‘There are huge social movements in India – dam movements, farmers, trade unions – and millions of struggles against globalization,’ declares Meena Menon, an emphatic Indian activist working on the committee of the 2004 World Social Forum (WSF), which is to be held for the first time in Mumbai (Bombay), India, in January.

The presence of vast grassroots struggles by those most affected by globalization makes India an obvious choice of location. The previous three such international gatherings of the global justice movement have all been held in Brazil, while the WSF has grown exponentially in size and significance each year.

A long-time textile trade unionist, Menon’s roots in Mumbai go deep: ‘Twelve years ago I started organizing with textile workers fighting against the closure of ten textile factories in the wake of a historic strike – the longest workers’ strike in the history of the world.’ The extremes of wealth and poverty in the city of Mumbai provide a potent backdrop for the tens of thousands of social-justice activists expected to descend on it next January: ‘In the local neighbourhoods, the fight is for housing as well as work. The mills once covered a 250-hectacre radius right in the centre of Bombay city. Now that is going. So we are fighting for land and housing, for alternative employment and for space for the poor in the city.’

There are so many movements
across the world fighting
globalization. The people affected
are standing up

With the Bangkok-based group Focus on the Global South, she became involved in strengthening the Asian presence at the WSF: ‘I went to Porto Alegre in 2002, and I felt that it was really important to have a space like that in this country.’ Menon was on the steering committee of the first-ever Asian Social Forum in Hyderabad, India in early 2003. It was after this that it was decided India should host the WSF in January 2004.

Photo: Katharine Ainger

Menon describes the sheer diversity of participants in India coming on board through the social forum movement: ‘They include many associated with left and centre political parties and also a lot of independent movements. People can see this is something different. Fronts have happened before, including against globalization, but they’ve kind of had staccato unity. But now we are really working together. Nothing on this scale has been attempted before in India. The Asian Social Forum was cross-sector and cross-class. Those meetings were – oh my god!’ she rolls her eyes with humour. ‘How did we pick people to speak on the podium in a country with millions of movements?!’ These Indian movements include dalit, women, unions, students and youth, farmers and interfaith groups. Some have had a long history of animosity – ‘they could barely sit down at the table together,’ says Menon. ‘But now they’re talking, they have a place where they can come together and listen to each other and break down the walls of prejudice. By itself the WSF will not be a political platform; it won’t happen that way; but the WSF can be a facilitator.’

‘The independence movement was the last movement really to unite this country,’ Menon points out. ‘What we need is for a new independence movement against globalization.

‘Indians have a strong sense of the importance of sovereignty because for us to fight globalization right now, well, we don’t have anything except these borders to use. We want another world which doesn’t honour boundaries over people. But meanwhile – how do we protect ourselves?’

She emphasizes how vital plurality is in a country ravaged by communal violence and ruled by a right-wing Government which uses the language of sovereignty to push the vision of a fascistic Hindu nation-state. ‘We’ve made religious communalism a major topic. The nationalist Right are not part of our movement. They are killing minorities. There is no way anyone can pretend that the carnage in Gujarat was somehow “the Indian way” – people don’t accept it. It’s not an organizational stand; it’s a political stand at the WSF against globalization, sectarianism, violence and war.’

talked to Katharine Ainger

Activists from Pakistan will, for example, meet peacefully with Indians – if they can get visas. ‘There is no other way we can fight this chauvinism except by building up these unities. There are so many movements across the world fighting globalization. The people affected are standing up – we have no alternative. In Asia in particular we’re not good at making links regionally.’ Her eyes flash: ‘But, you know, Asia is so huge. It’s huge. If something happens here, it’ll be enormous...’