Left, far Left and extreme Left battle for space
No, not the Iowa caucus:
The writing is on the wallâon the boundary walls of the sprawling ground that will host the World Social Forum kicking off on Friday. And the writing is a smack, in-your-face challenge to the World Social Forum (WSF), the worldâs âlargestâ anti-capitalism, anti-globalisation meeting which will bring together nearly a lakh (100K) participants from a hundred countries for about 1,200 events centred around the slogan âAnother World is Possible.â
Oh, youâre on another world, all right.
The maroon wall-painting on NESCO grounds, Goregaon, is a wily take on it: Smash Imperialism, Build A Peopleâs World. The graffiti leads to a two-room rented flat where a motley group chalks out plans for the âârealââ struggle against imperialist globalisation and war, called the Mumbai Rsistance 2004, or MR.
"It's got a nice beat, but I don't think I could dance to it. I give it an 80, Dick..." | ââNo, weâre not splitting the anti-globalisation movement,ââ stresses G N Saibaba, general secretary of the all-India Committee of the All India Peopleâs Resistance Forum (AIPRF). Surrounded by a couple of computers and piles of bedding, he says the WSF never claimed to be a force-unifier. ââEverybody whoâs joined us from their fold says thereâs no possibility of arriving at a joint resolution at the WSF, since itâs disallowed. So, whereâs the question of splitting the struggle?ââ
His lips were moving, words came out, but they didn't make any sense. Perhaps because I'm sober and haven't ingested any recreational medications? | But the faultlines between WSF and MR are stark. For the 300 organisations supporting MR, a ââtalkshopââ such as the WSF is not only inherently flawed in structure and methodology, it even ââdefusesââ the anti-imperialist battle. The conspiracy theory? The WSF accepts money from ââimperialist fundedââ organisations like the Ford Foundation and Oxfamâsomething the WSF deniesâand softens a raging anti-imperialist wave into fruitless intellectual sparring.
Youâve got to be pretty hard-core not to take "imperialist funds" in your fight to bring down "imperialists".
High on the list of MRâs problems with WSF is its refusal to decide on firm policies. ââTheyâre not inclined to arrive at some common understanding of action. And the worldâs Muslimsâafter all the havoc wreaked on their livesâare not interested in any non-serious programme,ââ says Feroze Mithaborwala of Muslim Youth of India.
"Weâre serious muslims, see my turban?"
True enough, a bevy of Muslim organisations have joined the MR, otherwise mostly comprising groups well left of centre and awaiting the socialist coming. Ask Saibaba about the contentious issue of supporting even armed struggle™ against imperialism and the answer is quick. ââWe donât advocate taking of lives. But when 10 million people have been killed by sanctions and bombings, look at the number of lives lost through armed struggle™ to such imperialism. Itâs a fraction. Conflict situations sometimes leave resistors with no choice,ââ he says.
"We don't advocate the taking of lives, but by Gum, I think we should kill somebody!" | ââLook at Iraq.ââ
Another "Islam is a Religion Of Peace, But.." muslim.
Professor Kamal Mitra Chenoy, co-facilitator of the WSFâs programme committee, disagrees. ââViolence is ultimately self-defeating, itâs undemocratic, and it harms the innocent, especially baby ducks women and children,ââ he says. ââAnd it gives those in power the chance to label those who resist them as terrorists.ââ
Especially when they "kill people." | About 20 km away, in Central Mumbai, scores of workers of pharma major Nicholas Piramal are protesting the ââillegal closureââ of the Mumbai factory outside the companyâs head office. As members of the Nicholas Employees Union talk, the word globalisation suddenly morphs into a monster-size collection of sorry tales. A union office-bearer says the workers, until a recent high court order, were unpaid for a year and half.
Ummm... If the company I work for misses my next paycheck, I'll be working for another company before the next one comes due. It doesn't have anything to do with globalization, either... | ââThey donât want a debate about globalisation, they want action. We are with the Mumbai Resistance,ââ he says, not wanting to be named. At the WSF office in Prabhadevi, Chenoy seems bitter at MRâs attacks. ââWe share the same goalâopposing imperialist globalisationâso how about some fraternal solidarity?ââ he asks.
"Canât we just all get along?"
The picture of protest is not all about WSF and MR. The CPI-ML and the CPI-ML Red Flag are bringing together about 20 Marxist-Leninist parties ââ300 delegatesââ to a hall in Andheri Sports Complex on January 14 and 15 to discuss Communistsâ role in the upsurge against globalisation, with socialism as the alternative.
"Socialism is an excellent choice if you want to stop progress. Itâs worked every place weâve tried it."
Some delegates from Europe, South Africa, Middle East, Afghanistan and Iraq are expected too.
And a fun time will be had by all.
Posted by: Steve 2004-01-15 |