Another world? Better world?

A carnival is a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus and a public street party. The India Social Forum was no different

Akash Bisht Delhi

“Beware! Devil in the garb of Santa,” screamed a pamphlet being distributed at the entrance of India Social Forum (ISF), which took place at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi from November 9 to 13, 2006.

The pamphlets were being handed over by members of Disha Students Organisation, Naujawan Bharat Sabha and Hundred Flowers Marxist Study Circle of Delhi University. Criticising the World Social Forum (WSF) charter, the pamphlet read, “This is simply a space for discussion and establishing coordination among various organisations. The corollary being this platform will never initiate any substantial action, as the charter of the WSF itself puts a cap against any such aspirations.”

The WSF was conceived as an open space for democratic discussion of ideas, actions, formulating proposals and resolutions, and a shared platform for civil society organisations and people’s movements that are opposed to neo-liberal globalisation, communal fascism, mass displacement, hunger and poverty, gender, race, caste and class discrimination, ecological destruction and unbridled corporatisation.

The first highly successful and radical edition of the WSF was organised in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2001, marking opposition to the World Economic Forum held in Davos and serving as catalyst for protests against globalisation and militarism across Western nations. The WSF in Mumbai in 2004 was a huge success, with more than one lakh people participating; the Asian chapter of the WSF took place in Hyderabad in 2003. Much like its previous incarnations, the Indian avatar of the WSF, the ISF, also aimed to advance a larger movement against globalisation and social injustice, and create alternatives for a better world. But it turned out to be a mere cultural extravaganza amongst a host of chaotic, half-hearted, events, and, barring a few authentic struggle groups, basically served as yet another ‘marketplace’ for cash-rich NGOs to hawk comfortable issues without an iota of grassroots resistance or protracted struggles. So much so, the stadium became a cocooned utopia, untouched by the world outside, and vice versa.

The five-day ‘tamasha’ was aimed at building solidarity and alliances, and present alternatives for ‘a better world’ with a strong slogan of ‘Building another World’. Attracting activists, Left parties (mainly the ‘official Left’), NGOs, and intellectuals from all over the world, the forum featured more than 50,000 participants, 350 panels, discussions, conferences, protests, documentaries, street plays, song and dance by colourful tribals and enthralling performances by delegates from Africa, Bangladesh, Nepal and various parts of India.

The cultural events that turned out to be crowd-pullers were by Lou Majau (the Bob Dylan of the Northeast), Raghu Shetty’s band, Nepathya (fusion band from Nepal), Maya Rani (Baul singer from Bangladesh) and an eclectic show by African delegates. “Certain cultural performances were entertaining. The rest failed to create an impact or an atmosphere for serious dialogue,” informed a journalist.

Instead of attending critical discussions in tented halls, the audiences preferred to stay out in the sun and wait for various bands to finish their sound checks. For instance, one ‘international seminar’ had eight speakers and three listeners. In other places, most often, it was the convert talking to the converted, including Leftist big guns like Sitaram Yechury and NBA leader Medha Patkar.