Movements are collective efforts undertaken by a group of people to bring about social, economic, or political change. They emerge due to dissatisfaction with existing conditions and aim to challenge or reform systems that affect people’s lives. Movements can be classified based on their objectives, strategies, and the extent of change they seek.
Peasant movements, in particular, arise from the struggles of rural communities against economic exploitation, social inequalities, and oppressive agrarian structures. These movements have played a crucial role in shaping agrarian policies and rural development across various regions.
Peasant movements can be broadly categorized into radical peasant movements and reformative peasant movements. Radical peasant movements focus on fundamental structural changes in society, often opposing feudal landlords, oppressive institutions, and state authorities. They seek to dismantle existing exploitative systems and establish an egalitarian social order. These movements are often marked by aggressive mobilisation and resistance.
On the other hand, reformative peasant movements aim for gradual improvements within the existing framework rather than complete structural transformation. They focus on securing land rights, better wages, and social welfare measures through negotiations, legal means, and political advocacy. Unlike radical movements, reformative movements work within the system to bring stability and incremental progress.
Both types of movements reflect the aspirations of the rural population and play a significant role in shaping agrarian policies and rural socio-economic structures.
| Radical Peasant Movement | Reformative Peasant Movements |
|---|---|
| Mobilisation was initiated for a specific goal and directed against the identified class enemies (big landowners, usurers, police, and administration). | Mobilisation is initiated for diversified goals and not always directed against class enemies. |
| Aggressive and hostile mobilisations without immediate limit. | Aggressiveness and hostilities are limited within given direction. |
| Mobilisations against old norms and values. | Re-informing selected old norms and values through mobilisations. |
| Mobilisation was initiated by the political party of a single ideological pursuit. | Mobilisation is initiated by political parties of diversified political pursuits. |
| Mobilisation for far-reaching structural change. | Mobilisation mostly for structural stability and reformative initiatives within the given structure. |
| Rural poor mobilised to be the “change agencies.” | Rural people mobilised to be ‘beneficiaries.’ |
| Rural poor mobilised for an egalitarian social order. | Rural poor participated in the mobilisation as a survival strategy. |
| Radicalization of mass mobilisation. | Institutionalization of mass mobilisation. |
| Mobilisation for unrecognised demands and mostly by unrecognised and secret organisations. | Mobilisation to pressurize the bureaucrats to implement recognised demands. |
| Mobilisation faced opposition by the government authority. | Mobilisation planned and executed by the political parties in power. |
| Mobilisation directed against primordial dependency and extra-economic coercion of the lowest section of agrarian society. | In the process of mobilisation, the lowest section has become dependent on political leaders to get economic benefits. |
