The Hindu : National : A farce, say activists

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Friday, Nov 10, 2006
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A farce, say activists

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: As the participants of the India Social Forum deliberated to `build another world' at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium premises, a handful of people outside spoke against the show describing it as a farce.

Gathered under the banner of Disha Students Organisation, Naujwan Bharat Sabha and Hundred Flower Marxist Study Circle, the activists appealed to all honest people and young students to understand the "fraud of social forum." "Capitalist globalisation can be dismantled and the way of liberty can be paved only through the revolution of the working masses."

"Another world" can only be an equality-based society in which the whole structure of production, statecraft and society are in the hands of the producing classes, they said.

Pointing out that the organisers defined the India Social Forum as a platform against globalisation and neo-liberalisation and claim to speak for forming a homocentric world, the activists said the charter of the Forum says that it does not in any way provide a platform for a collected, concerted action. This is simply a space for discussion and establishing coordination among various organisations. The corollary being that this platform will never initiate any substantial action and the charter itself puts a cap against any such aspirations.

Further, they alleged that the World Social Forum was financed by "imperialist" governmental and non-governmental organisations and the objective was not to present an alternative to globalisation through protest but to present the "human face" for globalisation thereby completely dismantling the people's struggles against capitalism and imperialism.

Complement

"It does not integrate various mass struggles and in the name of providing alternative plan they try to create a mood of disappointment and absence of alternative by restricting the participants to idle discourses and movements. Imperialism has created a "safety valve mechanism." It acts as a complement to international financial agencies like the World Trade Organisation, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund," the activists explained.

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