Read the passage and answer the following questions.
Social change is a continuous and ongoing process. The broad historical processes of social change are the sum total of countless individual and collective actions gathered across time and space. While social movements are directed towards some specific goals, it involves long and continuous social effort and action by people. The social movements can be classified as redemptive or transformatory, reformist and revolutionary. A redemptive social movement aims to bring about a change in the personal consciousness and actions of its individual members. Reformist social movements strive to change the existing social and political arrangements through gradual, incremental steps. Revolutionary social movements attempt to radically transform social relations often by capturing state power.
The social movement related to the Right to Information campaign can be categorised as.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Reformist
Option (1) Redemptive or transforming — Incorrect. A redemptive movement aims at a change in the personal consciousness and actions of its own members, as when Narayana Guru led the Ezhava community to change their social practices. The RTI campaign aimed at a change in the law, not in its members’ personal lives.
Option (2) Reformist — Correct. Reformist social movements strive to change the existing social and political arrangements through gradual, incremental steps. The recent Right to Information campaign and the 1960s movement for the reorganisation of states on the basis of language are examples of such movements.
Option (3) Revolutionary — Incorrect. Revolutionary movements attempt to radically transform social relations, often by capturing state power, like the Bolshevik revolution or the Naxalite movement. The Right to Information campaign sought a law from the existing government.
Option (4) Environmental movement — Incorrect. An environmental movement fights to protect forests, rivers and nature, as the Chipko Movement did. The Right to Information campaign was about people’s right to know what the government does, not about the environment.
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.…” |