(ENG) World Social Forum India: ACT TOGETHER FOR ANOTHER WORLD Call for Day of Action and Mobilisation

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 have 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 decentralised
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 the 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 <http://www.wsf2008.net/> / www.wsfindia.org
<http://www.wsfindia.org/> .

WSF India Mobilising Committee