New Social Movements in India: Types, Features & List - UPSC Notes

New social movements in India are collective, organized social efforts aimed at bringing about significant social and political changes. They have been especially emerging since the 1970s. They mainly focus on human rights, gender equality, environmental sustainability, and the revival of marginalized communities. Unlike earlier movements that focused on economic class struggles, new social movements in India address non-economic grievances. They often use non-institutional methods to achieve their goals. They are marked by an emphasis on identity politics and grassroots mobilization. They try to challenge systemic inequalities and bring about inclusive social change.

The topic New Social Movements in India will find relevance in the UPSC General Studies Paper II and Paper I. This part is a crucial constituent of the subjects Indian Polity and Governance and Social Issues.

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New Social Movements in India

New social movements in India refer to a broad range of collective actions and campaigns initiated by groups and individuals typically outside established political systems to bring about social change. They have been around since the 1970s and continue to evolve. These movements generally revolve around environmental protection, human rights, gender equality, and social justice. Unlike the other labor and peasant movements, new social movements do not focus on economic issues. It targets change and awareness through alternative non-institutional methods.

Read the article on the List of Indian National Movements!

Types of New Social Movements in India

New social movements in India are divided into many categories representing diverse social issues. Some of them can be broadly classified into the following headings:

Environmental Movements

These movements seek to protect and conserve the environment. Most often, these movements oppose the policies of industry which destroy the environment and aim for sustainable development. Some of these are as follows:

Women's Movements

These involve the struggles for equal gender rights and gender violence in addition to equipping women with roles in all levels of life. Prominent ones are:

Anti-Dowry Movement

A movement against the practice of dowry that takes advantage of, as well as brings violence on, women.

Human Rights and Dalit Movements

These movements focus on the rights and upliftment of marginalized communities such as Dalits and other backward classes.

Bhima-Koregaon Movement

Yearly events celebrating the triumph of Dalits over Peshwa rulers, signifying resistance against caste-based oppression.

Movements for LGBTQ+

These movements fight for the rights and social acceptance of LGBTQ+s.

Pride Parades

Every year, pride parades are organized in different cities across India to celebrate LGBTQ+ identities and rights.

Anti-globalization and Economic Justice Movements

These movements condemn the negative impacts of globalization and demand economic policies in favor of the deprived.

Anti-WTO policies protest movements

Organizations of farmers and trade unions protesting against the neoliberal policies of the World Trade Organization.

Read the article on the Environmental Movements in India!

Features of New Social Movements in India

There are many distinguished features that a new social movement in India takes on to mark its existence with other movements around the world:

• They begin with grassroots-level movement, engaging a local community and those people actually affected by any issue. Through this bottom-up approach, one can always link a movement up with real problems of people.
• Traditional movements care about class issues on the whole, but new social movements are largely concerned by identity politics. There exists identification of issues from caste to gender, ethnicity, to environmental justice concerns.
• Most new social movements do not have a definite central leadership to them. They characterize a decentralized way of organization and structure. Due to this form of structure, it promotes flexibility and adjustability. This ensures the movement's resilience and inclusivity.
• They often employ non-institutional tactics and methods such as protests, strikes, social media campaigns, and civil disobedience. It is a far cry from the historical movement which usually seeks institutional channels to treat their issues.
• Such movements often connect with global movements, borrow tactics, get support and solidarity. For instance, environmental activism in India often engages with global organizations and movements to gain further momentum.
• It defines new social movements through mobilization, awareness creation, and advocacy on digital platforms. Social media plays a core role in planning demonstrations, propagating information, and receiving worldwide support.

Read the article on the 19th Century Social Religious Reforms!

List of New Social Movements in India

Here is a list of significant new social movements in India:

Read the article on the Working-Class Movements in India!

Difference Between New and Old Social Movements in India

The following table is a comparative analysis of new and old social movements in India:

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