Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

Sociology

Chapter

Social Change and Development in India: Social Movements

Question:

Read the below passage and answer the question :

The repertoire of Satyagraha

The fusion of foreign power and capital was the focus of social protest during India's nationalist struggle. Mahatma Gandhi wore khadi, hand-spun, hand-woven cloth, to support Indian cotton growers, spinners and weavers whose livelihoods had been destroyed by the government policy of favouring mill-made cloth. The legendary Dandi March to make salt was a protest against British taxation policies that placed a huge burden on consumers of basic commodities in order to benefit the empire. Gandhi took items of everyday mass consumption like cloth and salt, and transformed them into symbols of resistance.

The historian that showed that the 'crowd' and the 'mob' were not made up of anarchic hooligans out to destroy society.

Options:

Karl Marx

E. P. Thompson

T. B. Bottomore

Emile Durkheim

Correct Answer:

E. P. Thompson

Explanation:

The correct answer is Option (2) → E. P. Thompson

Scholars influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx offered a different view of violent collective action. Historians like E. P. Thompson showed that the ‘crowd’ and the ‘mob’ were not made up of anarchic hooligans out to destroy society. Instead, they too had a ‘moral economy’. In other words they have their own shared understanding of right and wrong that informed their actions. Their research showed that poor people in urban areas had good reasons for protesting. They often resorted to public protest because they had no other way of expressing their anger and resentment against deprivation.