Popular Struggles and Movements For Class 10 (Civics) Extra Questions.

Q 1. Who were Maoists?

Ans. That communists believe in the ideology of Mao the leader of the Chinese revolution. They seek to overthrow the government through an armed revolution so as to establish the rule of the peasants and workers.

Q 2. How can democratic conflicts be resolved?

Ans. (i) By negotiations and discussions (ii) by mass mobilization    

Q 3. Mention the outcome of Bolivia’s water war.

Ans. The water contract with the MNC was canceled and the water supply was restored to the people at old rates.

Q 4. State any one main difference between Nepal and Bolivia’s movement.?

Ans. The movement in Bolivia was a claim on an elected democratic government whereas in Nepal it was to establish democracy.

Q 5. What was the aim of the popular Nepal; movement of April 2006?

Ans. The aim of the Popular movement was to restore democracy.

In February 2005, the king dismissed the  Prime minister and dissolved the popularly elected parliament.

Q 6. What was FEDECOR?

Ans. IT was an organization comprised of professionals, engineers, and environmentalists which led Bolivia’s water war against the democratic government.

Q 7. Analyze the main reason for the Bolivia water war.?

Ans. The price of water increased four times.

Q 8. When was the movement for democracy in Nepal conducted? What was its aim?

Ans.

• The movement for democracy in Nepal was conducted in April 2006.
• Its aim was to restore democracy.

Q 9. What was the position of the King after democracy was established in 1990?

Ans. Although the King formally remained the head of the state, the real power was exercised by the popularly elected representatives.

Q 10. Who were Maoists?

Ans.

• Maoists are those communists who believe in the ideology of Mao, the leader of the Chinese revolution.
• They seek to overthrow the government through an armed revolution so as to establish the rule of the peasants and workers.

Q 11. What was SPA in Nepal?

Ans. SPA was the Seven Party Alliance of all the major political parties in the parliament of Nepal.

Q 12. What was the outcome of the struggle of people in Bolivia?

Ans. The contract with the MNC was canceled and the water supply was restored to the municipality at old rates.

Q 13. What do the movements in Nepal and Bolivia tell us ?

Ans.

• The movements in Nepal and Bolivia tell us that they are many indirect ways in which people can get governments to listen to their demands or their point of view.
• This is done by the organisations called interest groups or pressure groups.

Q 14. Differentiate between sectional interest groups and public interest groups. State one difference.

Ans. Sectional interest groups promote the interests of a particular section or group of society e.g., the professional body of lawyers, doctors. Public interest groups promote collective rather than selective good. Their aim is to help groups other than their own members e.g., BAMCEF (Backward and Minorities Community Employees Federation).

Q 15. How specific movements are different from generic (general) movements? 

Ans. Issue-specific movements seek to achieve a single objective within a limited time frame e.g., Narmada Bachao Andolan. General or generic movements seek to achieve a broad goal in the very long term e.g., Women’s Movement or Environmental Movement.

Q 16. How are most of the trade unions and students’ unions are established or affiliated in India ?

Ans. Most of the trade unions and students’ organizations in India are either established or affiliated to one or another political party e.g., ABVP (BJP), NSUI (Congress).

Q 17. How do sectional interest groups play a valuable role in democracy?

Ans. Sectional interest groups play a valuable role. For example, where different groups function actively, no one single group can achieve dominance over society. This leads to a balance of power and accommodation of conflicting interests. 

Q 18. The struggle of the Nepali people is a source of inspiration to democrats all over the world.” Support the statement. 

Ans. The struggle of the Nepali people became a source of inspiration to democrats all over the world due to the reasons mentioned below

• It emphasises the role of people in making of democracy.
• It shows that disputes or issues can be resolved through struggles with mass mobilisation as had happened in Nepal where people’s struggle was successful and democracy was restored.
• It also shows that political conflict leads to popular struggle and mass participation by the people.
• It emphasises that in a democracy there are conflicts between those who are in power and those who aspire for power. Such moments come when there is transition to democracy, expansion of democracy and deepening of democracy. Such conflicts are resolved by the people’s participation as has happened in Nepal.

Q 19. Who were the participants in Bolivia’s struggle for water?

Ans.

• The protest against water privatisation in Bolivia was not led by any political party.
• It was led by an organisation called FEDECOR.
• FEDECOR comprised of local professionals, including engineers and environmentalists.
• A federation of farmers who relied on irrigation, the confederation of factory workers’ unions, middle class students from the University of Cochabamba and the city’s growing population of homeless street children too participated.
• The movement was supported by the Socialist Party which came to power in 2006 in Bolivia.

Q 20. Explain how the activities of pressure groups are useful in the functioning of a democratic government.

Ans. The pressure groups and movements have deepened democracy. Putting pressure on the rulers is not an unhealthy activity in a democracy as long as everyone gets this opportunity. 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 in countering this undue influence and reminding the government of the needs and concerns of ordinary citizens.

Q 21. What is a pressure group? Give a few examples.

Ans. A pressure group is an organization that attempts to influence government policies. They do not aim to directly control or share political power. These are formed when people with common occupation, interests, aspirations, or opinions come together in order to achieve a common objective. The term pressure group, therefore, refers to any interest group whose members share certain common attributes, make claims on other groups, and on the political process. Examples are FEDECOR and BAMCEF.

Q 22. Define pressure groups.

Ans. Government policies are influenced by a few organizations called Pressure groups. Pressure groups do not aim to control or share political power directly, unlike political parties. When people with the common occupation, interest, aspirations, or opinions come together in order to achieve a common objective these organizations are formed.

Q 23. Write a brief note on the Narmada Bachao Movement.

Ans. Narmada Bachao Andolan in India was an Issue-specific movement. The specific issue of this movement was the displacement of the people by the creation of the Sadder Sarovar dam on the Narmada river. Its objective was to stop the dam from being constructed. It gradually became a wider movement that Questioned all such big dams and the model of development that required such dams.

Q 24. Explain the Principal concern of BAMCEF (Backward And Minority Communities Employees Federation)?

Ans. Its principal concern is with social justice and social equality for the entire society.

Q 25. What was the outcome of Nepal’s second movement for democracy.?

Ans.

(i) The king was forced to concede all the three demands of the people i.,e., restoration of parliament, power to the all-party government, and formation of a new constituent Assembly.

(ii) The restored parliament passed new laws taking away most of the powers of the king.

(iii) The SPA and the Maoists came to an understanding about how the new Constituent Assembly was to be elected.

Q 26. Metion any three demands of the people of Nepal during the movement of 2006.

Ans.

(i) Restoration of parliament.

(ii) Power to an all-party government

(iii) A new Constituent Assembly.

Q 27. Describe the popular struggle of Bolivia

Or

Who led the protest against water privatization in Bolivia? Describe the ways of protest adopted by that organization.

(A) Who led the protest? 

• The protest against water privatisation in Bolivia was led by an organisation FEDECOR.
• It was comprised of local professionals, including engineers and environmentalists,
• Federation of farmers, the confederation of factory workers’ unions, middle class students and city’s growing population of homeless street children supported the movement.

(B) Events 

Causes: Bolivia is a poor Latin American country. Under the pressure of the World Bank, the Bolivian government sold the rights of municipal water supply for the city of Cochabamba to a multi-national company. The company increased the rates of water by four times leading to more expenditure by the people. The monthly water bill increased up to? 1,000 whereas the average income was around? 5,000. This led to a spontaneous protest.

Activities: In January 2000, an alliance of labor, human rights, and community leaders organized a successful four-day strike. The government agreed to negotiate and the strike was called off. However, nothing happened and the agitation was started again in February 2000. During agitation, police adopted a policy of brutal repression. Martial law was imposed but ultimately people were successful in their struggle

  Results and importance :

• The contract with the MNC was cancelled and water supply was restored to the municipality at the old rates,
• This struggle is known as Bolivia’s water war.
• t shows that people’s struggle and determination can force the government to change their policy in their interests and that struggles are an integral part of the working of democracy.

Q 28. Describe the differences and similarities between popular movements in Nepal and the struggle in Bolivia.

Ans.

(1) Differences :

• The movement in Nepal was for the restoration of democracy, while the struggle in Bolivia was against the policy of the elected democratic government.
• The movement in Nepal was about the foundations of the country’s politics. King Gyanendra had become powerful and popularly elected Parliament had been dissolved. Protesters’ aim was to restore democracy.
  On the other hand, the popular movement in Bolivia was against the selling of water supply rights for the city of Cochabamba to a multi-national company against the interests of the people. This struggle was against a specific policy of the government.
• Both the struggles were successful but their impact was at different levels. In Nepal, democracy was restored at the national level. It is known as Nepal’s second movement for democracy. On the other hand, in Bolivia, it was regarding Cochabamba city where the water supply was restored to the municipality at the old rates.

(2) Similarities: The similarities between the two areas given below :

• These are instances of political conflict that led to popular struggles.
• Both the struggles got popular mass support. .
• Both the struggles were successful. ,
• Both involved critical role of political organisations.

Q 29. What do we learn from the strategies in Nepal and Bolivia?

Ans. We learn from the struggles in Nepal and Bolivia many lessons as mentioned below :

1. Democracy evolves through struggles. Some decisions may be taken through consensus without any conflict. But if there is no consensus, there may be a conflict between those who are in power and those who aspire for a share in power. Such moments come when the country is going through a transition to democracy, expansion of democracy or deepening of democracy.

2. Democratic conflict is resolved through mass mobilization: These struggles show that role of the people in resolving a deep dispute where the democratic institutions like the parliament or the judiciary are involved, is significant. In such cases, the resolution has to come from outside, from the people. This has happened in Bolivia as well as in Nepal. There was mass mobilization against the decision of the government in both countries.

3. Conflicts and mobilizations are based on new political organizations: There is spontaneous public participation which can become effective only through organized politics. The agencies for organized politics are political parties, pressure groups, and movement groups. For example in Nepal, these groups were SPA, the Nepalese Communist Party, major labor unions and organizations of indigenous people, teachers, lawyers, and human rights groups.

Q 30. Is the influence of pressure groups and movements healthy or useful?
Ans.

(1)

• Generally, it appears that the influence of the pressure groups is not healthy or useful because these groups promote the interest of their members or a section of the society. In a democracy, the government should look after the interest of all the people and not one section.
• These groups influence the government policy without any responsibility towards the people. The political parties fight elections and are answerable to the people but these groups are not accountable to the people.
• Pressure groups may, sometimes, influence the policy to such an extent that only a small people get benefit from such policy at the cost of the majority.

(2)

• On the other hand, it may be stated that if everyone gets an opportunity to put pressure on the government, it is useful because the government gets different view points on a problem which are useful for taking a balanced decision accommodating conflicting interests.
• Different pressures help in maintaining a balance between powerful groups and needs of ordinary citizens.Thus, on the whole influence of pressure groups is useful in a democracy.