Society 
Voices Against Globalization
by Deepti Priya Mehrotra

'Another World is Possible, Let's Build It!' - urged a pamphlet announcing the India Social Forum (ISF) - part of a series of 'social forums' being held in different Third World countries. Under the rubric of the 'World Social Forum', social activists from Latin America, Asia and Africa are organizing these events to share ideas and experiences, and forging new alliances.

The ISF was held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi, from November 9-13, 2006. Over 40,000 people took part, indicating a widespread dissatisfaction with the present politics of development and globalization. Chafing at imposed helplessness, activists and scholars came together not only to analyze contemporary ills, but also support the creation of alternatives.

Over 200 seminars, conferences and workshops were held during the ISF, on themes including environmental destruction, racism, militarism, neo-liberal policies, adivasi and Dalit struggles, women's movements, labor movements, children's rights, youth activism, secularism, and the contours of a radical democracy. Resistance to imperialist globalization was an underlying thread uniting most presentations and discussions.

At the opening session of the ISF, Wahu Kara from Kenya said globalization amounted to plundering of resources and creation of worse forms of poverty everyday. Mass movement leader Medha Patkar noted, "Globalization has reached every household...A handful of people are trying to take control of the world." Manipuri activist Irom Sharmila Chanu, on hunger strike against the draconian AFPSA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act), could not attend since she is under arrest, but sent her message expressing solidarity with the people's struggles.

Student groups from Myanmar, Manipur and other parts of Northeast India organized a number of events to express the urgent need to unite against State violence, which is repressing and killing ordinary citizens with impunity in various parts of South Asia and the rest of the world. Other participants emphasized the devastating nature of modern warfare and the imperative for peace. Shalmali Guttal, speaking at a seminar on 'War, Occupation and Conflict', said that wars are created by the big powers, in order to fulfil their own geopolitical interests. Environmental scientist Vandana Shiva reiterated that multinational profiteering is wreaking utter destruction, destroying biodiversity and poisoning our environments. People have to carry on the struggle against displacement, loss of natural resources and complete takeover of their lives and livelihoods.

Public health experts Dr Imrana Qadir and Dr Meera Sadgopal emphasized the negative impact of globalization on the social sector, particularly health. Health services in the country are increasingly being privatized, leading to extreme neglect of the health needs of the poor. Misinformation is the name of the game, with the already-poor being tricked into parting with a disproportionately high share of their income for pharmaceutical drugs and medical 'treatment', yet remaining increasingly vulnerable to ever-worsening health conditions. Resistance is being waged through groups like Jan Swasthya Abhiyan: exercising vigilance over the public health system, monitoring the quality and pricing of drugs, providing information on hazardous contraceptives, and trying to bring low-cost healthcare to the people.

A large number of participants pointed out that education is another casualty in the present era of globalization. This included children from diverse groups such as Ankur, Baliga Trust, Bal Panchayat and Children 4 Rights. Educationists, teachers and activists, including Shantha Sinha from Andhra Pradesh, Jaya Shrivastava from New Delhi, Anil Sadgopal from Madhya Pradesh and Master Sanjay from Bundelkhand, shared experiences of the sorry state of government schools in the country today, and the efforts they are making to improve the situation.

Said Vimal Sharma from Madhya Pradesh, "Children ask us why they should go to school when the teachers do not teach. What can we answer? We are struggling for solutions through our Teachers' Associations." Similarly Dara Singh, an adivasi activist from Maharashtra, said, "Our villages are in the Satpura hills. Everybody wants their children to attend school, but the nearest school might be 50 kilometers away. We have no electricity, no vehicles and no jobs. Even if through great courage a child studies and completes Class 4, he still does not know how to read! Today, it is not enough to campaign. We have to plan what to 'do'." These activists are active participants in networks working for a common school system, as well as passage of the Bill on Right to Education.

Peasants' and adivasis' rights to land, forests and means of livelihood were reinforced by South Asian People's Initiative, Mahatma Gandhi Seva Ashram, Grameen Vikas Pratishthan, leaders like P V Rajagopal (of Ekta Parishad), Ashok Chowdhry (National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers) and several thousand ordinary villagers who came all the way to New Delhi to express their commitment to the struggle. Usha Devi, activist from the jungle areas of the Shivalik foothills in Saharanpur, western Uttar Pradesh, said, "We have been struggling for our rights for many years. Earlier, we only knew about our own villages, but now we know about the struggles of many more hundreds of thousands of people. We are all together in the fight for survival."

Several speakers at ISF emphasized the global dimensions of local struggles, in sessions including 'Global Livelihoods Crisis', 'Agrarian Crisis and Survival of Marginal Farmers and Workers', 'Endangered Livelihoods' and 'Left Perspectives on Imperialist Globalization'. Himalaya Bachao Andolan, from Himachal Pradesh, with the slogan 'Himalaya Bachao Desh Bachao Duniya Bachao' (Save Himalayas, Save the Country, Save the World), stressed the need to link local action with the larger world of global development. At the ISF, hundreds of such organizations found a platform to raise their concerns in a wider setting.
Women's groups brought out the links between poverty, violence and globalization. Feminization of poverty, widespread unemployment and anti-people policies are leading to intensified violence at all levels, including private and public domains. GLRF (Gender, Livelihood and Rights Forum), Vimochana, Mahila Manch, Action India, All India Democratic Women's Association, National Federation of Indian Women, Asian Women's Human Rights Council, All India Women's Council, Stree Atyachar and Dalit Women's Voice held seminars and conferences in an effort to unite across gender, class, caste and region. They expressed alarm at the rising incidence of sex-selective abortions and shared strategies to combat it. Activists raised the pertinent issue of language, noting that the use of the phrase 'female feticide' leads to confusion about whether abortion ('feticide') itself is illegal. This is only one of the many issues and unresolved dilemmas that activists face. Often, there is no time for such an understanding to crystallise because of the urgency of the tasks at hand.

Perhaps this is why the India Social Forum has been a success. Its aims were modest - simply to bring together diverse action groups onto a common platform. The ISF - like the World Social Forum of which it is a part - does not seek to coordinate common action. Rather, it provides a space where people engaged in diverse struggles can meet, voice concerns, share visions and build connections. Resisting globalization the ISF way means allowing the genius of each person, and each group, space for expression and growth. Perhaps this is a healthy model for democracies around the world, for it underlines decentralization and people's participation in building a better world. 

November 26, 2006

By arrangement with Women's Feature Service 

Top | Society

The Week of November 26, 2006       
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Maldives – Idyllic Beauty Globalizes by Col Rahul K. Bhonsle
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Golden Temple, Amritsar - A Photo Essay by Sukhdeep Singh
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Mountain Slides of Tista by VK Joshi 
Milton Friedman: A Great Champion of Liberty by V. Sundaram 
B G Shirke - A Vishveswarayya of Post-Independent India by V. Sundaram
Voices Against Globalization by Deepti Priya Mehrotra 
Relax, There's a Woman on the Job by Elayne Clift
Empower the Girl, Empower the Nation by Rupa Sarker 
Harvest Colors from the Rainbow by Jayati Gupta 
The Politics of Toilets by Trisha Gupta 
   

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