Popular Struggles and Movements Test - 15

In February 2005, the king dismissed the then Prime Minister and dissolved the popularly elected Parliament. The movement of April 2006 was aimed at regaining popular control over the government from the king.

All the major political parties in the parliament formed a Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and called for a four day strike in Kathmandu, the country’s capital. 

The Bharatiya Jana Sangh was formed in 1951 with Shyama Prasad Mukherjee as its founder President.

The special Constitutional position of Jammu and Kashmir is that it has its own Constitution. By virtue of Article 370 of the Constitution of India which deals with the "Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions" such special status has been granted to Jammu and Kashmir. 

Freedom of movement means the right to move freely and choose the residence within the territory. It also means that everyone has the right to depart freely from any State including that of which the individual is a citizen. If a man is denied freedom of movement, it means a denial of political liberty. 

a) Pressure groups are organisations that attempt to influence government policies. These organisations are formed when people with common occupation, interest, aspirations or opinions come together in order to achieve a common objective. 

b) Kittiko Hachiko Movement was a nonviolent protest in 1987 led by the people in Karnataka where they plucked the eucalyptus plants and planted saplings of plants that were useful to the people. The reason was that- The Karnataka government had set up a company named Karnataka Pulpwood. About  30,000 hectares of land was given to the company. Most of this land was used by the farmers for grazing their cattle on the field. But the company began to plant eucalyptus trees on this land which could be used for making paper pulp. This caused problems for the local farmers and they started this movement.

26th January in India is celebrated as Republic Day. It honors the date on which the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950, replacing the Government of India as the governing document of India and, thus turning the nation into a newly formed republic. 

Commonwealth of Nation is an association of 53 sovereign nations spanning over Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and the Pacific. All member nations have equal say, regardless of size or economic stature. Members share common values and principles elaborated in The Commonwealth Charter. Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are the members of Commonwealth. Option B Nepal is correct answer as it is not a member.   

(a) A pressure group is an organisation which attempts to influence government policies through protests and demonstrations. Pressure groups are formed when people with similar opinions get together for similar objectives. Examples of pressure groups are FEDECOR and BAMCEF.

(b) Pressure groups and movements exert influence on politics in a variety of ways.

• They try to gain public support and sympathy for their cause by carrying out information campaigns, organising meetings, filing petitions, etc.
• By organising strikes and disruptions, they seek to make the government take note of their demands.
• They also influence decision-making by lobbying.
•  The issues raised by them often influence the policies of political parties.

The Green Belt Movement has planted 30 million trees across Kenya. Its leader is Wangari Maathai.