in 1960’s under the leadership of agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan.

The origin of Tribal movement dates back to the pre-independence days. The British government had deprived tribal people of their rights to livelihood on forest resources and as a result of that, a tribal uprising took place in various parts of the country. It included tribes like Kolam (Chota Nagpur), Gond (Orissa), Koli Bhilla Ramoshi (Maharashtra), Santhal and Munda (Bihar).

The main demand of the tribal movement is for the government to accept their rights over forests, they should be allowed to collect forest produce and cultivate forest land.

Workers movement in India was organized under Trade unions that saw its birth in the background of industrialization in British India. Industrial workers frequently went on strike for their demands of better wages and improved working hours. One such incident was reported as the railway workers’ strike in 1899. The first organization for resolving workers’ issues was established in 1920, known as the All India Trade Union Congress. In the post-independence era, trade unions got more effective in 1960s and 1970s, organizing several agitations but saw its disintegration in 1980s and its steady decline in the face of globalization in 1990s. Some of the concerns of the workers’ movements are:

• Unstable employment conditions

• Contract labour and financial insecurities of workers

• Absence of legal protection for workers

• Long working hours

• Insecurities at workplace

• Health hazards at work place, etc.

The environmental movement is an important step towards environmental protection which is recognized as a global concern. Its working is organized on several levels (local, national, international) to prevent environmental degradation. It aims to create awareness and drive policy making on issues like sustainable energy, protection of forest and biodiversity, severe effects of pollution and degradation of air, water, soil etc.

The history of farmers’ movement in India dates to the time of our independence struggle. It was inspired by the thoughts of Mahatma Phule, Justice Ranade and Mahatma Gandhi against the anti-agriculturist policies of the British. It has continued to be active and became more effective after the Green Revolution which increased the economic gap between rich farmers and poor farmers. Some of the demands of the farmers’ movements are:

• Appropriate prices for agricultural goods

• Industry status for Agriculture

• Implementations of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission report

• Debt relief and debt cancellation

• National policy for Agriculture

The women’s movements in the pre-independence period were fighting for eliminating injustice and exploitation against women, helping them lead a respectful and socially active life. Some of the reforms it demanded were:

• Widow re-marriage

• Women education

• Right to vote

After Independence, women were granted equal political rights by the constitution, however the social struggle for equality continued.

Movements are important in a democracy because:

1. Different social problems are discussed through these movements.

2. It is a way of attracting the attention of Government towards a cause.

3. The Government & common people get more necessary information about the issues through leaders and activists.

4. It helps the government take an informed decision on the subject.

5. Right to protest is an important democratic right, hence social movements strengthen democratic processes.

Movements need a strong leadership to keep it active and effective. A Movement is a collective struggle, people need a strong leader for right guidance to reach their objective.

For instance, India’s freedom struggle was marked with emergence of a strong political leadership in the twentieth century (1900s), prior to that the independence efforts were scattered in regions and divided in their political stances. It found a direction in non-violence and political non-cooperation under the leadership of Gandhi. While multiple groups continued to fight for India’s freedom in their respective ways, the common masses found their aspirations aligned with the Gandhian movement for his charismatic leadership.

The consumer movement came into existence in 1986 with the Consumer Protection Act to address cases of frauds in the economic exchanges. It takes each citizen to be a consumer and has a broader objective is to protect the consumer against adulteration and frauds, understanding the changing nature of consumer grievances.

The Consumer Protection Act proved its importance with the economic liberalization of India in 1990s. The consumer forums proved to be a good system of check and balance into quality control and after sales services in the market place.

The below images are the various activities of the social movements that took place before the independence by various leaders of the country.

In my city, Jodhpur, currently the initiative has been taken by the people to clean my area (Madhuban) by making arrangements to dump the waste rather than throwing it in the corners of the road.

REPORT ON CREATING ARRANGEMENTS FOR DUMPING WASTE

Recently when I visited my town, I found out that to resolve the general problem of dumping waste, the people are taking initiative in various ways. As the situation in this area was worsening, some people took the initiative to solve this problem.

In Madhuban, People were dumping waste in their nearby corners as the dustbins were already filled. Municipal people didn’t bother to clean up the area at least once in an alternate day depending upon the availability of dustbins provided in the location. Hardly, there was proper facility provided to dump the waste. People had to go to the other areas to dump waste as there were not enough dustbins provided.

There were some people who took initiative firstly by complaining to the Municipal Corporation to provide a required number of dustbins in Madhuban (at least in every colony). Some people started to travel with their own carrier tempo with a song playing with lyrics “Sunlo bhaiya sunlo bhabhi sunlo bhaiyaji, kachre waale dabbe me tum Kachra daalo ji”. They go to every colony with this temp and charge 50 Rs a month for this. They also take waste bags kept outside the houses and charge extra 10 Rs for this otherwise the individual has to dump waste on his own when the tempo comes outside the home.

NOTE: This is just an example in a Jodhpur city in Madhuban area where the people are taking this initiative. It is not propagated in large scale.

CASE: Miss Devika Pillai purchased Grains from Mr. Pankaj & Co. operating in the same town, in January 2019. The grains purchased contained chemicals and colours to make it look more shiny and fresh. As a result, Miss Devika Pillai approaches the District forum.

COMPLAINT PETITION

For being cheated in the purchase of grains

BEFORE THE DISTRICT FORUM CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM, <JODHPUR>

Consumer dispute case no. 1234/2019

A petition under Section-11 Consumer Protection Act

And in the matter of:

Miss Devika Pillai

3 GHA 22 Madhuban, Basni, 1^st phase, Jodhpur (Raj.)

Vs

Owner of the Shop

Mr. Pankaj & Co.

3B12, Chopasini Housing Board, Jodhpur.

To,

Hon’ble President and

Members of the District Forum

Jodhpur

May it please your honours:

This complaint petition is being filed on behalf of Miss Devika Pillai 3 GHA 22 Madhuban, Basni, 1^st phase, Jodhpur (Raj.) referred hereafter as Complainant, and is as follows :

1.0 That this complaint Petition is being filed under Sec.
2 (1)(b)(i) of the Consumer Protection Act.

2.0 That the opposite party is engaged in the business of selling vegetables and grains in the known markets, apart from other activities.

(Narration of the Incident)

3.1 That on 5^th January. 2019 (date of purchasing grains), the complainant deposited a sum of Rs 1 lakh to purchase 40 kg of Grains and the receipt (receipt no. -228) has been provided for this. A Photocopy of the said receipt is furnished at Annexure-I.

3.2 After knowing about being cheated, when the complainant approached the shopkeeper, he initially refused to talk on this matter and later denied of such act done by him. Hence, the complainant wrote to the shopkeeper, requesting to take an immediate intervention. Copy of the letter has been furnished at Annexure – II.

3.3 As a result, till date O.P No. 1 did not bother to honour the directives of a complainant, and the complainant is still didn’t receive his money back.

3.4 That the O.P had tried to sell grains which are unhealthy to consume by the complainant.

PRAYER

In the view of the submissions contained in the preceding paragraphs, the complainant most respectfully prays to the Hon'ble Forum to direct the Opposite Parties to:

(a) refund the cost of the purchased grain, Rs. <1 lakh> along with 10% interest;

(b) to pay a sum of Rs. 10,000/- towards the physical strain and mental agony suffered by the complainant and his family members (compensation); and

(c) to pay a sum of Rs. 1,000/- towards cost of this petition (Cost);

For which act of kindness, the complainant shall, as is duty bound, ever pray

Devika Pillai

There were various movements in India which worked for the rehabilitation of the displaced and to secure their livelihood. Some of these were:-

• Narmada Bachao Andolan – Adivasis, farmers, environmentalists, and human rights activists started this Andolan when a large number of dams being constructed near Narmada River. People went on hunger strikes to stop this work at the dam.

• Jungle Bachao Andolan – The Tribals of Bihar initiated this Andolan when the government decided to replace the natural Sal forest and to encourage the growth of teak. This movement spread in Orissa and Jharkhand.

• Save silent valley movement – Silent Valley is located in Palakkad district of Kerala. People wanted to protect this valley so they started this movement. Their main aim was to protect the valley from being crowded by the hydroelectric project. The protests acquired national and international support and the government decided to conserve this forest area.

Yes, it is true movements always come up with one particular issue but have an ideology behind them. There are various examples like child marriage, dowry, believe in values of democracy, women empowerment, rights of people of a certain caste, Reservation and social equality. This way, some movements gradually get transformed into political parties.

Parties like Bharatiya Janata Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Shiv-Sena, etc. Are some of the parties which initially started by the group of people to deal with one particular issue but later that adopted the ideology and transformed into political parties as they gained large support from the people. For example – Regional political party like Shiv-Sena follows pro-Marathi ideology and Hindu nationalism (Hindutva). They started with one particular issue of demanding preference to Maharashtrians against the migrants of the city. It emerged as a regional political party after a movement in Mumbai. It later aligned with Bharatiya Janata Party and got the maximum support from the Maratha community of Maharashtra.

Other examples are Bharatiya Janata Party adopted an ideology of protection of India's "Hindu" cultural identity, Bahujan Samaj Party formed to support Bahujans ie, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes (OBC), as well as religious minorities, etc.

Thus, from this example, it is proved that “Sometimes some movements gradually get transformed into political parties.”

Hussainara Khatoon vs State of Bihar case was one such movement in India led to the filing of Public Interest Litigation and the Judiciary had to give decision over PIL. As the case was filed by the prisoner named Hussainara Khatoon. So it came to be known as Hussainara Khatoon vs State of Bihar case. The case was filed because in prison some of the prisoners were held more than their punishable imprisonment as they were waiting for their trial procedure. As a result, one of the prisoners filed PIL and the Judiciary had to give decision over PIL. The result was then taken to provide free and fair legal services to the needy people, Article 39A stated to provide free and fair legal services to the needy people otherwise the individual will not be able to secure Justice, government of India and state government was informed to introduce proper legal service programme and the state should provide speedy trial to the victim with lack of financial and administrative help.

NOTE- Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is introduced by the Person or Public to seek a solution in the interest of a person or group (oppressed class).

Mahatma Gandhi – He was the leader of the National movement, politician and a social activist. He started various movements like - Non-cooperation movement, civil disobedience, or the Champaran movement, The Dandi March, Civil disobedience Movement and Salt Satyagraha (March 12, 1930, to April 5, 1930) and The Quit India Movement (August 8, 1942)

Mahatma Phule – He was the social reformer and activist who started Non-Brahmin Movement against caste restrictions as preference was being given to the Brahmins in the society. He started this movement against the Brahmins who dominated the society and to support peasants and other low-caste people.

Sant Gadge Maharaj - Social service movement was started by Sant Gadge Maharaj who was a social reformer in the state of Maharashtra. Through this movement, he promoted social Justice and started reforms especially related to sanitation.

Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar - Dalit Buddhist movement (also known as Neo-Buddhist movement) was started by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in 1956. This movement was started by the Dalits and mainly focussed on challenging the caste system, rejected Hinduism and promoted the rights of the Dalit community.

‘Son of the soil’ also known as Bhumiputra movement is a concept under which the individual to have some kind of benefits, rights and responsibilities in his/her birthplace which the others may not have. In other words, the benefits should be provided to those who are the main linguistic group of the particular place, ie, local residents or ‘Son of the soil’. It means people who migrated or live in the city for a longer period of time will not have benefits given to the ‘Son of the soil’. For example – Tamilians want to get first preference in their state as compared to others or Marathis to have first preference in terms of opportunities in Maharashtra before others. The ‘Son of the soil’ movements in India insist on various issues which were:

• This movement to give preference to the minority ethnic group rather than migrants who came to the city but are from the same country.

• The minority ethnic group thinks that this is their homeland and it belongs to their ancestors so they consider it as their rights to acquire certain benefits against those who are not from this region.

• To provide opportunities to the “sons of the soil” in the field of jobs, educational quotas, government services, or natural resources.

Andha Shraddha Nirmulan Movement – Narendra Achyut Dabholkar founded Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti. Andha Shraddha Nirmulan Movement was started to fight against the superstition especially, in the state of Maharashtra.

Movementto stop the pollution of rivers – This movement was started to stop the industrial waste being dumped in the river and to stop building of dams and to initiate the cleaning of polluted water.

Movementagainst female foeticide – This movement has been started to save the girl child and to stop female foeticide.

Not in My Name – The movement was started to question the increasing number of attacks on the minorities and government’s no response to all such incidents which is taking place in the name of the minorities of the country.

The policies started by the government for the welfare of farmers and landless labourers are:

• The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation and the Ministry of Agriculture decided to improve the condition of the farmers by reducing the cost of cultivation, by enabling higher yield per unit and by realizing remunerative prices. This way they will be able to improve the net income of the farmers which get from their farms.

• The scheme called Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme has been provided to the farmers so that they can now identify the nutrient level of the soil, awareness on how to use fertiliser and neem coated urea to increase productivity, save money and overall providing higher returns to the farmers.

• To promote organic farming, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) has been implemented. This will improve the nutrient level of the soil.

• To provide irrigation, reduce wastage of water and improve water use efficiency, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) scheme has been implemented.

• To deal with crop losses and other natural calamities, the National Crop Insurance Scheme has been introduced to help farmers.

• Minimum Support Prices (MSP) has been improved to support the farmers in the time of debt waiver/relief, interest subvention on crop loans, revival package for strengthening Short Term Rural Cooperative Credit Structure, etc.

• Landless labourers can now experience the benefits of crop insurance scheme by paying the insurance premium and signing an agreement with the landowner to work on their land.

• Government for labourers especially for sugarcane workers enacted Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, 2008 and also various schemes to provide social security cover.