A city's public life includes parties, trade unions, NGOs, a women's…

A city's public life includes parties, trade unions, NGOs, a women's group and tribal activists. Consider the following statements:

(A) All five fall under the broader term civil society.
(B) The parties and trade unions represent old social movements.
(C) The NGOs, women's group and tribal activists are newer formations.
(D) Kothari holds that state institutions have been captured by trade unions.
(E) In old social movements, the role of NGOs was central.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → A, B and C only

(A) All five fall under the broader term civil society. — Correct. Civil society is the broader term used today for both the old movements (parties, trade unions) and the new formations such as NGOs, women's groups and tribal activists. So all five fall under it.

(B) The parties and trade unions represent old social movements. — Correct. Old social movements are represented by political parties and trade unions.

(C) The NGOs, women's group and tribal activists are newer formations. — Correct. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), women's groups, environmental groups and tribal activists are the new formations that civil society also covers.

(D) Kothari holds that state institutions have been captured by trade unions. — Incorrect. Kothari argues that state institutions have been captured by elites. Trade unions are only one part of the old social movements.

(E) In old social movements, the role of NGOs was central. — Incorrect. In old social movements the role of political parties was central. NGOs belong to the newer formations of civil society.

NCERT (2026-27): “Distinguishing the new social movement from the old social movements …
In the old social movements, the role of political parties was central. Political scientist Rajni Kothari attributes the surge of social movements in India in the 1970s to people’s growing dissatisfaction with parliamentary democracy. Kothari argues that the institutions of the state have been captured by elites. Due to this, electoral representation by political parties is no longer an effective way for the poor to get their voices heard. People left out by the formal political system join social movements or non-party political formations in order to put pressure on the state from outside. Today, the broader term of civil society is used to refer to both old social movements represented by political parties and trade unions and to new non-governmental organisations, women’s groups, environmental groups and tribal activists.”