As you might discover when you try to classify a social movement in terms of this typology, most movements have a mix of redemptive, reformist and revolutionary elements. Or the orientation of a social movement may shift over time such that it starts off with, say, revolutionary objectives and becomes reformist. A movement may start from a phase of mass mobilisation and collective protest to become more institutionalised. Social scientists who study the life cycles of social movements call this a move towards ‘social movement organisations’. How a social movement is perceived and classified is always a matter of interpretation. It differs from one section to another. For instance, what was a ‘mutiny’ or ‘rebellion’ for British colonial rulers in 1857 was ‘the first war of Independence’ for Indian nationalists.
The missing lines explain the 1857 example by contrasting a mutiny with a struggle for independence. Which of the following gives that contrast correctly?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Mutiny defies supposedly legitimate authority; independence struggle challenges the very legitimacy of British rule
Option (1) Mutiny seeks change through gradual steps; independence struggle seeks to capture state power — Incorrect. Change through gradual, incremental steps marks a reformist movement, and capturing state power marks a revolutionary one. Both describe types of movements, so neither tells how a mutiny differs from an independence struggle.
Option (2) Mutiny challenges the very legitimacy of British rule; independence struggle defies supposedly legitimate authority — Incorrect. This reverses the two sides. Defiance of supposedly legitimate authority describes a mutiny, and the challenge to the very legitimacy of British rule describes an independence struggle.
Option (3) Mutiny is a spontaneous, disorganised protest; independence struggle is sustained collective action — Incorrect. A spontaneous protest that fades lacks the sustained collective action of a social movement. That point concerns how organised an action is, and the 1857 contrast turns on legitimacy.
Option (4) Mutiny defies supposedly legitimate authority; independence struggle challenges the very legitimacy of British rule — Correct. A mutiny defies an authority it still treats as legitimate. A struggle for independence denies that British rule has any right to rule, so the same 1857 events carry two meanings.
NCERT (2026-27): “Reformist, Redemptive, Revolutionary … |