SOCIAL MOVEMENTS Part I

1. SOCIAL MOVEMENTSPart I Gov 1255: Politics of India Emily Clough

2. Social Movements • Environmental Movements • Women’s Movements • Sexual Minority Politics • Anti-Corruption Movement

3. Social Movement Theory • How do social movements organize themselves? •  How do people solve collective action problems?

4. Social Movement Theory • How do social movements organize themselves? •  How do people solve collective action problems? • Early theorists: • Marx: Structural class cleavages make it inevitable • Lenin: Intellectual vanguard and organization • Gramsci: Working class organic intellectual

5. Social Movement Theory • How do social movements organize themselves? •  How do people solve collective action problems? • Early theorists: • Marx: Structural class cleavages make it inevitable • Lenin: Intellectual vanguard and organization • Gramsci: Working class organic intellectual • Individual decisions to participate • Olson: relative costs and benefits at the individual level

6. Social Movement Theory • How do social movements organize themselves? •  How do people solve collective action problems? • Early theorists: • Marx: Structural class cleavages make it inevitable • Lenin: Intellectual vanguard and organization • Gramsci: Working class organic intellectual • Individual decisions to participate • Olson: relative costs and benefits at the individual level • Characteristics of social movements • McCarthy & Zald: movement entrepreneurs, organization

7. Social Movement Theory • How do social movements organize themselves? •  How do people solve collective action problems? • Early theorists: • Marx: Structural class cleavages make it inevitable • Lenin: Intellectual vanguard and organization • Gramsci: Working class organic intellectual • Individual decisions to participate • Olson: relative costs and benefits at the individual level • Characteristics of social movements • McCarthy & Zald: movement entrepreneurs, organization • Beyond the movement: context • McCarthy & Zald: resources • Tarrow

8. Tarrow • Political opportunity structure

9. Tarrow • Political opportunity structure • Repertoires of conventions

10. Tarrow • Political opportunity structure • Repertoires of conventions • Ideological frames

11. Tarrow • Political opportunity structure • Repertoires of conventions • Ideological frames • Social networks

12. Environmental Movements • Forest Resources

13. Environmental Movements • Forest Resources • Water Resources

14. Conflict over Forest Resources • Chipko(Hug the Trees) Movement in the Central Himalayas in 1973

15. Chipko Movement

16. Conflict over Forests • Chipko(Hug the Trees) Movement • Representative of wide spectrum of forest-based conflicts • Traced to establishment of the Indian forest department in 1864. • This was a watershed: • Political • Social • Ecological • Social conflict

17. Conflict over Forests • Intensified in post-Independence years because of new ecological dimension – dwindling forests • Popular movements focus on 2 issues: • Return of control of forests to community. State must withdraw. • Contrast between the subsistence orientation of villagers and the commercial orientation of the state.

18. Conflict over Water Big Dams • Nehru’s “temples of modern India” • Over time, villagers less willing to sacrifice •  Experience of displaced communities of the past

19. Conflict Over Water Three Critiques of Big Dams: • Economic critique: States invariably overvalue benefits & undervalue costs • Ecological critique:High incidence of water logging & wholesale submergence of large tropical forests and precious wildlife & fishlife • Social critique: Displacement of millions of poor villagers from their ancestral homelands without adequate consultation or compensation

20. Narmada BachaoAndolan/Save the Narmada Campaign

21. Narmada River Projects

22. Leader of the Narmada BachaoAndolan: MedhaPatkar

23. Critiques of the Narmada Dams by the NBA • that the project has been conceived without adequate participation from the people who are going to be affected; • that many dams are not viable solutions to many of the problems (power, drinking water, flood control, irrigation) they set out to solve, and that there needs to be a greater emphasis on the search for alternative solutions from all concerned (Government, NGOs, people); • that the construction and planning of many dams has disrupted (and will potentially disrupt) the lives of millions of people without just and adequate compensation

24. Expected benefits of the SardarSarovar Dam • Judgement of the Supreme Court of India in 2000: "The argument in favour of the Sardar Sarovar Project is that the benefits are so large that they substantially outweigh the costs of the immediate human and environmental disruption. …there appears to be no alternative to escalating human deprivation, particularly in the dry areas of Gujarat. The project has the potential to feed as many as 20 million people, provide domestic and industrial water for about 30 million, employ about 1 million, and provide valuable peak electric power. Set against the futures of about 70,000 project affected people…the ratio of beneficiaries to affected persons is well over 100:1.”

25. Environmental Movements • Forest - Chipko Movement • Water - Narmada BachaoAndolan Gandhian Social Movements

26. Demonstrations & Satyagrahs

27. Peaceful Response to Police Repression

28. Fasts

29. Jal Samadhi/ Water Burial

30. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7J_B3MFQ2Q

31. Environmental Movements • Raise issues for: • Distributive justice • Economic sufficiency • Environmental Sustainability

32. Women’s Movements • No single movement • On diverse issues • Traditional focus: • Women’s education • Widow remarriage • New focus • Alcoholism • Physical Abuse by Husbands • Inflation • Environment (Chipko) • Dalit issues

33. Women’s Movements • Early Women’s Movements: • Movement against Dowry • Demands for additional dowry after marriage • Violence toward women for dowry – “bride burning” • Delhi-centered • “Suicide” or “kitchen accidents” • New legislation mandating investigation into death by fire of new brides; increasing stringency of punishment for cruelty to women; mental cruelty; post-mortem exam within 7 years of marriage

34. Movement against Dowry

36. Women’s Movements • Early Women’s Movements: • Campaign against Dowry • Campaign against Rape • Police rape • 1970’s – demonstrations against police rape and landlord rape •  national movement • New legislation – burden of proof on the accused • Issue of implementation

37. Women’s Movements • Early Women’s Movements: • Campaign against Dowry • Campaign against Rape • Features of Early Women’s Movements: • Popular support • Legislative successes

38. Women’s Movements • Later Women’s Movements: • Critiques from sections of traditionalist society • Success of early women’s movements • Rise of religious fundamentalism • Pro-sati movements – early 80’s • “Real woman” vs. Feminists

39. Rights of Sexual Minorities • Contemporary movement • Challenges: cultural, normative, institutional, legal • Victories in all areas • Section 377 struck down in 2009 • Case of lesbian marriage July 2011 • Early days • Confined to urban areas • Still high rates of violence and marginalization

40. Anti-Corruption Movement • Anna Hazare • “Team Anna” and civil society groups • Methods: Gandhian (peaceful protest, courting arrest, hunger strikes) + technology (Facebook, twitter, texts) • Jan Lokpal Bill – ombudsman for corruption

41. Anti-Corruption Movement • Proponents: • Lokpal Bill intended to help eliminate corruption • Grassroots movement overturns stereotype of jaded public

42. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wv5tlDNFlY

43. Anti-Corruption Protests • Critics: • Movement’s leaders have been charged with corruption • Movement makes misguided demands – the Lokpal Bill won’t solve corruption and may make it worse

44. Links • River: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7J_B3MFQ2Q • Corruption: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wv5tlDNFlY • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LdhaExLrd4