Which of the following are essential features of a social movement?
(A) Sustained collective action
(B) Always revolutionary in nature
(C) Shared objectives and ideologies of participants
(D) It can change its character over time.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (A), (C) and (D) only
(A) Sustained collective action Correct. A social movement requires sustained collective action over time, marked by some degree of organisation. A spontaneous, disorganised protest that dies out is not a social movement.
(B) Always revolutionary in nature Incorrect. Social movements are of three kinds: redemptive, reformist and revolutionary. A reformist movement changes existing arrangements through gradual, incremental steps, as the Right to Information campaign did, so a movement need not be revolutionary.
(C) Shared objectives and ideologies of participants Correct. Those taking part in a social movement have shared objectives and ideologies, a general orientation towards bringing about (or preventing) change.
(D) It can change its character over time. Correct. The defining features of a movement are not constant and may change over its life. A movement may start with revolutionary objectives and become reformist, or move from mass protest to a more institutionalised form.
NCERT (2025-26): “8.1 Features of a Social Movement … A social movement requires sustained collective action over time. Such action is often directed against the state and takes the form of demanding changes in state policy or practice. Spontaneous, disorganised protest cannot be called a social movement either. Collective action must be marked by some degree of organisation. This organisation may include a leadership and a structure that defines how members relate to each other, make decisions and carry them out. Those participating in a social movement also have shared objectives and ideologies. A social movement has a general orientation or way of approaching to bring about (or to prevent) change. These defining features are not constant. They may change over the course of a social movement’s life.…” “8.3 Types of Social Movements … There are different kinds of social movements. They can be classified as: (i) redemptive or transformatory; (ii) reformist; and (iii) revolutionary. A redemptive social movement aims to bring about a change in the personal consciousness and actions of its individual members. For instance, people in the Ezhava community in Kerala were led by Narayana Guru to change their social practices. Reformist social movements strive to change the existing social and political arrangements through gradual, incremental steps. The 1960s movement for the reorganisation of Indian states on the basis of language and the recent Right to Information campaign are examples of reformist movements.…” “…As you might discover when you try to classify a social movement in terms of this typology, most movements have a mix of redemptive, reformist and revolutionary elements. Or the orientation of a social movement may shift over time such that it starts off with, say, revolutionary objectives and becomes reformist.…” |