Chapter - 5
" Popular Struggles and Movements "
❇️ Movement in Nepal :-
🔹 Nepal First became democracy in 1990.
🔹 The country changed From an solute to constitutional Monarchy.
🔹 The king Remain Head of the state , but real power was exercised by elected , representatives.
🔹 The whole family of king gat killed in mysterious massacre in 2001.
🔹 King Gyanendra new king of Nepal was not prepared to accept democratic rule.
🔹 In Feb 2005 the king dismissed the prime minister 8 dissolved elected parliament.
🔹 A movement started in 2006 to restore democracy.
🔹 All major parties in parliament Formed a seven party alliance (SPA) and called a for day strike in Katmandu.
🔹The protest turned into definite strike joined by maoist 8 other organization also.
🔹 They demanded restoration of parliament power to an all party Govt. and new constitutional democracy assembly.
🔹 On 24 April 2006 The king was forced to accept all demands.
🔹 girja prasad koirala bacame the new prime minister of interim Govt.
❇️ Bolivia's Water War :-
🔹 Bolivia is a poor country in Latin America.
🔹 The World Bank forced the government to give up its control of municipal water supply and sold these rights for the city of Cochabamba to a multi- national company (MNC).
🔹 After controlling water supply, the company increased the price by four times.
🔹 This led to a spontaneous popular protest.
🔹 In January 2000, a new alliance of labour, human rights and community leaders called FEDECOR organised a successful four-day general strike in the city.
🔹 The government agreed to negotiate and the strike ended but nothing changed.
🔹 The protest started again in February and police used brutal methods to control it.
🔹 Another strike followed in April and the government imposed martial law.
🔹 But the power of the people forced the officials of the MNC to flee the city and made government accept all their demands.
🔹 The contract with the MNC was cancelled and water supply was restored to the municipality at old rates.
🔹 This came to be known as Bolivia's water war.
❇️ Nepal vs Bolivia :-
🔹 The movement in Nepal was to establish democracy but in Bolivia against Democratic government.
🔹 In Bolivia Struggle was For Specific policy But in nepal it was to establish foundation of Democracy.
❇️ Mobilisation & Organisation :-
✴️ Who joined struggle in Nepal?
🔹 SPA or the Seven Party Alliance in Nepal which included some big parties that had some members in the Parliament.
🔹 The protest was joined by the Nepalese Communist Party (Maoist) which did not believe in parliamentary democracy.
🔹 Other than political parties, all the major labour unions and their federations joined this movement.
🔹 The organisation of the indigenous people, teachers, lawyers and human rights groups also extended support to the movement.
✴️ Who joined struggle in Bolivia?
🔹 The protest against water privatisation in Bolivia was led by an organisation called FEDECOR.
🔹 This organisation comprised local professionals, including engineers and environmentalists which were supported by a federation of farmers, the confederation of factory workers' unions, middle class students from the the University of Cochabamba and the city's growing population of homeless street children.
🔹 Later, the movement was supported by the Socialist Party. In 2006, this party came to power in Bolivia.
❇️ Differences between political parties and pressure groups :-
🔹 Pressure groups do not enjoy power directly, whereas the political parties do.
🔹 Pressure groups usually represent a particular section or view of the society; on the other hand, political parties represent bigger social divisions.
🔹 Pressure groups do not contest elections, whereas political parties contest elections and run the government.
🔹 At a given point of time, a person can be a member of only one political party but a member of many pressure groups.
🔹 Examples of pressure groups are Lawyers Association, Teachers 'Association, Trade Unions, Students 'Unions and so on.
🔹 Examples of political parties are BJP, INC, NCP etc.
❇️ Pressure groups/Interest Groups and movements :-
🔹 Pressure groups are organisations that attempt to influence government policies.
🔹 These organisations are formed when people with common occupation, interest, aspirations or opinions come together in order to achieve a common objective.
🔹 Like an interest group, a movement also attempts to influence politics rather than directly take part in electoral competition.
🔹 Examples are Narmada Bachao Andolan, Movement for Right to Information, Anti-liquor Movement, Women’s Movement, Environmental Movement.
🔹 Unlike the interest groups, movements have a loose organisation.
🔹 Their decision making is more informal and flexible.
🔹 They depend much more on spontaneous mass participation.
❇️ Sectional interest groups :-
🔹 They seek to promote the interests of a particular section or group of society such as workers, employees, business-persons, industrialists etc.
🔹 Examples are Trade unions, business associations.
🔹 Their main concern is the betterment and well-being of their members, not society in general.
🔹 However, sometimes they represent some common or general interest that needs to be defended.
❇️ Public Interest Groups :-
🔹 Also called promotional groups as they promote collective rather than selective good.
🔹 They aim to help groups other than their own members.
🔹 Example: A group fighting bonded labour fights for everyone who is suffering under such bondage.
🔹 In some cases, the members of a public interest group may undertake activity that benefits them as well as others too.
❇️ Movement Groups :-
🔹 Movement Groups are of two types: Issue specific and Generic Movements.
❇️ Issue Specific :-
🔹 Most of the movements are of these types that seek to achieve a single objective within a limited time frame.
🔹 Example: Nepalese movement for democracy arose with the specific objective of reversing the king’s orders that led to suspension of democracy.
🔹 Narmada Bachao Andolan started with the specific issue of the people displaced by the creation of Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada river.
→ Its objective was to stop the dam from being constructed.
→ Gradually it became a wider movement that questioned all such big dams and the model of development that required such dams.
🔹 Movements of this kind tend to have a clear leadership and some organisation.
🔹 These movement usually have short life.
❇️ Generic Movements :-
🔹 These movements seek to achieve more than one issue in a very long term.
🔹 Example: Environmental movement and the women’s movement.
🔹 There is no single organisation that controls or guides such movements.
🔹 All of these have separate organisations, independent leadership and often different views on policy related matters.
🔹 Sometimes these broad movements have a loose umbrella organisation as well. For example, the National Alliance for Peoples’ Movements (NAPM).
❇️ What is NAPM?
🔹 NAPM stands for National Alliance for Peoples’ Movements. It is association of organisations which coordinates the activities of a large number of peoples’ movements in India.
❇️ How do Pressure groups and Movements influence politics in India?
🔹 They try to gain public support and sympathy for their goals and their activities by carrying out information campaigns, organising meetings, filing petitions, etc.
🔹 They try to influence the media into giving more attention to these issues.
🔹 They often organise protest activity like strikes or disrupting government programmes.
🔹 Business groups often employ professional lobbyists or sponsor expensive advertisements.
🔹 Some persons from pressure groups or movement groups may participate in official bodies and committees that offer advice to the government.
🔹 Interest groups influence political parties.
🔹 They have political ideology and political position on major issues.
❇️ Relationship between Pressure/Movement Groups and Political Parties :-
🔹 In some instances, the pressure groups are either formed or led by the leaders of political parties. Example: most trade unions and students’ organisations in India are either established by, or affiliated to a political party.
🔹 Sometimes political parties grow out of movements. Example: Asom Gana Parishad in Assam, DMK and the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu.
🔹 In most cases, parties and interest or movement groups are opposed to each other yet they are in dialogue and negotiation.
🔹 Most of the new leadership of political parties comes from interest or movement groups.
❇️ Influence of Pressure/Movement Groups on Indian Politics :-
✴️ Positive Influences :-
🔹 Pressure groups and movements have deepened democracy.
🔹 Governments can often come under undue pressure from a small group of rich and powerful people. Public interest groups and movements perform a useful role of countering this undue influence and reminding the government of the needs and concerns of ordinary citizens.
✴️ Negative Influences :-
🔹 Sometimes, pressure groups with small public support but lots of money can hijack public discussion in favour of their narrow agenda.
🔹 These groups exercise power without responsibility.
🔹 When one group starts dominating and dictating the government, other pressure groups have to bring counter pressure.
