Read the passage and answer the following question.
The Right to Vote
Universal adult franchise, or the right of every adult to vote, is one of the foremost rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. It means that we cannot be governed by anyone other than the people we have ourselves elected to represent us. This right is a radical departure from the days of colonial rule when ordinary people were forced to submit to the authority of colonial officers who represented the interests of the British Crown. However, even in Britain, not everyone was allowed to vote. Voting rights were limited to property-owning men. Chartism was a social movement for parliamentary representation in England. In 1839, more than 1.25 million people signed the People's Charter asking for universal male suffrage, voting by ballot, and the right to stand for elections without owning property. In 1842, the movement managed to collect 3.25 million signatures, a huge number for a tiny country. Yet, it was only after World War I, in 1918 that all men over 21, married women, women owning houses, and women university graduates over the age of 30, got the right to vote. When the suffragettes (women activists) took up the cause of all adult women's right to vote, they were bitterly opposed and their movement violently crushed.
When Raja Rammohan Roy campaigned against Sati and formed Brahmo Samaj, the defenders of sati formed Dharma Sabha and petitioned the British not to legislate against Sati. This is an example of:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Counter Movements
Option (1) Small acts of resistance — Incorrect. Small acts of resistance, or everyday acts of resistance, are quiet individual protests by people who cannot challenge their exploiters openly — for example, peasants and labourers working deliberately slow. The Dharma Sabha did something very different: it was an organised body that openly petitioned the British government.
Option (2) Counter Movements — Correct. While social movements seek to bring in social change, counter movements arise in defence of the status quo. Raja Rammohan Roy’s campaign against sati was the movement for change; the defenders of sati formed the Dharma Sabha and asked the British not to legislate against sati, so as to keep the old practice.
Option (3) Redemptive Movements — Incorrect. A redemptive movement aims to change the personal consciousness and actions of its own members, as when Narayana Guru led the Ezhava community in Kerala to change their social practices. The Dharma Sabha did not try to change its members; it tried to stop a change in society.
Option (4) Reformative Movements — Incorrect. A reformist movement strives to change the existing social and political arrangements through gradual, step-by-step means, like the movement for linguistic states or the Right to Information campaign. Here the reform effort was Rammohan Roy’s; the Dharma Sabha stood against it.
NCERT (2025-26): “8.1 Features of a Social Movement … While social movements seek to bring in social change, counter movements sometimes arise in defence of status quo. There are many instances of such counter movements. When Raja Rammohun Roy campaigned against sati and formed the Brahmo Samaj, defenders of sati formed Dharma Sabha and petitioned the British not to legislate against sati. When reformers demanded education for girls, many protested that this would be disastrous for society. When reformers campaigned for widow remarriage, they were socially boycotted. When the so called ‘lower caste’ children enrolled in schools, some so called ‘upper caste’ children were withdrawn from the schools by their families.…” “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.…” |