Mumbai, India from January 16-2l was a massive success, showing the scope and breadth of the worldwide movementagainst neoliberal globalisation and imperialist war. Terry Conway reports from Mumbai.
This was the first time the WSF had Title bit be of bean some,
Brazil and there had been some trepidation at the international leadership level about making the move.
But moving the forum to Asia and to India resulted in a gathering that had many strengths not achieved at the previous meetings.
The event was less dominated by intellectuals and involved more poor people. Women were definitely more visible, especially through demonstrations and banners -though there is still a way to go when it comes to some of the huge panels.
Taking on the organization of the event was a challenge for the Indian movement, itself in a contradictory position. India has both strong movements in civil society at grass roots levels of which the internationally known campaign against the Narmada dam is one of thousands, and strong political parties of the left.
The suspicion between and amongst the different strands of movement made the challenge of working together a large one, but one which by and large was met. Hopefully the success of the WSF itself will lead to increasing strength of the movement against neo-liberalism on the ground.
Of course of necessity the geographic hit means something ora
shift in subjects too - with a new focus on issues such as caste and communalism that are central to Indian politics.
But novel connections were also made, for example between the struggle of the Dalits and other lower caste peoples in India and the struggles on indigenous peoples in
As some one who has never made Porto Alegre, but had been to both European Social Forums in Florence and Paris, the difference was somewhat breathtaking. The fact that it took me half and hour to cross the road the first morning because the bus stopped on the wrong side of the six-lane motorway was one instance.
Another example was the growing realizaMumbai market: a rather different backdrop from other Social Forum venues
.... There were ground-breaking discussions on the issue of Kashmir that has long been taboo even on the left in the region. ..... .... tion of the difference in political culture, with music, dance and street theatre being totally integral to politics in this part of the world.
So not only was there a formal programme of cultural activities every minute of the day, but even outside that there were informal gatherings on many corners to watch and listen to jubilant and purposeful performances.
And then there were the demonA
strations. Many groups had their lown form of dress whether this was the traditional dress of dancers from Orissa, or the baseball caps of the Gujarat social forum or the bibs of the world march of women.
On the first day people processed in groups down the main walkways, perhaps carrying a banner proclaiming their identity or announcing a meeting they were organising
By day two, placards had appeared, demanding anything from Justice for the Bhopal workers (poisoned in a gas tragedy many years ago) to Peace for Tibet. It also meant that you had to allow twice as long as you otherwise would to get through the thronging crowds.
Another central function of the forum was that it was the first time that a significant part of the left from Pakistan had been able to travel to India for many years, and so provide an opportunity for sustained dialogue and exchange of ideas.
Although of the 2000 or so who applied to come only around 600 were given visas, this was in itself of enormous significance.
While the most obvious pressure for peace between India and Pakistan is coming from the US government, to increase its room for manouvre in the region, there is no doubt a huge sentiment from civil society as well.
This led to a couple of ground-breaking discussions on the issue of Kashmir that has long been taboo even on the left in the region. While strong disagreements remain - often partly fed by misinformation promoted by the mass media of the two countries -dialogue has started
It is impossible to get to more than a tiny fragment of such a gigantic event as this, and like most other people I had my own personal priorities
went to a fascinating workshop organized by South on South Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transexual (LGBT) activists, with speakers from South Africa, Argentina, Equador and Sri Lanka which looked at the relationship between the struggle for sexual equality and freedom, and the fight against colonialism and imperialism.
I was also thrilled at the visibility of issues of sexuality throughout the event, especially through the intervention of a group called Rainbow Planet that brought together LGBT people and sex workers who organized not only demonstrations but cabarets which made page 2 of The Times of India (which is what it sounds.)
As someone with a long term interest in the politics of the region I was drawn to a seminar organized by Canadian group Alternatives on US, Israel, India - the new Triad. Achin Vanaik from India and Michael Warshawsky from the Alternative Information Centre in Jerusalem in particular made convincing expositions of this frightening tie-up developing at so many different levels from the exchange of military (including nuclear) technology, to ideological questions.
Certainly I want to do more reading about the links between Zionism, which is discussed extensively by the left internationally and Hindutva - the profoundly reactionary idea of Hindu supremacy promoted by the BJP government which led among other things to massive communal riots against Muslims in Gujarat several years ago
I also spent time at the General Assembly of the anti-war movement which was a very constructive event in which people were really able to share experiences from coun try to country, as most people who wanted to got time to speak
Listening to those present from Iraq itself, from Occupation Watch, and a number of other groups who brought home the reality of life under occupation time and again, was obviously one of the highlights.
There was also space to discuss different types of initiatives, including a report from a newly launched international campaign against US bases which was linking up existing grass roots groups and the organization of delegations to Iraq and to Palestine and the centrality of campaigning against the wall the Zionist state is building through Palestinian lands
There was also the opportunity to discuss the planning already under way for the international day of action on March 20, the anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq.
There was consensus that we should not see this as a repeat of February 15, as we will not be able to do that, however hard we try
In a number of countries such as the US and Britain this understanding means that people are focusing on regional demonstrations rather than national initiatives
For us in Britain, I think that is a real challenge, as somehow we never manage to put the same effort in, though logically it should be easier to bring people out this way
Certainly the assembly and the other specifically anti-war activities throughout the event managed to raise the profile of March 20 as a major priority for the whole antiglobalisation movement.
A clear call has come from Mumbai which we all need to answer in our activity back
page 18 of the scan
Two thirds of Brazilians started 2004 expecting their lives to get better during the year. In December Lula issued a statement saying that he didn't think that 2004 would be the year of his dreams. What has been the impact of the first year of the Worker's Party's (PT) government domestically and internationally? Chris Jones