Environmental movements

Environmental and public health have been struggles in India. The environmental movement in India began in 1980s. The biggest event that developed the movement was the Bhopal gas leakage on December 3, 1984. It released 40 tons of methyl isocyanate, killing 3,000 people and ultimately caused 15,000-20,000 deaths. India has a national campaign against Coca Cola and Pepsi Colaplants due to their practices of drawing ground water and contaminating fields with sludge. The movement is characterized by local struggles against intensive aquaculture farms. The most influential part of the environmental movement in India is the anti-dam movement. Dam creation has been thought of as a way for India to catch up with the West by connecting to the power gridwith giant dams, coal or oil-powered plants, or nuclear plants. Jhola Aandolan a mass movement is conducting as fighting against polyethylene carry bags uses and promoting cloth/jute/paper carry bags to protect environment & nature. Activists in the Indian environmental movement consider global warming, sea levels rising, and glaciers retreating decreasing the amount of water flowing into streams to be the biggest challenges for them to face in the early twenty first century

 video about other social movements 

The women's movement in India

ONE of the most enduring cliches about India is that is a country of contradictions. Like all cliches, this one too has a grain of truth in it. At the heart of the contradiction stand Indian women: for it is true to say that they are among the most oppressed in the world, and it is equally true to say that they are among the most liberated, the most articulate and perhaps even the most free. Can these two realities be simultaneously true?

During the 18 years that India had a woman as Prime Minister the country also saw increasing incidents of violence and discrimination against women. This is no different from any other time: a casual visitor to any Indian city – for example Mumbai – will see hundreds of women, young and old, working in all kinds of professions: doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, scientists... and yet newspapers in India are full of stories of violent incidents against women, of rape, sexual harassment, sometimes even murder. But to have a woman in the highest office of the State and to simultaneously have extreme violence against women are merely the two ends of the scale. As always, a more complex reality lies in between.

Fifty years ago when India became independent, it was widely acknowledged that the battle for freedom had been fought as much by women as by men. One of the methods M K Gandhi chose to undermine the authority of the British was for Indians to defy the law which made it illegal for them to make salt. At the time, salt-making was a monopoly and earned considerable revenues for the British. Gandhi began his campaign by going on a march – the salt march – through many villages, leading finally to the sea, where he and others broke the law by making salt. No woman had been included by Gandhi in his chosen number of marchers. But nationalist women protested, and they forced him to allow them to participate.

The first to join was Sarojini Naidu, who went on to become the first woman President of the Indian National Congress in 1925. Her presence was a signal for hundreds of other women to join, and eventually the salt protest was made successful by the many women who not only made salt, but also sat openly in marketplaces selling, and indeed, buying it.

Sarojini Naidu's spirit lives on in thousands of Indian women today. Some years ago, Rojamma, a poor woman from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, attended a literacy class. Here, she read a story which described a life very like her own. It talked about a poor woman, struggling to make ends meet, who was regularly beaten by her husband. Whatever he earned, he spent on liquor, and then, drunk and violent, he attacked her because she had no food to give him. Unable to stand the continuing violence, the woman went from house to house, to find every other woman who had the same story to tell. They got together, and decided they would pitch their attack where it hurt most: they would picket liquor shops and stop liquor being sold. Their husbands then would have no liquor to drink, and the money they earned would be saved. Inspired by the story, Rojamma collected her friends together, and they began to picket liquor shops. The campaign spread like wildfire. In village after village, women got together, they talked, they went on strike, they beat up liquor shop owners, they refused to allow their husbands to squander money on liquor. And, they succeeded. The sale of liquor was banned in Andhra Pradesh, reluctantly, by the government for liquor brings in huge amounts of money. As a result, savings went up, violence levels dropped, and the lives of poor women began to improve.

The hundreds of thousands of Rojammas and Sarojini Naidus who are to be found all over India form part of one of the most dynamic and vibrant of political movements in India today, the women's movement. The trajectory of this movement is usually traced from the social reform movements of the 19th century when campaigns for the betterment of the conditions of women's lives were taken up, initially by men. By the end of the century women had begun to organise themselves and gradually they took up a number of causes such as education, the conditions of women's work and so on. It was in the early part of the 20th century that women's organisations were set up, and many of the women who were active in these later became involved in the freedom movement.

Independence brought many promises and dreams for women in India – the dream of an egalitarian, just, democratic society in which both men and women would have a voice. The reality, when it began to sink in was, however, somewhat different. For all that had happened was that, despite some improvements in the status of women, patriarchy had simply taken on new and different forms.

Representatives on Social sciences

Pacifism is opposition to war and violence. The word pacifism was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud (1864–1921) and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ahimsa, core to Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism. While modern connotations are recent, having been concretized in the centuries following the 19th, ancient references abound.

Jesus Christ has been ascribed to professing "love thy neighbour" and calling for forgiveness to his crucifiers "for they know not what they do" . In the Modern times it was revived by Leo Tolstoy in his late works, particularly in "The Kingdom of God Is Within You." Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) propounded the practice of steadfast nonviolent opposition which he called "satyagraha", instrumental in its role in the Indian Independence Movement. Its effectiveness served as inspiration to Martin Luther King Jr., James Lawson, James Bevel, and many others in the 1950s and '60s American Civil Rights Movement. Pacifism was widely associated with the much publicized image of Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 with the "Tank Man", where one protester stood in nonviolent opposition to a column of tanks.

Nonviolence

Some pacifists follow principles of nonviolence, believing that nonviolent action is morally superior and/or nonpragmatically most effective. Some pacifists, however, support physical violence for emergency defence of self or others. Others support destruction of property in such emergencies or for conducting symbolic acts of resistance like pouring red paint to represent blood on the outside of military recruiting offices or entering air force bases and hammering on military aircraft.

By no means is all nonviolent resistance (sometimes also called civil resistance) based on a fundamental rejection of all violence in all circumstances. Many leaders and participants in such movements, while recognizing the importance of using non-violent methods in particular circumstances, have not been absolute pacifists. Sometimes, as with the US civil rights movement's march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, they have called for armed protection. The interconnections between civil resistance and factors of force are numerous and complex.

Non-aggression

In contrast to the non-violence principle stands the non-aggression principle which rejects the initiation of violence, but permits the use of violence for self-defence or  delegated defence.^]

Dove

"Dove" or "dovish" are informal terms used, especially in politics, for people who prefer to avoid war or prefer war as a last resort. The terms refer to the story of Noah's Ark in which the dove came to symbolize the hope of salvation and peace. Similarly, in common parlance, the opposite of a dove is a hawk or war hawk.

Psychology

Most Indians spend their formative years (childhood / puberty) in a familiar community (called joint family) unlike our culture where is most common the family nucleus (Father / Mother / Son). Even couples who live alone with their children. It is very common to visit their relatives on a daily or weekly basis. When you go on vacation is very rare being out alone, leaves the whole family.

One of the reasons to live under one roof still exists in Indian culture, is the economic point of view, especially in urban areas where home ownership or rents are very high. In a country without social security, high unemployment, the family becomes your "life insurance" for relief well to mitigate a bad situation.

Regardless of the achievements and talents , an Indian always has obligations on those who are "on" him and expectations of those who are "beneath" him. This situation is immutable and lifetime.

Because of young Indian receive much attention from their families in his youth instilling the integrity of the family unit is stronger than individuals, this creates that young people seeking a radical demarcation of their parents or feel forced to confront its authority to live their own way, unlike Western culture.

For all these things in the imagination of an Indian the word, and certainly their identity, are linked to the reputation of his family. It is the family, and the role played by family obligations in an Indian what keeps them together.

Sociology

Indian Sociologists

Nassim Kuhllann

He is a sociologist, philosopher and musician of Indian origin. He is considered one of the founders of the new sociology India. Father of the structure theory of AC / DC.

In his works has been characterized by using Niklas Luhmann's thought, but further from systemic logic, thus generating a complex understanding of the social aspects.

Some works:

"Society does not exist"

"General guidelines for the construction of a new sociology"

"Understanding the social without society"

Vina Mazumdar

Dr. Vina Mazumdar (March 28, 1927—May 30, 2013) was an Indian academic, feminist, a pioneer in women's studies in India and a leading figure of the women’s movement in post-independence India. She was amongst the first women academics to combine activism with scholarly research in women's studies.

Some works:

"Education & social change"

"Role of rural women in development"

"Emergence of the Women's Question in India and the Role of Women's Studies"

Anthropology

According to traditional anthropology, the elements of three population groups (Caucasians, Australoid and East Asians) can be found in India today. Sometimes, geography and environment have encouraged successive waves of mixed emigrants with indigenous peoples. However, environmental and historical factors have also favored coexistence in India of many peoples with different cultural and physical features, this is also reflected in the linguistic diversity of India, and the country has 15 major languages​and over 1,000 dialects.

Linguistics

In India they speak more than (rounded) 2,000 languages ​​or dialects, included in 15 major groups. The constitution provides that Hindi (spoken by 30% of the population) is the official language, while English is a language associated with administrative matters.

The Constitution also recognizes 17 official regional languages, of which the most common are Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Urdu and Gujarati.

Religions

The major religious groups in India are Hinduism (83%), Islam (11%), Christianity (2%) and Sikhs (2%). Other important religious minorities are Buddhism, Jainism and Parsis. The growth of religious nationalism and fundamentalism in India during the 1980s and 1990s has grown political and social tensions in some areas, such as the riots of 1992 and 1993 in Punjab.

Ethnic composition

India is known for its ethnic diversity, some of the main ethnic groups are: Dravidian, Mongoloid, Black, Aryan, Proto - Australoid or Austrics, and West Brachycephals.

Education in India

India has been one of the main places of learning in the world, despite being a developing country, the government had a goal and achieved 100% literacy, therefore elementary schools student’s education has been specialized with teachers who have studied in countries such as England, United States and Germany. The universal and compulsory primary education, with its problems, keeping poor children in school and maintaining the quality of education in rural areas has been difficult to achieve.

All levels of education in India, from primary to high school, are supervised by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of Higher Education (India) and Department of School Education and Literacy), and heavily subsidized by the Government of India. The Indian government is studying the possibility of allowing 100% foreign direct investment in higher education.

The overall rate of adult literacy is 63% 2005-2008
The net enrollment / attendance primary, 2005-2009 is 83%

The Indian government puts primary emphasis on primary education up to the age of fourteen years (primary)

Structure of the education system
The Indian educational structure is based on five fundamental levels: preschool, elementary, secondary, higher education (university), and graduate.

Their educational levels:
• Nursery: 0-6 years.
• Primary: 6-11 years.
• Secondary: 11-15 years.
• Higher Secondary School: 16-17 Years.
• University: depending on the type of degree can be the four years (which is usually the mean), medical studies 5 years or 3 years for commercial and artistic education.
• Graduate: a year and a half to three years.
Preschool education is not compulsory and only a small percentage of children are enrolled at the secondary level.
Primary and secondary education is governed by three basic parameters: Universal Access, Universal Retention and Universal Achievement.
High school is more difficult in rural areas and especially for girls. The secondary schools teach in the regional language, even if they are in urban areas tend to do well in English

The first level of higher education, Bachelor or Graduate degree (17-20 years) courses are usually 3 or 4 years depending on whether the qualification is about Arts, Science, Commerce, Engineering, Education, Medicine ...

The second degree or Masters degree is filed with a minimum age of 21 years and usually lasts 2 or 3 years. After this step may take a preparation course for the Doctorate MPhil and lasts a year and a half.

Education in Chile

The Chilean school system is characterized by its decentralized organization, where the administrative unit of educational institutions is carried out by individuals or institutions called sustaining municipal and private, with the state having responsibility for the operation and administration of schools and colleges. These holders are a legal structure that can manage one or more establishments.

According to the above there are four ways to manage education in the school system: municipal, subsidized, and delegated private corporation, the first three correspond to the subsidized sector, receiving state resources.
Preschool Education: is intended to serve children up to 5 years of age, from nurseries, Middle Low Level, Middle Level Staff and First and Second Level Transition. Preschool education is not compulsory.

Basic Education: Includes eight years of compulsory education and care for children between 6 and 13 years.
It is subdivided into two stages: first basic cycle, from 1st to 4th core, and second basic cycle, from 5th through 8th grade.

Medium Education: includes four years of compulsory education and the school population are graduated from basic general education, ranging between 14 and 18 years. It is organized in two ways:

§ Secondary education scientific - humanist
§ Professional Technical Education

The first is to fully prepare students for either higher education or continue to integrate the workforce.
The second is designed to train students comprehensively and prepare it as a mid-level technician to work in the areas of production or labor sector services.

Higher education: higher education institutions can be classified as traditional and private, which have full autonomy and are coordinated through the board of Chilean university presidents and ascribed to a single admissions process, the university selection test (PSU/UST)

Archaeology

Archaeological Survey of India 

The Archaeological Survey of India (भारतीय पुरातत्‍व सर्वेक्षण) is an Indian government agency in the Department of Culture that is responsible for archaeological studies and the preservation of cultural monuments. According to its website, the ASI's function is to "explore, excavate, conserve, preserve and protect the monuments and sites of National & International Importance."

Archaeological sites in India

Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh

Amaravati (Telugu: అమరావతి) is a small town situated on the banks of the River Krishna in the Guntur District (of which it is a mandal) of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is famous for its Amareswara temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is one of the famous Pancharamas. Amaravati, also known as Dhanyakataka/Dharanikota was the site of a great Buddhist Stupa built in pre-Mauryan times. It was also the capital of Satavahanas, the first great Andhra kings who ruled from the 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century CE, after the downfall of Maurya Empire.

Khajuraho Group of Monuments 

The Khajuraho Group of Monuments in Khajuraho, a town in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, located in Chhatarpur District, about 620 kilometres (385 mi) southeast of New Delhi, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for their erotic sculptures.

Pillars of Ashoka 

The pillars of Ashoka are a series of columns dispersed throughout the northern Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edicts by the Mauryan king Ashoka during his reign in the 3rd century BC. Originally, there must have been many pillars but only nineteen survive with inscriptions, and only six with animal capitals, which were a target for Muslim iconoclasm. Many are preserved in a fragmentary state. Averaging between 40 to 50 feet (12 to 15 m) in height, and weighing up to 50 tons each, the pillars were dragged, sometimes hundreds of miles, to where they were erected.

Political Sciences

Politics of India

Politics in India (Hindi:भारतीय राजनीति) takes place within the framework of a federal Westminster-style Parliamentary democratic constitutional republic, in which the President of India is head of state and the Prime Minister of India is the head of government. Nominally executive power is exercised by the President and is independent of the legislature. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Parliament of India, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Federal and state elections generally take place within a multi-party system, although this is not enshrined in law. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, the highest national court being the Supreme Court of India. India is the world's largest democracy in terms of citizenry.

India is as a nation has been labelled as a "sovereign socialist secular democratic republic". Like the United States, India has had a federal form of government since it adopted its constitution. However, the central government in India has greater power in relation to its states, and its central government is patterned after the British parliamentary system.

For most of the years since independence, the federal government has been led by the Indian National Congress (inc). The two largest political parties have been the "inc" and the Bharatiya Janata Party (bjp). Although the two parties have dominated Indian politics, regional parties also exist.

Role of political parties

As with any other democracy, political parties represent different sections among the Indian society and regions, and their core values play a major role in the politics of India. Both the executive branch and the legislative branch of the government are run by the representatives of the political parties who have been elected through the elections. Through the electoral process, the people of India choose which representative and which political party should run the government. Through the elections any party may gain simple majority in the lower house. Coalitions are formed by the political parties, in case no single party gains a simple majority in the lower house. Unless a party or a coalition has a majority in the lower house, a government cannot be formed by that party or the coalition.

India has a multi-party system, where there are a number of national as well as regional parties. A regional party may gain a majority and rule a particular state. If a party is represented in more than 4 states, it would be label as a national party. Out of the 64 years of India's independence, India has been ruled by the Indian National Congress (inc) for 51 of those years.

Political issues

Social Issues: 

The lack of homogeneity in the Indian population causes division between different sections of the people based on religion, region, language, caste and race. This has led to the rise of political parties with agendas catering to one or a mix of these groups.

Economic Issues: 

Economic issues like poverty, unemployment, development are main issues that influence politics. Garibi hatao (eradicate poverty) has been a slogan of the Indian National Congress for a long time. The well known Bharatiya Janata Party encourages a free marketeconomy. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) vehemently supports left-wing politics like land-for-all, right to work and strongly opposes neo-liberal policies such as globalization, capitalism and privatization.

Law and Order: 

Terrorism, Naxalism, religious violence and caste-related violence are important issues that affect the political environment of the Indian nation. Stringent anti-terror legislation such as "tada", "pota" and "mcoca" have received much political attention, both in favour and opposed.

Law and order issues, such as action against organised crime are issues which do not affect the outcomes of elections. On the other hand, there is a criminal–politician nexus. Many elected legislators have criminal cases against them.