A Call from India

UPDATE Jan 29 '08: Check out the round-up of the WSF 2008 Day of Action and Mobilization here

World Social Forum India:
ACT TOGETHER FOR ANOTHER WORLD
Call for Day of Action and Mobilisation:
26-27 January 2008 and the week 23rd to 30th January 2008

From the Zapatista uprising in 1994 and the Seattle demonstrations in 1999, the worldwide alliance of movements against neo-liberal globalisation, war, patriarchy, racism, colonialism and environmental disasters has grown from strength to strength.

In India, the movements against the neo-liberal policies have gained momentum and resistance intensified against the neo-liberal policies; and together we all have celebrated the defeat of fascist forces in last general elections. Everywhere in the country mobilisations have happened within farmers, workers, women, dalits, indigenous peoples, students, and other communities against the poverty, attack on livelihood and natural resources, environmental degradation, violence against women, state terrorism, religious fundamentalism; and for a right, just, and equitable society. We are in struggle against the onslaught of MNCs on natural resources, sources of livelihood and successfully derailed their sinister designs of land capture and natural resources across the country through Special Economic Zones (SEZs). There is a growing resistance to the attempts to make India a strategic partner of the US. If the governments are getting in hand and glove with the corporations then we, the people's movements, unions of working people, workers, have also fought hard for our rights, sovereignty and dignity. Our movements in the last few years have grown enormously, and though rooted in national struggles and local realities have had global dimensions. We have struggled together against the sinister designs of the imperialist forces in West Asia and expressed solidarity in the struggles for democracy, peace and autonomy in Burma, Palestine and Iraq. We have told and shown to the world that's its possible to ACT LOCALLY TO CHANGE GLOBALLY!

The World Social forum is an important part of this movement. Peoples' movements everywhere have received a fillip from the World Social Forum process since 2001 in Porto Alegre, through London, Florence, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Karachi, Caracas, Delhi, Nairobi and many other places all over the globe. The WSF 2004 which was held in Mumbai, India became a rallying point for Indian movements and has been a landmark in the history of the World Social Forum.

WSF 2004 in India brought forth the participation of grassroots activists drawn from the peoples directly affected by imperialist globalisation. In India, the WSF process led to building solidarity between movements at a national and international level. The Indian process and has led, amongst many organisations, to a very vibrant and dynamic process of mutual learning, understanding and coalition building. The slogan "ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE!" inspired movements across the country. The mobilisations happened from a cross section of society - youth, workers, women, adivasis and dalits. Issues of Imperialist globalisation, Militarism and peace, Communalism, religious fanaticism and sectarian violence, Racism, casteism, work and descent-based exclusions and discrimination and Patriarchy were debated, strategies worked out, networks created.

WSF 2008 is going to be an international Global Day of Action and Mobilisation on 26 January 2008, when the global corporations and business elite, meet in Davos, Switzerland. This would consist of small decentralized and simultaneous activities conducted regionally and/or locally all across the world. A website will have a map on which organisations across the world will announce their various actions, for the information of everyone else.

In Australia, South East Asia, Russia, Europe, Africa, the Latin American countries, USA, Pakistan, actions are being planned on the global Day of action. A world press conference at exactly 12 noon will be organised in every part of the world, a few days before the global day of action. The first conference will, therefore, be in New Zealand, and Australia, followed by the South Eastern countries, rest of Asia, and so on as the earth rotates.

All over the world people across nations and boundaries will rise up on January 26th in a coordinated global day of action against the war, militarization, violence, corporate onslaught of the capitalist forces to convey ENOUGH IS ENOUGH . The Global Assembly of Social Movements has supported the call. So have many other networks in different continents. We in India have to be part of this huge global action. In India the call is for 26th as well as 27th , since 26th is India's Republic Day.

Today also we face a harsh attack on all fronts - be it labour flexibility, job-loss, displacement of poor people, decline in real wages, starvation deaths and workers suicides affecting all categories of working people – be they in agriculture, forest based work, construction, mining, fishing, manufacture, public service, self-employment, and all other diverse forms of employment and livelihood. But our resolve to resist and these capitalist forces has not diminished and gained strength from our collective struggles.

These offensives have only strengthened our resolve against the global march of capital and say it aloud that ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE ! The resistance to the capitalist offensive is also growing. The last few years have witnessed the emergence of progressive governments in Latin America and heroic resistance to imperialism in West Asia.

What Can We Do?

The Global Days of Action on 26-27th is neither the beginning nor the end of our struggles. It's a landmark effort at establishing solidarity all across the world on one day, one time and to tell the capitalist – imperialist forces that their days are numbered. No action is small, everything counts in this struggle for creation of another world of hope and of our collective dreams based on Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity for humanity:

There is no end to our imaginations and we can think of our own ways to express and be a part of this global action on January 26/27th. Whatever we do, let everybody - comrades and fellow beings elsewhere in the country or worldwide - know. Let us reach out our messages through our various communication means - posters, leaflets, local mobilisations, songs, dance, theatre, kala jathas, films, press conferences, radio, television, internet and anything else.

And please send us the information or directly write to globalaction@wsf2008.net / wsfindia@vsnl.net. For more information on the Global Day of Action in all parts of the world please see the website : www.wsf2008.net / www.wsfindia.org .

WSF India Mobilising Committee

WSF India Office 14/187 Lower Ground Floor, Malviya Nagar, Shivalik Road,
Adjacent to Sunil Hospital New Delhi-110017 INDIA Telephone: +0091 11 26674123 wsfindia@vsnl.net