NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND NON-POLITICAL MOBILIZATION IN INDIA AN OVERVIEW

Abstract

New social movements focus on human rights, gender equality, environmental sustainability, right to information, anti

corruption, and the revival of marginalised communities. They differ from earlier movements by addressing non-economic

grievances through grassroots mobilisation and identity politics rather than traditional party structures. These movements

are primarily social and cultural, only secondarily political and economic, and operate outside the conventional political

domain. Emerging in India after the 1970s, they represent widespread citizen mobilisation that challenges the state and

advocates participatory democracy. This article, based on secondary sources, provides an overview of major new social

movements in India-Chipko Movement, Narmada Bachao Andolan, Ekta Parishad, Mazdoor Kisan Sakti Sanghathan,

and India Against Corruption — that transformed national discourse on environment, gender, human rights, and

accountability. These movements demonstrate a shift toward pluralistic, people-centred development and reveal how

collective action outside party politics reshapes democratic engagement.