In a society a large number of changes have been brought about by efforts exerted by people individually and collectively. Such efforts have been called social movement. Therefore we can define social movement as a voluntary association of people engaged in a concerted effort to change, attitudes, behavior and social relationships in a larger society. Social movements may be of numerous kind, such as religious movements reform movements or revolutionary movements.

1. It is an effort by a group.
2. Its aim is to bring change in society
3. It may be organised or unorganized
4. It may be peaceful or violent
5. Its life is not certain. It may continue for a long period of time or it may end soon.

Causes of Social Movement

1. The values, behavior and attitude or people is changing every time, people develop new ideas to bring change in the exhibiting system and organize a movement.
2. When a section of society feels isolated from the rest of the society and community leaders. Develops insecurity confusion and frustration. This confusion frustration and discontent produces social movement.
3. When a group of people feel that injustice has been done with them they become frustrated and alienated. Such feeling of injustice provides fertile social for social movement.

Kinds of social movement

1. Migratory Movement-
   Migratory movement take place when a large number of people leave one country and settle at some other place the reason for mass migration may be discontent with present circumstances or the attraction of a bright future.
2. Expressive Movements-
   When people are faced with a social system form which they cannot come out and which they feel powerless to change the result is an expressive social movement.
3. Utopian Movement-
   A Utopian movement is one which seek of create an ideal social system which can be found only in man’s imagination and not in reality. The Sarvodaya Movement can be called Utopian movement.
4. Reform Movement-
   The reform movement is an attempt to modify some part of society without completely transferring it. The movement to abolish unsociability can be considered reform movement.
5. Revolutionary Movement-
   The revolutionary movement seek to overthrow the existing social system and replace it with greatly different one. The revolutionary movement wants to root out the system itself. The communist movements in Soviet Russia and China were revolutionary movement.
6. Resistance Movement-
   The resistance movement is an effort to block a proposed change. Generally resistance movement arises because people consider social change too fast. The D.M.K. social movement in Tamilnadu against Hindi can be considered resistance social movement.