A social movement has a general orientation method to bring about change on a public issue. There are different types of social movements.
They can be classified as :
(i) Redemption or transformational social movement.
(ii) the reformist social movement, and
(iii) Revolutionary social movement.
(i) Redemption or Transformational Social Movement: The aim of this social movement is to bring about a change in the individual consciousness and actions of its individual member. For example, the Ezhava community in Kerala was led by Narayana Guru to change their social practices.
(ii) Reform Social Movement: This type of social movement tries to change the existing social and political system through successive incremental steps. The 1960 movement for the reorganization of Indian states on the basis of language and the more recent Right to Information campaign are examples of reformist movements.
(iii) Revolutionary Social Movement: This movement often attempts to radically change social relations by seizing state power. The Bolshevik revolution in Russia which overthrew the Tsar to create a communist state and the Naxalite movement in India which seeks to remove the oppressive landlords and state officials can be described as revolutionary movements.