Sapta Kranti
Also called: Seven revolutions · Topic: Equality and Social Justice · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 3 "Equality"
Meaning
Sapta Kranti, meaning "seven revolutions", was Ram Manohar Lohia's idea of socialism. He named five inequalities that must be fought at the same time: inequality of gender, of skin colour, of caste, of colonial rule over one country by another, and economic inequality. He added two more revolutions: one for civil liberties against intrusion into private life, and one for non-violence (satyagraha) instead of weapons. Lohia said each inequality has its own roots, so ending one does not end the others.
Example
A poor Dalit woman faces three disadvantages: poverty, caste and gender. Under Lohia's idea, a policy that only raised her income would not be enough. Caste and gender discrimination would also have to be fought at the same time. This is why Sapta Kranti is said to have anticipated intersectionality, the idea that overlapping identities create distinct disadvantages.
Don't confuse with
- Marxist class struggle: Marxism treats class, based on private property, as the root of all inequality. Lohia rejected the view that only class matters.
- Total Revolution: this was Jayaprakash Narayan's call in 1974. Lohia's Sapta Kranti is a separate idea.