UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Statements A, B and D are correct because environmental movements have indeed resisted unsustainable deforestation and displacement, combined ecology with livelihood rights and used legal channels such as public interest litigation. These features are prominent in many national and local struggles. Statement C is incorrect because many movements support alternative development paths and appropriate technologies rather than rejecting all development. Thus, the combination including A, B and D and excluding C is correct.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect as it includes only A and B and omits D. While A and B correctly capture grassroots and Chipko-type struggles, ignoring the legal strategies used by environmental groups leaves out an important dimension of environmental activism. The set of correct statements is therefore incomplete.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect because it combines A and D but leaves out B. The Chipko movement’s focus on both forests and livelihoods is an important example often cited in the syllabus. Excluding B means this option does not list all the correct statements.

Option C:
Option C is correct since it brings together A, B and D, which jointly describe the roles of movements in resisting harmful projects, protecting communities and using public interest litigation. It also rightly rejects C, which caricatures movements as anti-development in all forms. This makes it the only fully accurate combination.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because it includes C along with B and D. Accepting C would imply that environmental movements reject all technological change, which is not true. Many movements advocate alternative, more sustainable technologies, so this option misrepresents their stance.

The Chipko movement emerged when villagers,especially women,physically embraced trees to stop commercial logging in their forests. Their main objective was to prevent the felling of trees and resulting deforestation. The stem directly mentions hugging trees to prevent an activity,which clearly refers to deforestation. Thus Option A correctly captures the focus of the movement.

Option A:
Deforestation threatens soil stability,water availability and local livelihoods in mountain regions. Chipko activists highlighted these dangers and demanded community rights over forests.

Option B:
Urbanisation is the growth of towns and cities and was not the direct target of Chipko protests,which focused on forest logging.

Option C:
Coal mining is a different environmental issue; Chipko is historically linked with stopping tree felling in Himalayan forests.

Option D:
River pollution is important but Chipko is chiefly associated with forest conservation via preventing logging,not river pollution campaigns.

The Silent Valley movement opposed the construction of a hydroelectric dam that would have submerged unique tropical rainforest in the Western Ghats. Activists argued that the ecological loss would outweigh power gains. The stem refers to a project on the Kuntipuzha river,which was specifically a hydroelectric project. Therefore Option A is correct.

Option A:
Hydroelectric projects can provide renewable electricity but may also cause serious ecological and social impacts. In Silent Valley the concern was protecting an undisturbed rainforest ecosystem. This context aligns with the question.

Option B:
Mining was not the central issue in Silent Valley,although mining threatens other forest areas. The campaign here focused on stopping a dam,rather than extraction of minerals.

Option C:
An expressway affects land and traffic patterns,but Silent Valley’s controversy did not involve road construction. Thus Option C is not relevant.

Option D:
An airport project was not proposed in this forested area. The key threat was flooding from a reservoir,so Option D does not match the historical facts.

Statements A, B and C correctly describe major environmental movements in India and their concerns. Chipko involved forest-dependent communities protecting trees, Narmada Bachao Andolan questioned displacement and ecological impacts of dams and Silent Valley movement worked to save a unique rainforest from a hydropower project. Statement D is incorrect because these movements often explicitly connect environmental issues with social justice and livelihood rights. Therefore, the combination with A, B and C only is correct.

Option A:
Option A is correct as it includes the three accurate descriptions of movements and excludes the misleading statement D. It reflects the intertwined ecological and social dimensions of environmental struggles in India. By leaving out D, it remains conceptually coherent.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect because it introduces D into an otherwise correct set. Statement D wrongly claims that environmental movements ignore social justice, whereas many of them highlight equity, displacement and livelihood issues. Including this false statement invalidates the option.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect because it omits A and includes D. Without A, the role of the Chipko movement is overlooked, and by accepting D, it misrepresents the social orientation of these movements. Consequently, it fails to satisfy the question.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because it groups A, C and D and excludes B. It neglects the important example of Narmada Bachao Andolan and simultaneously accepts D, which mischaracterises movements as apolitical regarding justice. This makes the combination unacceptable.

Statements A, B, C and E are correct because they describe well-known movements, their focus on displacement and sustainability and the use of PIL to advance environmental justice. Statement D is incorrect, since many movements demand alternatives and better assessment rather than rejecting all development. Statement F is incorrect because activism has influenced policies, judicial decisions and institutional reforms. Therefore, the combination A, B, C and E only is correct.

Option A:
Option A is correct as it combines historical examples, rights-based concerns and legal strategies that characterise Indian environmental movements. It excludes extreme claims that movements oppose all development or lack policy influence.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect because it includes D, which overgeneralises the stance of movements and ignores their constructive proposals. Although A, B and E are true, the presence of D makes the option unacceptable.

Option C:
Option C is incorrect since it includes F, which denies the impact of activism on policy and law. While B, C and E are correct, the inclusion of F and exclusion of A weakens the description.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect as it keeps F and leaves out B. Excluding B omits a key example of dam-related mobilisation, while accepting F denies the record of activism shaping law and policy.

The Chipko movement emerged in the Himalayan region as a people’s movement to protect forests from commercial felling. Villagers hugged trees to prevent their cutting,demonstrating non violent resistance. The struggle highlighted the ecological and livelihood importance of forests. Hence forest conservation is at the core of this movement.

Option A:
Forests were central to the livelihoods of local communities involved in Chipko. By resisting deforestation,they defended soil stability,water regulation and biodiversity. Therefore forests are the correct focus identified in the question.

Option B:
Wetlands are important ecosystems but they were not the main focus of the Chipko protests. The movement arose specifically against the indiscriminate felling of mountain forests. Thus wetlands do not match the historical context described.

Option C:
Wildlife corridors refer to landscape elements that connect fragmented habitats for animal movement. Chipko was not primarily about designing or protecting such corridors. It centred on preventing the cutting of standing forests,not connectivity planning.

Option D:
Marine fisheries concern the use and conservation of fish resources in oceans and seas. The Chipko movement took place in upland forest regions,far from marine environments. Therefore this option is clearly unrelated to the movement described in the stem.