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By Mari Marcel Thekaekara It may be a mela to some, but for most people it's a place to recharge one's batteries and keep the flame alive
The whole world is headed for Mumbai. Thousands of people from every corner of the country, and from every continent on earth. It's the World Social Forum (WSF). And it's in India. Last year, Hyderabad hosted the Asian Social Forum (ASF). Everyone who was anyone in the voluntary sector turned up. I wrote some unkind things about the shambolic nature of the organisation. But, the bottom line was that it is a reaffirmation of faith. A restating of the belief that 'Another World Is Possible'. This year, the crowds will be mammoth. Around 75,000 people are expected. I've already heard of a few thousand from the northeast; hundreds of students and young people from every state; women's groups galore; an enormous dalit contingent; adivasis from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and the south; fisherfolk's federations; weavers' cooperatives from Andhra Pradesh; farmers from Maharashtra; health activists from everywhere; craftspeople; people against child labour... To some it's a mela to be avoided. But for most people it's a place to recharge one's batteries and keep the flame alive. To those who actually work with the poor, the marginalised and the dispossessed, the 'Shining India' campaign sticks in the throat. In Delhi a few days ago, I listened in disbelief to management guru Gurcharan Das as he recounted for the umpteenth time his story of a "low caste"(his own words) 14-year-old south Indian boy Raju who worked a "summer job" earning Rs 450 in a "café". As Gurcharan sipped his coffee, he questioned the lad who told him he wanted to be like "Billgay" -- the richest man in the world. This 'discovery' of the new young India leads to the belief that we are now a land of milk and honey where Raju can aspire to become a Harshad Mehta perhaps. Having just returned from watching little sweeper children clean shit in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, having witnessed close up the total lack of any kind of hope for these kids, I was filled with anger. Where do people like Gurcharan Das and our brand ambassadors live? On another planet? Do they ever step out of their air-conditioned cars, houses and offices to look at the slums and villages and see the millions of working children in 'cafes', beaten, abused and even burnt as punishment in their friends' homes where they toil as domestic servants? Or in gullies and gutters and around city garbage heaps where they collect plastic for a living? In industries, which starve, suffocate and stunt their growth? Is this 'India Shining'?! People who write about these things are dismissed as prophets of doom and gloom. Perennial pessimists. Each of us wants to be proud of India. But not by ignoring reality. Not by pretending that 6% growth is a panacea for all ills. Not by ignoring the question of who benefits from that growth. And so the WSF gives people who care a chance to look on the bright side of life. To look at the achievements made over the past years for women, children, dalits, adivasis; for human rights and for the dispossessed, the marginalised, the wretched of the earth. The six-day forum includes a number of eminent speakers, the good and the great, ranging from Nobel Peace Prize-winner Shirin Ebadi of Iran, former UNHCR commissioner for human rights, Mary Robinson, Pakistani activist Asma Jehangir and Joseph Stiglitz former chief economist with the World Bank. An opposing parallel meet, 'Mumbai Resistance 2004 Against Imperialist Globalisation and War' is being held across the road from the WSF, somewhat galling for the organisers but an interesting development. One of the criticisms levelled against last year's ASF was that it was dominated by NGO events and leaders. That there was little space for the 'people' for whom it was meant. That there were too many ' netas' going around making speeches. There was a definite feeling that the forum did not provide space for the views or exchanges of the grassroots groups it was ostensibly meant for. This year, however, the NTU (Neutral Trade Union) of Mumbai has decided to host groups of adivasis and forest workers from different parts of India, offering them food and accommodation and arranging for face-to-face meetings with people working on diverse issues from around the country. The thought of groups from opposite sides of the spectrum, urban and forest-based, has excited everyone. Many other organisations are using the forum to bring groups and issues face-to-face so that a real exchange of ideas and experiences can enrich the participants and make this a vibrant, exciting meeting. As a lead-up to the meeting, the National Campaign On Dalit Human Rights has organised a massive Dalit Swadhikar Rally focusing public attention on dalit rights from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. The rally has drawn dalit groups from Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, leaving hardly any state unrepresented. The campaign has an impressive poster exhibition -- Hidden Apartheid -- which deals effectively with the issues confronting dalits in the country. It was conceived by ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy). Everywhere, in villages and in slums, local groups have prepared for the WSF with great seriousness, explaining the issues surrounding globalisation and the impact it can have on people's economies and their lives. It certainly appears as if the people of India will be making their mark on this, their very own, World Social Forum. (InfoChange News & Features, January 2004)
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