Question

Some of the statements below are incorrect. Identify the incorrect statements and rewrite those with necessary correction:

(a) Social movements are hampering the functioning of India’s democracy
(b) The main strength of social movements lies in their mass base across social sections.
(c) Social movements in India emerged because there were many issues that political parties did not address.

Answer 1

a) This statement is incorrect. It can be rewritten as follows:

“Social movements have strengthened the function of India’s democracy.”

Explanation
Social movements have instead, strengthened the function of India’s democracy. They have expanded the very notion of democracy and have made it broader. They have also encouraged participation of people that goes merely from casting their vote or contesting in elections. Social movements have raised democratic consciousness of the people, given them a platform to raise their concerns and making claims on the government and have demanded the system to be more accountable and responsive to the needs of the people.

b) This statement is correct.

Explanation
The strength of a movement lies in the mass support that it is able to generate, incorporating people from all sections of Indian society so as to have a meaningful impact and attain something substantial. We may give an example of the movement against corruption in India, spearheaded by Anna Hazare. It added a new dimension to India’s democratic system as it represented people’s power. The strength of that movement not only lay in the strong leadership but in the mass mobilisation, supporters and followers who led the movement, resulting in the passing of the Jan Lokpal Bill.

c) This statement is correct.

Explanation
The rise of the social movements can be attributed to the failure of the party politics to effectively address the need of the people. They reflect discontentment of the people with the present political system and represent a fight against nepotism, favouritism and corruption. The social movements strive to make the system more responsive to the needs of the people. They aim at altering the prevalent structures of power, accepted norms and promote values of freedom, justice and equality.