Question

Define social movements. Explain any four reasons that lead to social movements.

Answer 1

A social movement is a collective effort to transform established relations within a particular society.
The four reasons that can lead to social movements are as follows :

Dissatisfaction with existing social conditions: Sometimes when people feel dissatisfied with present scenario of the society and want to reform and bring in changes a social movement may emerge.
Eg.: Sexual Harassment of women in the Bollywood industry triggered the recent #Metoo movement.

Relative Deprivation: If one group feels deprived in comparison to another group in a society, it can trigger a social movement. Eg.: Recently a violent movement had broken out in the NCR region wherein the two communities of Jats and Gujjars were also demanding reservation of seats as they felt deprived in comparison to the other socially not so advanced groups who enjoy the privilege of reservations of various kinds.

Stress and Strain: Strain and stress caused due to structural deficiencies within the societal framework can lead to the creation of social movements.
Eg. : Lack of rights for the members of the LGBTQ community led to the start of the various rainbow parades and social movements to bring in change in the mind-set of the larger society about this community.

Resistance to a change: Sometimes a social movement may be caused as a result of resistance to another movement that is trying to bring in social change or disrupt the existing status quo of the society.