Welcome dear students! Today we are going to learn about Collective Behaviour and Protests from Class 10 Social Science. In this chapter, we will learn about the meaning, nature and effects of mobs and riots, different forms of collective behaviour, women’s movements, and farmer, labour and anti-untouchability movements. Please note these topics carefully for your examinations. Man is a social animal, and hence always lives in groups, communities and societies. When he is a member of a group, he behaves in a manner totally different from the way he behaves when he is alone. This kind of behavior is called collective behaviour. Collective behaviour is an integral part of our social life. The thoughts, feelings and behavior of a large number of disorganized people coming together accidentally constitute collective behaviour. Human behaviour coming under the scope of collective behavior includes mobs, rumours, propaganda, public opinion, revolution, and social movements.
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Let us now understand the concept of a mob. The textbook defines it exactly as follows: Assembly of people around a common interest without any expectation or planning is called a mob. The mob is a temporary assembly of people which responds to a particular provocation. For example, a group of people assembled near a theatre to buy tickets, or an assembly of people around an accident scene. A mob is a temporary assembly of people where individuals gather at a specific place. Members of a mob are influenced very easily by mutual feelings, opinions and acts. There is a possibility of display of suppressed feelings. Sometimes such displays assume violent form. The influence of a mob is significant. Uncontrolled acts of the members of a mob often indicate the shortcomings of the society. Sometimes, they express the frustration towards the working of social organizations. In addition, they represent the people’s dissatisfaction about the government’s projects, attitude and specific programs. When the collective behaviour goes to an extreme, it becomes necessary to use police force, security forces, military help and other measures.
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Next, we move to riots. Riots are another type of mob behaviour. Violent and destructive nature of mob behaviour is called riot. When riots become uncontrollable and harmful, they lead to destruction. Let us examine the nature of riots. The minimum level of unity seen in a mob is not visible in a riot. Those involved in riots go on destroying everything in their way. Creation of chaos is the intention of rioters. Sometimes, these riots lead to large scale loss of property and lives. The people engaged in riots do not have any particular aim or cause for the destruction they cause. Riots have become serious challenges for law and order. Communal clashes, communal fights, and group clashes are some examples of riots. Riots occur more in towns and cities. Provoking circumstances, individuals uncontrolled behavior, uncivilized behavior, criminal intent of people, and riotous mindset are the main causes for riots. Riots do not continue for a long time. They have to end at a particular stage. Riots can be controlled by the presence of mind of the officials, by police and security forces and law.
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Now let us understand how collective behaviour transforms into organized movements. When collective behaviour is organized and directed towards a specific goal, and aims to bring about social change, it is called a Movement. Many such movements have taken place in India. Environmental movements can be given as an example for this. The soil, air, water and biosphere around us getting polluted with toxins and chemicals is called environmental pollution. With the increase in human population, there is a significant change in lifestyle also. As a result of this, the pressure on the environment where human beings are living is progressively increasing. Developed and developing nations exploit the natural resources in an aggressive manner. Developed nations are destroying the environment for the purpose of their luxurious life. Many nations in the world are exerting enormous pressure on the environment due to the problems faced by increase in the human population. In addition, the unbridled growth of cities, proliferation of industries, technological progress, expansion of transport system and other factors are destroying the forests and polluting the environment. Consequently, pollution is posing a serious problem. Many intellectuals, environmentalists and others have expressed their apprehensions about the environmental pollution. People have also realized the threat and are carrying out collective protests demanding environmental protection.
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Let us learn in brief about a few such important environmental agitations. First is the Chipko movement. The government gave permission to chop down certain trees in Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarkhand. The people there realized that there will be loss of trees, and their environment will be destroyed. So they hugged the trees and halted their destruction. This movement took place in 1973 under the leadership of Shri Sunderlal Bahuguna and Shri Chandiprasad Bhatt. As a result, the permission given to chop down the trees was withdrawn. Second is the Appiko movement. In 1983, the farmers of Salyani village in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka began the Appiko movement. When the contractors came to cut down trees in Kelase forest, in order to stop them, the farmers hugged the trees and protested. The purpose of the farmers protest was to stop smuggling of trees, and develop awareness among the common people about the importance of growing trees and the importance of environment.
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Third is the Narmada Bachavo Andolana. An agitation was launched against the construction of a dam across the Narmada river under Sardar Sarovar Project in Gujarat. The leaders of this movement were environmental activists Medha Patkar and Baba Amte who felt that with the construction of the dam, there would be large scale destruction of forests, damage to the environment and threat to many animal species. This is called as Narmada Bachavo Andolana. Fourth is the Silent Valley movement. The environment and many animal species came under threat when a dam was planned to be constructed in the Silent Valley in Palghat taluk of Kerala. In order to stop the construction, the Kerala Sahitya Parishad and wild-life enthusiasts agitated against it. This movement was successful in protecting many forms of flora and fauna. Fifth is the Movement against MRPL. Environmentalists protested against the Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Limited in Mangalore in Karnataka when they realized that the chemicals fumes from the proposed oil refinery would destroy the environment.
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Sixth is the Agitation against Kaiga. Dr. Shivaram Karanth and other intellectuals carried out a movement against the Nuclear Power Generation Center proposed to be set up in Kaiga in Karnataka. This agitation was carried out because the agitators felt that the nuclear power generation center would cause loss of forest cover, and the radiation from the center would pollute the environment, thus endangering the survival of various animal species of the area. Along with carrying out agitations, it becomes necessary to create public awareness about the various issues. People have to be made to understand that it is their prime duty to protect their environment and nurture it. Only then will each citizen work towards protecting the environment selflessly. There is a need to create awareness among the people regarding effective programmes for environmental protection and their implementation.
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Now let us study social movements, beginning with Women’s Movements. The women’s liberation movement which was held in 1980 was significant among the mass movements. A women’s movement is a protest by women against the oppression and exploitation of a male dominated culture. Movements organised by women include the Alcohol Prohibition Movement and Women Self Help Groups. Alcohol Prohibition Movements are organised by the women against alcoholism which has created havoc and hardship in the life of the poor rural women and women labourers. Women have formed self-helped groups base on trust and co-operation. These groups empower women economically and socially. In addition to that self-helped groups play an important role in providing them with equal rights opportunities and powers. Next is the Farmer’s Movement. Farmers protests which started through the refusal of taxes, against economic crisis are going on even today. D. Devaraj Arus came to power in 1972 implemented many laws, for the empowerment of the socially weaker section of the society, among these abolishion of bounded labour which was intended to free the tenents from the cluches of land lords was the most important. The peasant rebellion at Naaragunda in 1980 was a rebellion against the government’s tyranny and it was in favour of farmers under the leadreship of Pro. M.D. Nanjundaswamy; he established the Karnataka State farmers association. The Karnataka farmer’s movement is going on in an organised manner while presenting the democratic demands of rural people.
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Let us move to Labour Movements. The movements carried out through Labour organisations to uphold the dignity of labourers and to protect the interests of labourers are called labour movements. Labourers contemporary pro-labour ideology has grown in opposing capitalist exploitations. Even today many labour unions exist in the country and have continued their struggle. Now we will study the Anti Untouchability Movement. Untouchability is an anti human behaviour in a hierarachical caste system. The anti untouchability movemet is the people’s movement against the attack on dalits for being untouchables and caste based social oppression. It was started in the 19th century by Jyoti Rao Phule of Maharashtra in 1917. Anti untouchability movements arose in places like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in 1925, E.V. Ramaswamy Naykar (Periyar) started the self-respect movement. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s thought and struggle the anti-untouchability movement took on an intense form. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar advocated the rights for socially oppressed, untounchables and women throuhout his life. He started the magazine Mookanayaka and was instrumental in creating a huge movement against the practice of untouchability. Even Gandhiji was a reformist who wanted to end untouchability. Even today various organisations continue to conduct movements against the practice of untouchability.
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Here is an important note for your understanding. The Stree Shakti Yojana is a good example of women’s self-reliance that can be achieved through self-help groups. Women self help groups in Karnataka under the name of Stree Shakti Yojana are becoming very popular across the state recently. An example in this regard is worth mentioning here. A village industry organisation called Siri belonging to Sri Kshetra Dharmasthal village development scheme of Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka has provided an opportunity for rural women to produce valuable economic goods. It also succeeded in selling these products at reasonable prices and creating new economic hopes among women. This demonstrates how organized collective efforts can bring economic empowerment to marginalized sections.
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Now let us proceed to the exercises. I will read each question and provide the complete answer so you can prepare effectively for your exams. Exercise One asks you to fill in the blanks with suitable words. Question one: Chipko movement took place in Uttarkhand State. Question two: The leader of the Narmada agitation is Medha Patkar. Question three: Dr. Shivaram Karanth agitated against the Kaiga Nuclear power station. Exercise Two asks you to answer the following in one sentence each. Question four: What is collective behaviour? Answer: The thoughts, feelings and behavior of a large number of disorganized people coming together accidentally constitute collective behaviour. Question five: Who is the leader of the Chipko movement? Answer: The leaders of the Chipko movement are Shri Sunderlal Bahuguna and Shri Chandiprasad Bhatt. Question six: What is a self-help group? Answer: Women have formed self-helped groups base on trust and co-operation. These groups empower women economically and socially, and play an important role in providing them with equal rights opportunities and powers. Question seven: What is a labour movement? Answer: The movements carried out through Labour organisations to uphold the dignity of labourers and to protect the interests of labourers are called labour movements.
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Exercise Three asks you to answer the following in two or three sentences after discussing them in groups. Question eight: What does collective behavior include? Answer: Collective behavior includes mobs, rumours, propaganda, public opinion, revolution, and social movements. These represent the spontaneous and unorganized actions of large groups of people responding to shared circumstances or provocations. Question nine: What is a mob? Give examples. Answer: Assembly of people around a common interest without any expectation or planning is called a mob. Examples include a group of people assembled near a theatre to buy tickets, and an assembly of people around an accident scene. Question ten: Describe the nature of a mob. Answer: A mob is a temporary assembly of people at a specific place. Members are easily influenced by mutual feelings, opinions, and acts. There is a possibility of suppressed feelings being displayed, which can sometimes assume a violent form. Question eleven: Describe the meaning and nature of environmental pollution. Answer: Environmental pollution is the contamination of soil, air, water and the biosphere with toxins and chemicals. Its nature involves progressive pressure on the environment due to population growth, lifestyle changes, aggressive resource exploitation by developed and developing nations, unbridled city growth, industrial proliferation, technological progress, and transport expansion, all of which destroy forests and degrade ecological balance. Question twelve: Explain the importance of women’s self-help groups. Answer: Women’s self-helped groups are based on trust and co-operation. They empower women economically and socially, and play an important role in providing them with equal rights, opportunities and powers, thereby fostering self-reliance and community development.
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Exercise Four lists activities for you to undertake. Activity one instructs you to visit women’s self-help groups in your place and collect their programmes along with their objectives. Activity two instructs you to learn from the members how the women’s organizations and self-help groups have enabled the economic development of women. Exercise Five outlines project work. Project one asks you to collect information and prepare an album about environmental movements in Karnataka. Project two asks you to prepare a report on the project regarding the scheme Sasya Shyamala implemented in your school. I strongly encourage you to complete these activities and projects practically, as they will deepen your understanding of collective action and social change. We have now covered every concept, movement, and exercise from Chapter 23. Remember that collective behaviour forms the foundation of social movements, and organized protests have historically driven environmental protection, women’s empowerment, agricultural reforms, labour rights, and the eradication of untouchability. Revise the definitions, dates, leader names, and movement objectives carefully, as they are frequently tested in board examinations. Thank you for listening! Keep revising and practicing. Goodbye! [CHAPTER_COMPLETE]