A Report on the World Social Forum meet in Mumbai, India.

It was a strange protest march. The protesters did not even know the names of the organizations and individuals they were protesting against. Among all other nicely designed and printed placards denouncing Bush and his Iraq policies, there was one hand-written one that wished death to Vajpayee. When this writer asked the South Korean protester holding the placard if he knew who Vajpayee was, he was clue less.

The Korean girl who was leading the march was being tutored by an Indian standing next to her to shout anti VHP and Vajpayee slogans. She would repeatedly pronounce the names wrong. The farce went on and on. Some Nepali delegates on the sidelines were left wondering as to why are the Koreans doing this.

The World Social Forum looked like a forum of communists, other leftist groups, and christian missionaries. The Church sponsored NGOs were present in large numbers. These were committed and hardened salesmen. They were not seeking any way out of the predicament the humanity faces today. They represented the other, and probably more dangerous, face of globalization. They were doing what Monsanto Corp. does, selling and sowing imported seeds of discard and discontent to advance their hidden socio-political-religious agenda on Indian soil. Their concern for Dalits and indigenous people looked dubious and their intentions were anything but honest.

Indians have always resisted globalization

The process of Globalization as a panacea of all ills of humanity started with the advent of Christianity. If Imperialists and colonialists went out to conquer and colonize far out lands and subjugate and plunder the people of the world with the might of their swords and deviousness of their mind, the Church was their main accomplice. While the invading hordes conquered lands and killed the aborigine races, the Christian missionaries struck at the soul of those great indigenous societies and tried their best to destroy them. They did not succeed in India though. Somehow, spiritually and philosophically evolved Indians, who believed in validity of all points of views, could not digest the idea of one God, one world. They survived. They continue to challenge the Church and resist its subterfuge. However, there has always been a class of people in this country who have taken instant liking to western political, religious, social, and cultural ideas. They are mainly English speaking people who cannot study Adi Shankaracharya but devour with great relish the garbage  produced by western thinkers and sociologists who presume that the theories evolved by them are universally applicable.

Then came Islam, yet another cure for all the problems of humanity. The barbarian warriors of Islam after having succeeded elsewhere, tried their best to subjugate the spirit of Indians. They too failed. All that destruction of temples and idols and attempts to put down those who did not subscribe to their religious ideas, failed to work. Indians retained their pluralistic character. They accepted Islam as a great religious idea though. Some adapted it while others embraced it. Islam too was Indianized to a large extent. That is why all attempts to turn the Muslims of India into Jihadi zealots, have failed so far.

Yet another attempt was made to globalize Indian politics by lawyers, social activists, academicians, and reformers who were essentially educated in the west and had little knowledge of their own country. They generally belonged to the upper classes of India who had very low opinion of their Indian roots and were keen to adapt western ideas and approaches. Among them were the communists/socialists. They simply walked the path shown by the global communist movements. They were easily inspired by Marx, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao. They advocated a centralized economy and at one point of time even supported an authoritarian regime. They could have limited success in some pockets, largely in the areas where western models of industrialization had taken deep roots during the British period.

Now, it is the turn of the World Bank, supported by American corporations to globalize the economies of the world to serve the interest of western powers. They have already succeeded in countries outside India. They seem to be succeeding even in India now. Who are at the forefront of this round of globalization? This is the English speaking, convent educated class of world bank trained bastardized Indians. Among them we have the likes of Manmohan Singhs, and Arun Shouries who are convinced that the key to economic success of India lies in following the western economic models. They are totally disconnected from the people. They have no imagination and they are simply looking for ready made imported solutions and theories of economic growth like what the communists did. They are as hard headed as Stalin and Bush. It generally happens to those who study in public schools run by Christian missionaries. They invariably acquire a kind of hard headed self righteousness. They turn into zealots of worse kinds.

There are other lovers of western lifestyles and ideas, the copycat feminists of India. They need some kind of global branding to feel important and relevant.  They adapt the western ideas of feminism with great zeal. They too are the convent educated lot. Their main motivation is to be able to identify themselves with a global (Western) idea. They are quite unlike the working and toiling women of India. They have access to education and are not really forced into playing traditional roles. They lap up feminism the way upper classes lap up Coke and Macdonald's hamburger and Levi's jeans. They want to be known as 'feminists', in a fashionable sort of way. They go about empowering themselves while professing they are working for emancipation and empowerment of common Indian women.

What is common between IMF,  Monsanto, Nike, and IBM on one hand,  and Christianity, Islam, Communism, Socialism, Feminism, Marxism, Capitalism, Americanism, etc. etc. on the other?

They are all global brands. The WSF looks like a place, where 'protest' itself seems globalized. Why would a South Korean chant anti Vajpayee slogan, calling him a Fascist? What does he know about Vajpayee? Why does he have to do the 'global branding' of an Indian leader?

The global entities that dominated the WSF are essentially the Christians and the Communists. They also told smart lies to sell their ideology the way Trans National Corporations (TNCs) do. The WSF was turned into a platform of blatant and false propaganda by these groups.

If you felt that the WSF was a forum for people who honestly and open-mindedly wished to share their experiences and encourage each other to seek local solutions to their problems using local means to save themselves from dehumanizing, and exploitative global economic processes, systems, ideologies, and principles, you committed a grave error. There was very little in this meet that could be considered genuine, and honest attempt at understanding and resisting the ill effects of globalization and neo-colonialism. Though most of the participants in this meet preached against exclusion, they practised it unabashedly.

The Film Festival at WSF

There was a Film Festival going on at the WSF. It amply demonstrated the character of this meet. The selection of a majority of films in the festival reflected a particular point of view. The discussions that followed after the films were generally one sided. If you had a contrary opinion, dialogue was discouraged by design. Some of the documentaries were pure propaganda films, full of unsubstantiated statements and white lies. There was a film by Suma Jossan titled 'Gujarat-The Laboratory of Hindu Rashtra' in the festival. Documentary film making is about exploring the truth and not about spreading half truths and lies. Suma Jossan's film and the film that preceded it were the best examples of bad documentaries. Surprisingly, both of these films targeted the RSS and its affiliate organizations. They were stage managed and had a well defined agenda to support the cause of the Church, while painting an ugly picture of Hindu organizations. A large number of films that were included in the festival by Indian filmmakers were propagandist in their content and had some Christian connection or the other. It seemed that the Church is using Gujarat riots as an excuse to further its own cause. It has no interest in those who really suffer from riots. The fact is everyone suffers in a riot. While talking about her film, Suma Jossan would speak the language of 'we' and 'they', 'us' and 'them'. When this writer asked a few questions from Suma and tried to join the issue with her, he was silenced, and had to face the angry glances and rebuke of a Phirangi middle aged woman who was going ga ga over the film.

It seems that the VHP is giving these Christian Missionaries a good run for their money. They are really worried. Their plans to Christianize the globe, especially India, seem to have been meeting with some really stiff local (Hindu) resistance. Good work VHP. You may not stop the globalization process unleashed by the IMF, but you are succeeding in rattling the mighty Church and imported white skinned missionaries.

We can now be certain that the Church is operating with a Global Agenda with respect to India. They are targeting Hindus. They want to divide Hindus on cast lines to carry on their conversion plans and they are using Hindu-Muslim riots to paint a negative picture of their adversaries. Will they succeed? Will Monsanto succeed in destroying Indian farmland and farmers and its bio-diversity? Only time will provide the answer. History demonstrates that such attempts should eventually fail.

Globalizing and trivializing the character and shape of 'Protest'

The WSF was an indication of it. Here lies a big danger, the danger of  turning grass roots social activism into fashionable ideas like Marxism and feminism. It will lead to rhetorical responses, and uniformity of  methods to fight the ill effects of globalization.

It is happening already. The 'us' vs. 'them' kind of exclusivist mindset is a result of this. It kills the scope of honest and intense debate and dialogue. It destroys spontaneity, and divides humanity into divergent camps and interest groups. It creates a cacaphonic scenario where people try to out shout each other. It leaves no scope for reconciliation and reason and search of an honest solution. Battle lines are drawn, and opposing forces sharpen their swords for the war. You create 'hate figures' and lash out at them. One could hear the war cries of  the anti-war demonstrators all over the WSF venue.

You tie headbands and shout slogans without really having an inkling of why you are doing it. You do it the way anti-globalization protesters in Brazil do. You create masks, banners, and posters and you perform street plays in alien styles and manner. You borrow an aesthetic sense that has nothing to do with your local situation. You grow a Castro beard. You feel good about yourself while doing all this. You pick your own fashionable icons and follow them blindly. You are a globalized protester who knows everything about Chico Whitaker but nothing about Anna Hazare and for that matter about a not so well known electronics engineer turned organic farmer Ram Kalaspurkar.

Meet Ram Kalaspurkar

I met Ram at a book stall at the WSF. I was interested in learning more about seeds and bio-diversity, and gene banks being created by TNCs and the way they are trying to alter India's traditional farming practices. Vandana Shiva, a well known activist in this area, has emerged as an important figure in the movement against destruction of India's bio-diversity. One could also relate more with this issue if one had come from a family of farmers and had had the opportunity of eating and relishing a wide variety of 'Deshi Food'.

While I was inquiring about the books on the subject, the guy standing next to me got interested in me. I took him to be the book shop owner first. He was not. He asked me if I was really interested in the subject and would like to know more about it. We got down to talking after that. His name is Ram. He is an electronics engineer. He decided to become an organic farmer instead of taking up a job. He has been campaigning against using high yield seeds being promoted and marketed by Monsanto and other TNCs in India. He had his facts and figures. He wanted us to know about the conspiracy of world's biggest chemical companies to destroy India's bio-diversity and turn the farmers of our country into slaves of these very powerful TNCs. He gave me a CD that contained information and links to various internet sites that provide information on the subject. His concern was real. He was carrying with him wheat stalks that had no wheat in them. He talked about terminator genes in Monsanto seeds. This ensures that the farmer cannot preserve a part of his produce as seeds for next season's use. If he sows this seed, he may see the plant coming up but it will be all leaves and no grains. He talked about how Monsanto has co-opted premier Indian bio-chemical and agricultural research organizations by offering huge donations and installing its own methods, machines, and men in them.

It was no big deal for Ram if someone knew his name or not. What was important was the dissemination of the idea so that effective resistance could be organized and the food self-sufficiency of India is not compromised. He stood out in the WSF as a genuinely concerned person about the havoc mindless globalization may cause to eco/bio- diversity of a region.

He had had a cotton crop failure in his region. The farmers there fought an organized court battle and were awarded a compensation of 20 million rupees. Monsanto has appealed against the lower court's decision in a higher court. Let us see what happens next. Looking at the rampant corruption in our judicial system, one cannot be sure of a positive outcome. Judgements can be bought even in higher courts here.

However, one can hope that as long as people like Ram are there, the fight would continue. The dangers of globalization would ultimately be seen by the people and they would join the resistance. One also hopes and prays that it is not too late by then.

My interaction with Ram also provided me with some clues about the issue raised by my ninety year old mother when she sits down for her lunch or dinner. She often wonders that the 'Palak' in Mumbai does not taste as good as that of Ballia. I am sure we have been eating genetically modified foodstuff. All those seedless papayas and black grapes are genetically modified. There is something missing in them. Ask an issueless woman as to how it feels not to be a mother.

I also recall my visit to Vancouver, Canada. I had gone to meet Zuber, my friend who later died of Cancer. Everyone would tell me that flowers in Canada looked so beautiful but had no smell. I tried smelling some marigold flowers grown in the lawns of a white Canadian. He was watching me as I bent down on my knees next to the small plant. He called from inside his house. 'These flowers do not smell', he said.

A flower without smell, a grain of wheat that cannot be used as a seed because it contains terminator genes, seedless fruits, tasteless vegetables, genetically modified rice, chemically treated water, iodized salt, contaminated soft drinks; the list of these monstrous products is endless.

Ram also talked about virus strains introduced in the soil that will kill local varieties and make our farmers wholly dependant on Monsanto seeds. He said that we have almost reached a point of no return. TNCs have increased their seed prices manifold. He talked about how these TNCs have bought over the local seed companies. He talked about Novartis and many others. These are the corporations that have total control over all kinds of agricultural inputs. They are giants. They can destroy all opposition in their way.

The 'feel good' government is not bothered about it. It cannot see the dangers ahead. It invites TNCs to do business in India without having the necessary checks and balances in place. It leaves its farmers in a vulnerable spot. It defends MNCs and TNCs on the floor of the parliament instead of  defending the interests of ordinary and defenceless Indians.  Why is it so? How can these guys be so stupid that they compromise on as vital an issue like food and water security that is far more important an issue than everything else? One fails to understand.  There must be a catch somewhere.  What has gone wrong with these 'cultural nationalists'? How can they get so corrupted so fast ?  What kind of democracy is this? The elected representatives of the people act against people's interest. This is ingratitude.

If you wish to contact Ram, here is his email address:-

ram_kalaspurkar@rediffmail.com