IMPACTS OF SOCIAL REFORM MOVEMENTS

VISMAYA M
2019MSW34
 INTRODUCTION

A reform movement is a type of social movement that

aims to bring a social or political system closer to the community's
ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social
movements such as revolutionary movements which reject those old
ideals in the ideas are often grounded in liberalism, although they
may be rooted in socialist (specifically, social democratic) or
religious concepts. Some rely on personal transformation; others rely
on small collectives, such as Mahatma Gandhi's spinning wheel and
the self-sustaining village economy, as a mode of social change.
Reactionary movements, which can arise against any of these,
attempt to put things back the way they were before any successes
the new reform movement enjoyed, or to prevent any such
successes.
FOUR STAGES OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
 EMERGENCE; The stage of the social movements life cycle is know as the
emergence ;or as described by Blumer,the social ferment stage. Within their stage
,social movements are very preliminary and there is little to no organization.
 COALESCENCE; At the next stage in the life style ,social movements have
overcome some obstacles which may never overcome. Often ,social unrest passes
with out any organizing or widespread mobilization
 BUREAUCRATISATION;The third stage is knows as bureaucratization. This
stage; defined by Bulmer as ‘formalization's characterstised by higher levels of
organization and coalition based strategies.
 DECLINE; Finally ,the last stages in the social movements life cycle is decline or
‘institutionalization'. Decline does not necessary mean failure for social
movements though Rusted , Miller argues. There are four ways in which social
movements can decline repression,co-optation,success,faliure
Social reformers of India
B. R. Ambedkar
Gopal Ganesh Agarwal
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Baba Amte
Pandurang Shastri Athavale
Basavanna
Vinoba Bhave
Gopal Hari Deshmukh
Virchand Gandhi
Examples of Social Movements
 civil rights movement in the United States.
 environmental movement.
 green movement.
 gay rights movement.
 labor movement.
 anti-globalization movement.
 vegetarian movement.
 feminist movement.
Impact of social reform movement
 (1) the creation of national awakening among the masses;
 (2) the revival of Hinduism as a tolerant, rational religion to restore
its lost prestige in the wake of Islam in the past and Christianity in the
nineteenth century
 (3) an onslaught on the indignities committed on women,
untouchables and other oppressed and depressed sections of Indian
society;
 (4) the creation of the feelings of sacrifice, service and rationalism;
 (5) an attack on the hereditary character and rigidities of the caste
system; and finally
 (6) a sense of equality, indigenization and co-existence of cultures and
religions.
 It has been noted earlier that atrocities on women through purdah,
child marriage, hyper gamy, dowry and sex-based inequality in
regard to division of work, education, occupation, freedom, etc.,
moved all the reformists. Not only were legislations against these
ills passed, but concrete social actions were also taken to
ameliorate the plight of women. It was an era of new
enlightenment, of indigenization with an open mind, welfares,
liberalism and equalitarianism. This sort of awakening
contributed a lot to India’s freedom struggle
Social reform movements
Brahmo Samaj
The Brahmo Samaj is a social and religious movement founded in Kolkata in 1828
by Raja Ram Mohan Roy. The Brahmo Samaj movement thereafter resulted in the
Brahmo religion in 1850 founded by Debendranath Tagore — better known as the
father of Rabindranath Tagore.
Arya Samaj
The Arya Samaj is a monotheistic Hindu reform movement founded in India by
Swami Dayananda in 1875 at Bombay. He was a sannyasin (ascetic) who believed
in the infallible authority of the Vedas.[2] Members of the Arya Samaj believe in
one God and reject the worship of idols. Dayanand's interpretation of the Vedas was
both unique and radical; for example he taught that the Vedas unambiguously
advocate monotheism. He stressed that the Vedas do not contain any mention of idol
worship, because they teach that God is a non material, formless and metaphysical
spirit and, further, emphasise the doctrine of karma and reincarnation, the ideals of
 Dayananda claimed that the Veda is the only true scripture
because God reveals His true word at the outset of creation
(otherwise He would be imperfect by having deprived many
human generations of true knowledge until the inception of
today's various religions) and that, most definitely, there is no
place in it of a discriminatory or hereditary caste system.
 Swadeshi Movement – 1905
The movement which started during India’s struggle for freedom focused on
removing the British Empire from power by becoming Swadesh i.e self sufficient. A
lot of Indians came forward in support of the movement and boycotted foreign
goods. They burnt all the imported clothes they had, boycotted British products and
revived the production of domestic commodities. It gave people the power to speak
against the authority and the courage to express their views.
 Satyagraha
Probably one of the most noted movements in Indian history, Satyagraha brought
thousands of people together in a peaceful way. The non-violence movement started
by Mahatma Gandhi to send the British back to their country and leave India free of
foreign rule did eventually taste success.
 Chipko Movement – 1973
Based on Gandhian principles, the Chipko Movement or Chipko
Andolan saw people protesting against deforestation by hugging trees to
stop them from being cut. Led by Chandni Prasad Bhatt and Sunderlal
Bahuguna, the protest started in the early 1970s when a group of women
opposed the cutting down of trees. Their actions spread like wildfire and
hundreds and thousands of people across India came out in support of
the green movement
CONCLUSION
 A Social Reform refers to any attempt that seeks to correct any injustices in a
society. People who are involved in social reforms do so with the aim of
improving the quality of life. Social Reform is a kind of social movement that
aims to make gradual change, or change in certain aspects of society, rather
than rapid or fundamental changes. A reform movement is distinguished from
more radical social movements such as revolutionary movements. Social
Reform Conferences critically analyze the education, social and development
projects. Social Reform Conference provides an opportunity for discussion,
and debate and will be of especial relevance to those who are affected by the
proposed legislation be they involved as service users, advocates, health and
social care policy makers or practitioners, lawyers, researchers, independent
sector service providers and policy activists.