Laws And Dissent

Question 1

What is Dissent?

Answer 1

Disobedience and refusal to obey the law

Question 2

What is the goal of dissent of laws?

Answer 2

• Change in political system
• Changing policies, actions and laws by the government

Question 3

Give examples of Dissent outside India.

Answer 3

French and Russian revolutions to overthrow rule of monarchs

Question 4

Explain the Salt Satyagraha of 1930.

Answer 4

• Seeing that Indians struggled to participate in the governance of their own country, the Congress started the Civil Disobedience Movement at its Lahore session of 1929. This included non-payment of taxes.
• This example of political disobedience is unparalleled in history.
• Gandhiji started the movement by breaking the Salt act.
• Under this act, only the government could make salt and any other salt that was made was confiscated and the offender could face up to 6 months in prison.
• Mahatma Gandhi termed the salt tax was the more inhumane one.
• On March 12th 1930, he embarked on the historic Dandi March which lasted for 24 days.
• On reaching Dandi, Gandhiji and his followers started openly manufacturing salt and encouraged others to do the same and violate the salt law.

Question 5

Explain the anti- liquor agitation of 1990s.

Answer 5

• Increase in demand for women in Andra Pradesh and Haryana to ban alcohol after the people realized how alcoholism harmed the physical and mental health of the people.
• Arrack was a country liquor which started as an offshoot of the adult literacy drive in the interior village, Dubagunta in Nellore District.
• The anti-arrack movement, where women were in the forefront , was the first of its kind post independence.
• Many organizations joined in and women destroyed and burnt arrack shops. Many were shut down.
• The state government opposed the movement for some years but was forced to ban arrack, after being unable to stop the attack on vendors.

Question 6

What is a controversial law?

Answer 6

A law that is unfair and violates the expectation of the people.

Question 7

Give some examples of unpopular laws in Independent India.

Answer 7

• Hawking and vending on streets
• Regularization of Unauthorized colonies
• Removal of Industries from residential areas