If a group is campaigning for stronger environmental laws through step-by-step policy reform, how would this movement be classified?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Reformist
Option (1) Reformist — Correct. Reformist social movements strive to change the existing social and political arrangements through gradual, incremental steps. A group pressing for stronger environmental laws through step-by-step policy reform works within the system in the same way as the Right to Information campaign did.
Option (2) Redemptive — Incorrect. A redemptive movement aims to change the personal consciousness and actions of its own members, as Narayana Guru led the Ezhavas of Kerala to change their social practices. The group in the question is trying to change laws, not its members.
Option (3) Revolutionary — Incorrect. A revolutionary movement tries to radically transform social relations, often by capturing state power, as in the Bolshevik revolution. Step-by-step reform of policy is the opposite of a radical overthrow.
Option (4) Reactionary — Incorrect. A reactionary movement resists change and tries to keep or bring back an older order. A group asking for stronger laws wants change, not a return to the past.
Note: The concept in Option (4), ‘reactionary’ movement, is not in the 2023-24 NCERT, which NTA followed in 2025, nor in NCERT (2025-26); explained here for the benefit of the students.
NCERT (2025-26): “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. Revolutionary social movements attempt to radically transform social relations, often by capturing state power. The Bolshevik revolution in Russia that deposed the Tsar to create a communist state and the Naxalite movement in India that seeks to remove oppressive landlords and state officials can be described as revolutionary movements.…” |