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Citizenship Education in Social Movement
Yesterday was August 15, 2011; it is the 65th anniversary of Indiaâs freedom from the colonial rule. The whole country is celebrating, in angstâangst about the growing malaise of political and official corruption and complete lack of democratic governance. Over the past year, a major social movement is afoot in the countryâfreedom from corruption! As you read this blog, a respected Gandhian leaderâAnna Hazareâis sitting on indefinite fast to force the national government to bring about a forceful legislationâLokpal Billâthat can punish those who engage in corruption at all tiers and institutions of government. Over the past six months, the national government has unleashed all manners of harassment, humiliation and intimidation on Anna Hazare, his colleagues and all those civil society actors who have actively and publicly supported this major anti-corruption movement in the country todayâperhaps the second major nation-wide effort at democratizing accountability of governance in India, the last one being in early 1970s under the leadership of late Jai Prakash Narain, when he gave a call for âtotal revolutionâ.
Hundreds of thousands of citizens from all walks of life have been participating in this movement on âfreedom from corruptionâ throughout the country; millions more have been reading about it and watching its drama unfold on television. One section of the electronic mediaâthat which is largely non-English speakingâhas been whole-heartedly supporting this movement. The issues raised in respect of various forms, types and procedures for corrupt practices, and the sheer apathy and unwillingness of the ruling political and bureaucratic regime to punish anyone associated with itâall this has caught the imagination of Indians throughout the country; they have been âeducatedâ about it even when they have not been actively participating in this movement themselves.
Anna Hazareâs anti-corruption movement is educating Indians about their rightsârights to speak up against corruption and malgovernance; the movement on âfreedom from corruptionâ in India today is contributing significantly more to the education of Indians than the recently enacted Right To Education can ever achieve.
However, the official discourse on educational reforms and improvements in the world of tomorrow typically focuses on formal systems of education carried out in institutional settingsâfrom kindergarten to university. As a consequence, sites of education outside these institutions remain invisible to both educationists and policy-makers. The educational potential of such non-institutional educational sites remains inadequately understood and poorly synergized.
Throughout human history, peopleâs movements and struggles for enhancing the quality of their lives have been significant sites of learning and education; social movements create spaces for those involved in them to learn about issues the movements focus upon, as well as how to collectively mobilise and act for a shared agenda. Contemporary social movements have made a remarkable impact on human consciousness, learning and education in this centuryâworkersâ movements, womenâs movements, indigenous peopleâs movements, environment movements, peace movements, to illustrate a few.
Dr Budd Hall (University of Victoria, Canada) has been analyzing the impact of social movement learning during the past decade, both in the Canadian and global contexts. His analysis shows that the impact of social movement learning, as he calls it, goes much beyond those who actively participate in those movements; vast sections of the population get âeducatedâ as they hear, read or observe the movement and its leaders. In that sense, social movements impact the consciousness of citizens and provoke them to analyse their realities from a different lens.
As Anna Hazare and his band of committed citizens begin their fast today on August 16, 2011, the whole country will be âengagingâ with this movement on âfreedom from corruptionâ in India. Indians will be engaging through their actions, words, observations, reflections and thoughts. The world today witnesses citizen mobilization on issues of corruption and malgovernance in all the regions and countries; citizens are even more fed-up with authoritarianism in the so-called democratic regimes.
The educational and transformative potential of these social movements needs to be harnessed as citizensâ actions gain ascendancy in this decade. Irrespective of the outcomes related to forthcoming Lokpal Bill, Annaâs leadership of this movement on âfreedom from corruptionâ would have contributed most significantly to citizenship education in India, and beyond. As citizens, it is our âright to learnâ that prompts us all to engage with this movement on âfreedom from corruption today, to learn about our rights as citizens, in whatever form of engagement that suits our reality of today.
Rajesh Tandon
August 16, 2011
PRIA’s MobiliseHER team traveled to Bangalore during the week of June, 10 – 14, 2024. The aim of the visit was to gain relevant insights into the civil society ecosystem in Bangalore and meet different organisations to understand the city through a lens of gender and inclusive mobility.
Working at PRIA, often leads us to various cities across the country. Each trip is an opportunity to witness firsthand the challenges and triumphs of different communities.
Mr. Yedukrishnan V has recently joined PRIA after gaining valuable experience in the development sector. Drawing from his journey in the social sector and personal encounters in Kerala, he emphasises the importance of participatory governance and research in empowering marginalised communities.'
