Social movements

Story hook

It is 26 March 1974. In Reni village, Chamoli district, Uttarakhand (then UP), a contractor's crew arrives with axes to fell 2,451 ash trees of the Reni-Lata forest that the state forest department has auctioned. The village's adult men are away — diverted by a fake compensation announcement. The contractor expects no resistance.

He gets the opposite. Gaura Devi, a 50-year-old illiterate widow, leads 27 women into the forest. They form a human chain, hug the marked trees + tell the loggers: "This forest is our mother's home; you will have to fell us first". The loggers retreat. After four days of women standing in the freezing forest, the contractor leaves. The state government later orders a 10-year felling ban in the area; Indira Gandhi quotes the act of "Chipko" (literally, "to embrace / cling to") in parliament.

Chipko is no spontaneous moment but the culmination of a 20-year Sarvodaya organising effort in the Garhwal Himalayas (Sunderlal Bahuguna, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Govind Singh Rawat) linking forest livelihoods + ecology + women's agency.

Fifteen years later (1989), at Harsud, Madhya Pradesh, 40,000 people gather to launch the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) against the Sardar Sarovar Dam + 30 other dams on the Narmada. Medha Patkar, a 35-year-old social scientist, becomes the public face. The movement runs for 30+ years, forces the World Bank to withdraw funding (1993), leads to landmark SC judgments on rehabilitation, but could not stop the dam — height raised to 138.68 m in 2017.

A quarter-century later (Aug 2011), the India Against Corruption movement brings Anna Hazare to Ramlila Maidan, Delhi, on a fast against the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill. Crowds of 150,000+ at peak; Parliament debates Lokpal; Aam Aadmi Party emerges (2012); Lokpal + Lokayuktas Act passed Dec 2013; first Lokpal sworn in March 2019.

These three — Chipko (1973+), NBA (1985+), anti-corruption (2011-13) — are India's iconic post-Independence social movements. They share methods (non-violent, mass-based, charismatic leaders), differ in outcomes (Chipko + Anna succeeded partly; NBA mostly didn't), + collectively redefined Indian civil society + the state-citizen contract. This file maps them + the broader landscape.

Why this matters for UPSC

Mains GS-I — asked 2015 "How does Indian society perceive social movements?"; 2017 "Discuss whether formation of new states in recent times is beneficial or detrimental"; 2018 "Communalism arises either due to power struggle or relative deprivation. Argue."; 2020 "How have the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission of India enabled the states to improve their fiscal position?"; 2023 "Discuss the impact of COVID-19 on women's labour participation in India". Social movements as a category have come up multiple times.

Prelims tests specific facts: Chipko 1973, Sunderlal Bahuguna, NBA 1985, Sardar Sarovar height, NBA Supreme Court 2000, Lokpal Act 2013, Aruna Roy RTI, Narmada Award 1979.

Interview: Anna Hazare movement assessment; Medha Patkar + displacement; Forest Rights Act 2006; environmental movements vs development; rights-based vs welfare-based mobilisation.