POPULAR STRUGGLES AND MOVEMENTS POLITICAL SCIENCE CLASS X TERM II POPULAR STRUGGLES People all over the world have mobilized themselves to organize movements to restore democracy or to strengthen the existing democratic system.
CASE STUDY-NEPAL STUDY-NEPAL MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRACY IN NEPAL 1.Nepal witnessed an extraordinary popular movement in April 2006. 2.he 2.he moveme movement nt was was aimed aimed at resto restorin ring g .Nepal .Nepal was was one o! the "thir "third d wave# wave# countries that had won democracy in 1$$0. %.Although the &ing !ormally remained the head o! the state' the real power was exercised by popularly elected representatives .(ing )irendra' who had accepted this transition !rom absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy was &illed in a myster mysteriou ious s massac massacre re o! the royal royal !amily !amily in 2001.( 2001.(ing ing *yanen *yanendra dra'' the &ing &ing o! Nepal 'was not prepared to accept the democratic rule. +e too& advantage o! the wea&ness and unpopularity o! the democratically elected govt. ,.-n ebruary 200/'the &ing dismissed the then Prime inister and dissolved the popularly elected Parliament. /.he movement o! April 2006 was aimed at regaining popular control over the govt.!rom the &ing.
Q.1What were the a!" #eat$re% &# '&'$(ar &)ee"t !" Ne'a(* A.1.he movement o! April 2006 was aimed at regaining popular control over the govt.!rom the &ing. 1.All maor popular political parties in the Parliament !ormed a "even "even Party arty Allia Alliance nce3P 3PA4 A4 and calle called d !or a !our !our day stri& stri&e e in (athm (athmand andu't u'the he country5s capital. 2.he protest soon turned into an indenite stri&e in which the aoist insurgents and various other organizations oined hands. %.People %.Peop le deed deed cur!ew cur!ew and too& too& to the street streets. s.he he secur security ity !ound !ound themse themselve lves s unable to ta&e on more than a la&h people to gather almost everyday to demand the restoration o! democracy. ,.he no.o! protestors reached between % to / la&hs. 7n 21st April'they served an ultimatum to the &ing.he &ing had made a !ew concessions'however'the concessions'however'the leaders o! the movement reected the concessions. concessions.
/.hey stuc& to their demand o! restoration o! Parliament'power to all8party govt. and a new constituent assembly. 6.7n 2,th April 200,'the last day o! ultimatum the &ing was !orced to concede all the three demands. 9.h 9.he e P PA A chos chose e *iri *iria a Pras Prasad ad (oira oirala la as the the new new Prime rime ini inist ster er o! the the interim3temporary4 interim3temporary4 govt..he restored parliament met and passed laws ta&ing away most o! the powers o! the &ing. :.he PA and aoists came to an understanding about how the new constituent assembly was to be elected. his struggle came to be &nown as Nepal5s econd ovement !or ;emocracy.he struggle o! the people o! Nepal has been a source o! inspiration !or democrats all over the world.
Q.+.Me"t!&" the three ,ea",% &# SPA. A.2.he three demands o! PA were< a4 =estoration o! parliament b4 Power to all party govt. c4 New constituent assembly
Q..De%'!te the!r !,e&(&!/a( ,!0ere"/e% wh !% !t that the #&((&w!" /ae tðer !" Ne'a(2% '&'$(ar %tr$(e. A. Var!&$% P&(!t!/a( 'art!e%. 3. SPA a", a", Ma&!%t% A.%8a4 >arious political parties came together !or a common aim o! removing the &ing &ing *yanen *yanendra dra.. hey hey wanted wanted resto restorat ration ion o! democr democrac acy y !rom !rom dictat dictatori orial al &ing &ing although each o! them wanted power !or their own party and did not want to give away power to any other political party. b4 PA and aoists have di?erent ideologies because aoists wanted communalism and PA did not want so. +owever@ PA and aoists came together !or revolting against the dictatorial &ing. hey wanted their right to !reedom and various other rights !or which they oined hands to remove the &ing.
CASE STUDY-3OLIVIA )olivia is a poor country in atin America where the people organized a popular struggle to strengthen democracy.
Q.4.What were the rea%&"% that (e, t& '&'$(ar %tr$(e !" 3&(!)!a*
14he Borld )an& pressurized the govt. to give up its control o! unicipal water supply. 2.h 2.he e govt govt.. sold sold thes these e rig rights hts to a mult multii nati nation onal al comp compan any y !or !or the the city city o! Cochabamba. %.he %.he compan company y immedi immediate ately ly incr increas eased ed the price price o! water water by !our !our times. times. any any people received the monthly water bill o! =s.1000 in a country where the average income is =s./000 a month. his led to a spontaneous popular protest. protest. ,.he contract with the NC was cancelled and water supply was restored to the municipality at old rates.his came to be &nown as )olivia5s water war. /.-n Danuary 2000'a new alliance o! labour'human rights and community leaders oined a !our !our day political political stri&e stri&e in city. city. 6.he govt.agreed to negotiate and the stri&e was called o?.Nothing happened and so they protested again though they were brutally suppressed. 9.Another stri&e too& place in April and the govt.imposed tha martial law. :.he power o! the people !orced the oEcials o! the NC to Fee the city and made the govt.to concede to all the demands o! the protestors.
Q.5.What were the /&&" #eat$re% &# the '&'$(ar %tr$(e !" Ne'a( a", 3&(!)!a* 14)oth these are the instances o! political conFict that led to popular struggles. 2.4-n both cases'struggle involved mass mobilization. %.4Public demonstration demonstration o! mass support clinched the dispute. ,.4)oth instances involved critical role o! political organizations.
Q.6.Whe" !% ,e&/rat!/ /&"7!/t re%&()e, thr&$h '&'$(ar %tr$(e%* . Popul Popular ar strugg struggles les ta&e ta&e place place when when the countr country y is going going throug through h transi transitio tion n to democracy' expansion o! democracy or deepening o! democracy. 1.;emo 1.;emocra cratic tic conFi conFict ct is resol resolved ved throug through h mass mass mobili mobilizat zation ion.. ometi ometimes mes it is possible that the conFict is resolved by using the existing institutions li&e parliament or the udiciary. )ut when there is a deep dispute very o!ten these institutions themselves get involved in the dispute. he resolution has to come !rom outside' !rom the people. 2.hese conFicts and mobilizations are based on political organizations. hus there is an element o! spontaneity in all such historic movements. )ut the spontaneous public participation becomes e?ective with the help o! organized politics .here can
be many agencies o! organized politics. hese include political parties' pressure groups and movement groups.
Q.8.De%/r!9e the &# )ar!&$% &ra"!:at!&"% !" Ne'a(2% '&'$(ar %tr$(e. . >arious political parties 3PA4' 3PA4' human rights groups and organizations organizations o! indigenous people such as teacers and lawyers extended their support to the popular struggle.
Q.;. Q.;.3r 3r!e !e7 7 e"t e"t!& !&" " the the &ra &ra"! "!:a :at! t!&" &"% % wh!/ wh!/h h &)ee"t !" 3&(!)!a.
/&"t /&"tr! r!9$ 9$te te, , t& '&'$ '&'$(a (ar r
Var!&$% Var!&$% &ra"!:at!&"%< -n )olivia the popular struggle was led by G;GC7= which comprised o! local pro!essionals' pro!essionals' engineers and environmentalists. 9=Fe,erat!&"< ederation o! !armers' !actory wor&ers 'middle class students !rom university o! Cochabamba and the city5s growing population o! homeless and the street children. /=P&(!t! /=P&(!t!/a( /a( 'art!e%< 'art!e%< he he move moveme ment nt agai agains nstt priv privat atiz izat atio ion n o! wate waterr was was also also supported by the ocialist Party. -n 2006'this political party came into power in )olivia. Q.>Me"t!&" the )ar!&$% wa% !" wh!/h 'e&'(e /a" a?e &)t. t& (!%te" t& the!r ,ea",%. 147ne obvious way o! inFuencing their decisions in democracy is direct participation in competitive potics. 24his is done by creating parties'contesting elections and !orming govt. %4)ut every citizen does not participate so directly. ,.4hey may have the desire'the need or the s&ills to ta&e part in direct political activity other than voting. /4here are many indirect ways in which people can get govt to listen to their demands. 64hey 64hey could could do so by !ormin !orming g an organ organiza izatio tion n and under underta& ta&ing ing activi activitie ties s to promote their interst. 94hese are called interest groups or pressure groups.ometimes people decide to act together without !orming organizations.
PRESSURE GROUPS Q.1@What are 're%%$re r&$'%* .
Pressu Pressure re groups groups are organiz organizatio ations ns that attempts attempts to inFuence inFuence govt. govt. policies. policies. )ut unli&e the political parties the pressure groups do not aim to directly control or share political power. hese organizations organizations are !ormed when people with common occupations 'interests' aspirations or opinions come together in order to achieve a common obective.
Q.1+.Me"t!&" a #ew ea'(e% &# the 're%%$re r&$'%. A.12.armers5 organizations8 )haratiya (isan Hnion 2.rade Hnions8A-HC8All -ndia rade Hnion Congress %.)u %.)usi sine ness ss -ndustries.
grou groups ps8 8-C -CCC-8 8ed eder erat atio ion n
o!
-ndi -ndian an
Cham Chambe bers rs
o!
Comm Commer erce ce
and and
Q.1.Me"t!&" the tw& t'e% 're%%$re r&$'% a", ,e%/r!9e the 9r!e7. A. ectional -nterest *roups< hese are interest gropus which promote interests' betterme betterment nt and well being o! a particula particularr section section o! society society.. hey wor& !or the betterme betterment nt o! their their members members only. only. or or eg. trade trade unions' unions' teachers teachers55 associat associations ions'' doctor doctors5 s5 assoc associat iation ions. s. hey hey are are sectio sectional nal becaus because e they they repr represe esent nt a sectio section n o! society. Public -nterest *roups< hey are also called promotional groups as they promote collective interests interests rather than selective interests. hey aim to help other than their own members. hey represent common or general interests even though members o! its organizations get no benet !rom it. Gg' G;GC7= -n )olivia' +uman =ights 7rganisation in Nepal. )oth these public interest groups share common concern !or the entire country.
Q.14.What !% a &)ee"t* Wr!te a %h&rt "&te &" !t. A.1,.A movement attempts to inFuence politics rather than directly ta&ing part in electoral competition. here are two types o! movements. hese are# 14-ssue pecic ovement< hey see& to achieve a single obective within a limited time !rame. Gg8he Nepalese movement had a specic obective to reverse the &ing5s order. -n -ndia the Narmada )achao Andolan is an issue specic movement which aims to stop the construction o! ardar arovar ;am on Narmada river. 24*eneral movement< hey see& to achieve broad goals in the long run involving more than one issue. Gg8 Gnvironmental movement. *eneral movements are also called multi issue movement. ometimes these broad movements have a loose umbre umbrella lla organ organiza izatio tion n as well. well. Gg8th Gg8the e Nation National al Allia Alliance nce !or Peop Peoples les55 oveme ovement nt 3NAP4 is an organization o! organizations.
Q.15.I" what wa% the 're%%$re r&$'% a", &)ee"t% eert !"7$e"/e &" '&(!t!/%* A.Pressure groups and movements exert inFuence on politics in a variety o! ways< 14hey try to gain public support and sympathy !or their goals and their activities by carrying out in!ormation campaigns' organizing meetings' ling petitions etc. ost o! these these group groups s try to inFuen inFuence ce the the media media into into giving giving more more attent attention ion to these these issues. 24h 24hey ey orga organi nize ze prot protes estt acti activi viti ties es li& li&e stri stri& &es or disr disrup upti ting ng gove goverrnmen nmenta tall programm programmes. es. Bor&ers5 or&ers5 organiza organization tions' s' employers employers55 organiz organizatio ations ns and most o! the movements o!ten resort to these tactics in order to !orce the govt. to ta&e note o! their demands. %4)usi %4)usines ness s grou groups ps o!ten o!ten employ employ pro!e pro!ess ssion ional al lobbyi lobbyists sts or spons sponsor or expen expensiv sive e advertise advertisements ments.. ome persons persons !rom !rom pressur pressure e groups groups or movement movement groups groups may participate in oEcial bodies and committies that o?er advice to the govt.
Q.16. Q.16.Wha Whatt !% the the re(at! re(at!&"% &"%h!' h!' 9etw 9etwee" ee" '&(!t! '&(!t!/a /a(( 'art!e 'art!e% % a", 're%%$ 're%%$re re r&$'%* A814-n some instances the pressure groups are either !ormed or led by political parties or act as extended arms o! political parties. or eg8A)>P eg8A)>P and NH- which are popular students5 organizations organizations in -ndia are either established by or aEliated to one or the other maor political party. 24ometimes political parties emerge emerge out o! movement. Gg8Assam Gg8Assam movement led to the !ormation o! Asom *ana Parishad. %4P %4Polti oltica call part partie ies s such such as ;( ;( and and A-A; A-A;( ( can can be trac traced ed to soci social al re!or e!orm m movement. ,4At ,4At times times moveme movements nts raise raised d new issues issues that that have have been been ta&en ta&en up by politi political cal patries. ost o! the new leaders o! the political parties come !rom the interest and the movement groups. groups.
Q.18.De%/r!9e the '&%!t!)e a", "eat!)e e0e/t% &# 're%%$re r&$'%. P&%!t!)e e0e/t%- Pressure groups and movements have deepened democracy as they remind the govt o! needs and concerns o! ordinary citizens and help in the accommoda accommodation tion o! conFictin conFicting g interests interests.. Neat!)e e0e/t%- At times the pressure groups and movement groups are not healthy as they do not promote interest o! all and promote interest o! one section. ;emocracy has to loo& a!ter the interests o! all sections sections.. *roups *roups wield wield power power without without respons responsibil ibility ity.. ometimes ometimes pressu pressure re groups groups with small public support but lots o! money can hiac& public discussion in !avour o! their narrow agenda.
Q.1;.What !% the ,!0ere"/e 9etwee" 're%%$re r&$'% a", '&(!t!/a( 'art!e%* 14Pressure groups are organizations that intere!ere governmental policies. 24hey are !ormed by people with common occupational interests ans aspirations. Gg8A-HC'-CC-. %4imited time span !or their obectives. )414Peoples5 )414Peoples5 movements re!er to collective interest movements. 24ove 24ovemen ments ts have have a loose loose organ organiza izatio tion n and and peopl people e !rom !rom divers diverse e occupa occupatio tions ns having a common interst come together. Gg8Narmada )achao Andolan %4No %4No spec specic ic time time !ram !rame e Pres Pressu surre grou groups ps88hes hese e inFu inFuen ence ce the the poli polici cies es and and programmes o! parties helping in interest o! their own group. Political Parties8heir aim is o control or share power by contesting elections and !orming the govt.
M&)ee"t r&$'%< 1.4oose organizations 24;ecision ma&ing is in!ormal and Fexible %4;epend much more on mass participation
Pre%%$re r&$'%< 14trong organization 24;ecision ma&ing is !omal and inFexible %4;epend very less on mass participation
I%%$e %'e/!B/ &)ee"t< 14ingle obective 24limited time!rame %4clear leadership and organization organization ,4short active li!e
Ge"era( &)ee"t 14broad goal3more than one issue4 24long term
%4loose umbrella organization ,4longer active li!e
