1. Gov 1255: Politics of India Prof Prerna Singh SOCIAL MOVEMENTS Part I

2. Social Movements Environmental Movements Women’s Movements Sexual Minority Politics (Guest lecture by Prof Chaitanya Lakkimsetti)

3. Environmental Movements Forest Resources Water Resources

4. Conflict over Forest Resources Chipko (Hug the Trees) Movement in the Central Himalayas in 1973

5. Chipko Movement

6. Conflict over Forests Chipko (Hug the Trees) Movement Representative of wide spectrum of forest-based conflicts Traced to establishment of the Indian forest department in 1864. This was a watershed: Political Social Ecological

7. Conflict over Forests Intensified in post-Independence years because of new ecological dimension – dwindling forests Popular movements focus on 2 issues: Return of control of forests to community. State must withdraw. Contrast between the subsistence orientation of villagers and the commercial orientation of the state.

8. Conflict over Water Big Dams Nehru’s “temples of modern India” Three Critiques of Big Dams: Economic critique: States invariably overvalue benefits & undervalue costs Ecological critique: High incidence of water logging & wholesale submergence of large tropical forests and precious wildlife & fishlife Social critique: Displacement of millions of poor villagers from their ancestral homelands without adequate consultation or compensation

9. Narmada River Projects

10. Narmada Bachao Andolan/ Save the Narmada Campaign

11. Leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan: Medha Patkar

12. Critiques of the Narmada Dams by the NBA that the project has been conceived without adequate participation from the people who are going to be affected; that many dams are not viable solutions to many of the problems (power, drinking water, flood control, irrigation) they set out to solve, and that there needs to be a greater emphasis on the search for alternative solutions from all concerned (Government, NGOs, people); that the construction and planning of many dams has disrupted (and will potentially disrupt) the lives of millions of people without just and adequate compensation

13. Expected benefits of the Sardar Sarovar Dam Judgement of the Supreme Court of India in 2000: "The argument in favour of the Sardar Sarovar Project is that the benefits are so large that they substantially outweigh the costs of the immediate human and environmental disruption. …there appears to be no alternative to escalating human deprivation, particularly in the dry areas of Gujarat. The project has the potential to feed as many as 20 million people, provide domestic and industrial water for about 30 million, employ about 1 million, and provide valuable peak electric power. Set against the futures of about 70,000 project affected people…the ratio of beneficiaries to affected persons is well over 100:1.”

14. Environmental Movements Forest - Chipko Movement Water - Narmada Bachao Andolan Gandhian Social Movements

15. Demonstrations & Satyagrahs

16. Peaceful Response to Police Repression

17. Fasts

18. Jal Samadhi/ Water Burial

19. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7J_B3MFQ2Q

20. Environmental Movements Raise issues for: Distributive justice Economic sufficiency Environmental Sustainability

21. Gov 1255: Politics of India Prof Prerna Singh SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

22. Women’s Movements No single movement On diverse issues Traditional focus: Women’s education Widow remarriage New focus Alcoholism Physical Abuse by Husbands Inflation Environment (Chipko) Dalit issues

23. Women’s Movements Early Women’s Movements: Movement against Dowry

26. Women’s Movements Early Women’s Movements: Campaign against Dowry Campaign against Rape

27. Women’s Movements Early Women’s Movements: Campaign against Dowry Campaign against Rape Features of Early Women’s Movements: Popular support Legislative successes

28. Women’s Movements Later Women’s Movements: Critiques from sections of traditionalist society Success of early women’s movements Rise of religious fundamentalism Pro-sati movements “Real woman” vs. Feminists