Democratic Politics

(ii) Movement groups : Most of the movements are issue specific movements that seek to achieve a single objective within a limited time frame. Others are more general or genetic movements that seek to achieve a broad goal in the very long term.
(1) The Nepalese Movement for Democracy arose with the specific objective of reversing the King’s orders that led to suspension of democracy.
(2) In India, Narmada Bachao Andolan is a good example of this kind of movement. The movement 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. But their active life is usually short.
(3) These single-issue movements can be contrasted with movement that are long term and involve more than one issue. The environment movement and the women’s movement are classic example of such movements. There is no one organisation that controls or guides such movements environmental movement employes association and most of the movement groups often resort to these tactics in order to force the government to take note of their demand.
(4) Business groups often employ professional lobbyists or sponsor expensive advertisement. Some persons broad movements have a loose umbrella organisation as well. For example, the National Alliance for People’ Movements (NAPM) is an organisation of organisation. Various movement groups struggling on specific issues are constituents of this loose organisation which coordinates the activities of a large number of people’s movements in our country.