Jharkhand is one of the newly formed states of India carved out of South Bihar in the year 2000. Behind the formation of this state lies more than a century of resistance. The social movement for Jharkhand had a charismatic leader in Birsa Munda, an adivasi who led a major uprising against the British. After his death Birsa became an important icon of the movement literate adivasis began to research and write about him. They disseminated information about tribal customs and cultural practices. This helped create a unified ethnic consciousness and a shared identity as Jharkhandis.
Read the passage given above and answer the question:
Tribal movements are considered to be a part of New Social Movement. What comprises of New Social Movement?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Quality life issues, identity, environment
Option (1) Old issues of economic inequality — Incorrect. Better wages, social security and class-based exploitation were the concerns of the old social movements, such as the working-class movements of the capitalist west. In the affluent West such class issues were said to be no longer central.
Option (2) Reorganisation of power relations — Incorrect. The old social movements saw reorganisation of power relations as a central goal. The new social movements were not about changing the distribution of power in society.
Option (3) Central role of political parties — Incorrect. The old social movements functioned within the frame of political parties, as the Indian National Congress led the national movement. In the new movements parties are not central.
Option (4) Quality life issues, identity, environment — Correct. The new social movements are about quality-of-life issues such as having a clean environment, and about identity. Tribal movements like the one for Jharkhand, built on a shared adivasi identity and on control over forests and land, fit this pattern.
NCERT (2025-26): “Distinguishing the new social movement from the old social movements … Working class movements in the capitalist west were wresting better wages, better living conditions, social security, free schooling and health security from the state. That was also a period when socialist movements were establishing new kinds of states and societies. The old social movements clearly saw reorganisation of power relations as a central goal. The old social movements functioned within the frame of political parties. The Indian National Congress led the Indian National Movement. The Communist Party of China led the Chinese Revolution. Today some believe that ‘old’ classbased political action led by trade unions and workers’ parties is on the decline. Others argued that in the affluent West with its welfare state, issues of classbased exploitation and inequality were no longer central concerns. So the ‘new’ social movements were not about changing the distribution of power in society but about quality-of-life issues such as having a clean environment. In the old social movements, the role of political parties was central.…” |