Popular Struggles and Movements - Important Terms And Concepts
Category : 10th Class
Popular Struggles and Movements
IMPORTANT TERMS AND CONCEPTS
- Maoists: The communists who believe in the ideology of Mao, the leader of the Chinese Revolution. They seek to overthrow the government through an armed revolution so as to establish the rule of the peasants and workers.
- Organisation: A systematic arrangement of people who work collectively to achieve certain objectives for common benefit.
- MNC: Multi-National Company i.e., a company held by a different nation. This term signifies privatisation.
- Politics: Politics refers to the power-oriented behaviour with respect to the process of government. Politics involves conflict, power and policy as its basic elements.
- SPA: It is Seven Party Alliance of Nepal formed for the struggle for democracy. This alliance includes some big parties that have some members in the Parliament.
- Public Opinion: Opinion of the people of a country on an issue of national importance. It is mostly an aggregated, organised and considered opinion of a section or sections of people on an issue of public concern.
- FEDECOR: An organisation of Bolivia comprising local professionals, including engineers and environmentalists. The organisation was formed to protest against water privatisation in Bolivia.
- Interest Groups: Interest group is a group of persons formed to promote a specific goal/interest. This group represents the social, economic and political interests of a particular segment of the society. An Interest group has common aims and try to get them fulfilled through different means and not by capturing power.
- Pressure Group: Pressure Group is an organised aggregate group, which seeks to influence the government's decision making without attempting to place their members in formal governmental capacity A pressure group uses extra-constitutional measures to influence and coerce the government.
- Electorate: It refers to the entire body of people who are qualified to vote and participate in the election of representatives for the legislative or a local body.
- Election Manifesto: A written document or statement published by each political party that consists of the policies and programmes of the party. The manifesto is implemented when the party comes to power and issued at the time of election.
- Movement: The struggle in order to achieve certain aims like democracy, is known as Movement. It aims at many forms of collective action.
- Electoral Competition or Participation: It is a part of political participation which entails participating in the election procedure through voting, contesting elections, campaigning, etc.
- Universal Adult Franchise: This term refers to the right to vote given to all the adult citizens of a country to elect their representatives periodically. It ensures political equality and emphasis popular sovereignty.
- Ballot (Secret Ballot): It is a secret vote in which people mark on a piece of paper to indicate the person they choose to represent them. This is to ensure that he/she votes without fear or favour. [In India Ballot papers are now replaced by the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM).
- Alternative Voting: In this system of voting the voters are asked to rank the candidates in preferential order.
- Polarisation: Alignment of voters/forces i.e., political forces along distinct ideological lines.
- Sectional Interest Groups: The interest groups which seek to promote the interest of a particular section or group of society are known as the Sectional Interest Group. Trade Unions, Business Associations and Professional bodies are some examples of this type.
- Public Interest Groups: The groups which seek to promote the interest of the general people rather than a particular section are termed as "Public Interest Groups". They are also called promotional groups because they promote collective rather than selective good.
- BAMCEF: It is a short form of Backward and Minorities Community Employees Federation. It is an organisation largely made up of government employees that campaigns against caste discrimination. Its principal concern is social justice and social equality for the entire society.
- Movement Groups: Groups involved with movements are called "Movement Groups". They include a very wide variety- movement groups which are both specific and general in order and strive to achieve desired goals.
- NAPM: It is an organisation of organisations which stands for National Alliance for People's Movements. This organization coordinates the activities of a large number of People's Movements in our country.
