Theorizing social movements against the Indian state’s developmental paradigm: A comparative study of the Kovvada and Sompeta movements

ABSTRACT This paper studies the impact of social movements on the Indian state’s developmental paradigm. Adopting from Varigonda’s (2020) framework, the paper argues that the impact of social movements on state policy and its implementation is primarily determined by three key factors: the collective action repertoires of social movements; the politicization of the Indian state’s developmental paradigm; and the openness of state input structures. This framework is tested through a comparative study of two movements that have emerged against two examples of the Indian state’s developmental paradigm: a proposed nuclear plant at Kovvada and a proposed thermal plant at Sompeta, both in Andhra Pradesh. The Sompeta agitation was successful in impeding the thermal plant’s inception while the movement in Kovvada eventually petered out. The paper demonstrates how the variation in the impact of the two movements can be attributed to the social movement in Sompeta benefitting from stronger collective action repertoires; greater politicization of the state’s developmental paradigm; and more open state input structures, vis-à-vis the movement in Kovvada.