Social movements and communication A case study of selected tribal movements of Jharkhand state in India

Abstract

This study looked at the movement communication practices of the tribal communities in newlineJharkhand, the ones who are among the disadvantaged and oppressed communities of India and newlinehave taken up movement as a self-protective approach to deal with the issues related to their newlinelivelihood and existence. The prevalence of movement incidences in these communities is traced newlineback to colonial times, revealing a long history of resistance in these communities and, thus, the newlinemovement communication practices. The colonial tribal leaders of this region were able to newlinemobilize people and successfully conduct a movement even when they lived in remote villages newlineand had no means of connectivity. Over time, the tribal people of this region have evolved a newlineculture of protest and an indigenous way of movement communication. newlineThus, this study using the rich history of their movement aimed to explore the newlinecommunication practices of the tribal movements to advance its understanding of movement newlinecommunication. Doing so tried to comprehend how people in movement communicate, relate newlineand mobilize to organize themselves into movement collectives. The study uses a comprehensive newlineapproach to look at the organizing, mobilization, framing and movement demonstration practices newlineof the tribal movements entirely from a communication viewpoint. The study explores the newlinemovement communication practices of tribal communities through four case studies: Santhal newlineHul, Birsa Movement, Chandil Dam Movement and the movement against the Greater Ranchi newlineMaster Plan-2037. All the movements are of different time frames but are in the same newlinegeographical area, Jharkhand. The research methodology for conducting this study was newlinequalitative and employed the multiple qualitative research methods archival research and field newlinestudy to explore the tribal movements of different time frame. newlineThe interesting thing about these movements is that the core issues of unrest have newlineremained the same all over the years. Tribal land has always been a sensitive issue in this state, newlineforming the nuclei