Activists get a global platform

MUMBAI: Coalition-building can make for strange bedfellows, and activists are learning to give an inch once in a while. But beyond being an outsize jamboree and a space for networking, what’s in it for the ordinary Mumbaiite?
Can our activists leverage the WSF to further their agendas?
Says housing activist and architect P K Das, ‘‘When a number of organisations worldwide come together on land or housing rights issues, it puts pressure on the government.A network of over 20 organisations in India working on housing rights has been formed before the WSF. It is a great opportunity for them to become part of a larger political movement.’’
To buttress his view, he points out the impact resulting from another example in coalition-building.
‘‘The Mumbai Nagrik Vikas Manch, formed six years ago, brings together mill workers, slum dwellers, farmers and fisherfolk. They played a key role in stalling the government proposal to build a second international airport at Alibag.’’
Other city groups will be active participants as well.
Says Menon, ‘‘We have used the WSF to organise a seminar addressed by groups fighting industrial closure worldwide. Our speakers include Anne Scargill, who has led militant women’s battles against industrial closures in the UK, American workers fighting industrial displacement, workers who were laid off in Argentina and Belgium, as well as Indian workers from Kolkata mills, the Assam tea gardens and coal mine workers. Interesting networks are bound to emerge.’’