Three decades after Independence, the people were beginning to get impatient. Their unease expressed itself in various forms. In the previous chapter, we have already gone through the story of electoral upheavals and political crisis. Yet that was not the only form in which popular discontent expressed itself. In the 1970s, diverse social groups like women, students, Dalits and farmers felt that democratic politics did not address their needs and demands.
Therefore, they came together under the banner of various social organisations to voice their demands. These assertions marked the rise of popular movements or new social movements in Indian politics.
In this chapter we trace the journey of some of the popular movements that developed after the 1970s in order to understand:
- what are popular movements?
- which sections of Indian society have they mobilised?
- what is the main agenda of these movements?
- what role do they play in a democratic set up like ours?