{"id":247726,"date":"2023-06-13T20:21:20","date_gmt":"2023-06-13T14:51:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=247726"},"modified":"2023-06-13T20:21:20","modified_gmt":"2023-06-13T14:51:20","slug":"wrestlers-protest-and-the-shrinking-space-for-dissent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wrestlers-protest-and-the-shrinking-space-for-dissent\/","title":{"rendered":"Wrestlers\u2019 protest and the shrinking space for dissent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/strong>– The post is based on the article \u201cWrestlers\u2019 protest and the shrinking space for dissent\u201d <\/strong>published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d <\/strong>on 13th June 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS2- Pressure Groups and Formal\/Informal Associations and their Role in the Polity.<\/p>\n

Relevance<\/strong>– Issues related to social movements<\/p>\n

News – <\/strong>Wrestlers protested for more than one month over the issues of sexual harassment by WFI President. It was recently called off after a meeting of protestors with union minister.<\/p>\n

How Public protests have been a catalyst for social and policy change in India?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It has allowed individuals, classes and communities to voice their grievances and advocate for their rights. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Protests had opened space for a new era of social activism <\/strong>when the United Progressive Alliance government was in power.<\/p>\n

What is the support base of current wrestler protest?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The protest has found some support from civil society<\/strong>, especially organisations representing workers, farmers, women, students, and youth. But it is very small <\/strong>when compared to other protests under this regime or previous ones.<\/p>\n

These protests have failed to garner significant support from the middle classes and women\u2019s groups.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Indian women\u2019s movement has had a long history of organising around sexual violence <\/strong>against women. They have in the past organised direct action<\/strong> on the streets.<\/p>\n

But this time, except for Left groups and the All-India Democratic Women\u2019s Association, women\u2019s groups have been largely missing in action.<\/p>\n

In the Nirbhaya case, mobilisation included civil society that included men. It is absent this time.<\/p>\n

What is the nature of social activism by the middle class?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The active participation of the middle classes<\/strong> in the Anna Hazare Andolan and Nirbhaya protests led to social activism<\/strong> by this class.<\/p>\n

The urban middle class favours neoliberalism.<\/strong> It has benefited from the opportunities available to it from the neo-liberal economy<\/strong> in the past three decades.<\/p>\n

Middle-class expansion<\/strong> has occurred since economic reforms through the private sector boom powered by economic liberalisation. <\/strong><\/p>\n

This class supported \u2018India Shining\u2019,<\/strong> Manmohan Singh. It turned against the UPA when it introduced rights-based legislations and other broad-based social policies. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Their shifting political loyalties <\/strong>reflect an ideological consistency<\/strong>. The middle-class opposition<\/strong> to the UPA played a crucial role in discrediting it. Now, these classes strongly back the current dispensation even on issues of sexual violence.<\/p>\n

Middle-class activism<\/strong> tends to prioritise the issues and concerns that directly impact them. It overlooks the needs and struggles<\/strong> of the disadvantaged classes and communities.<\/p>\n

What can be the impacts of social activism by the middle class?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The attitude of the middle class perpetuates inequalities<\/strong> and hinders efforts to address broader social issues. <\/strong><\/p>\n

It can result in a narrow understanding of social reality and marginalised voices<\/strong>. There is a sense of suspicion towards mass politics and egalitarian ideas and movements.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This tendency contributes to inactivity among the middle classes and even among the oppressed classes. It is emblematic of society\u2019s normalisation of patriarchy and sexual harassment.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source– The post is based on the article \u201cWrestlers\u2019 protest and the shrinking space for dissent\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 13th June 2023. Syllabus: GS2- Pressure Groups and Formal\/Informal Associations and their Role in the Polity. Relevance– Issues related to social movements News – Wrestlers protested for more than one month over the issues… Continue reading Wrestlers\u2019 protest and the shrinking space for dissent<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[212,10498],"class_list":["post-247726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247726\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}