“Pressure groups and movements exert influence on politics in different ways.” Support the statement with suitable examples.

1. The activities of pressure groups and movements try to gain public support and sympathy for their goals by carrying out information campaigns, organizing meetings, filing petitions etc.

2. They also try to exert their influence on media in order to get more attention towards the issues and needs of the members of their respective groups and movements.

3. They also organize political activity like strikes, demonstrations, and disruptions in government programmes. For example – workers’ organizations, employees’ associations, and many movement groups resort to such methods in order to force the government to take note of their demands.

4. These groups often employ professional lobbyists or sponsor expensive advertisements and sometimes members of pressure groups may also participate in official bodies and committees that offer advice to the government.

5. Pressure groups and movements, overall, perform a useful role in countering the influence and domination of powerful and rich groups in a society and remind the government of the needs and concerns of the ordinary citizens.

NOTE - Without being a party, these groups and movements take a political stance; have a political ideology and political position on major issues. They tend to have a healthy influence on the overall functioning of democracy and its institutions.