Dalits and the World Social Forum
This piece was first published on 3rd April 2015 on DHM’s Social Media handles and is now being republished on Medium.com
Today’s #dalithistory month post focuses on the incredible participation of Dalit’s at the World Social Forum of Mumbai in 2004. Originally, the World Social Forum (WSF) was convened as an alternative to The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Hosted for three years in Puerte Allegre, Brazil, the World Social Forum Mumbai was the first time it was held outside of Latin America. It marked the growing momentum of activists around the world who believed in the WSF slogan that “Another World is Possible” and that the WSF was the place to make those alternatives real.
To emphasise the centrality of caste to all movement questions and to demand attention to Dalit issues, four contingents of Dalit activists, starting from four locations, Jammu-Kashmir (Bhim Marg), New Delhi (Buddha Marg), Kolkata (Kalinga Marg) and Kanyakumari (Tiruvalluvar Marg), travelled to cover 20 states/union territories over 33,000 km across the country.
Throughout this historic 40-day caravan, the four rally teams comprised of over thousands of marchers travelled more than 33,000 km by road and marched nearly 2,000 km in different villages, towns and cities. This totalled to over 500 public rallies on the way to the WSF that were attended by almost 1 million people with an additional 500 cultural skits (nukkad nataks — street plays, etc.).
When the marchers arrived triumphantly at the WSF, the marchers joined Dalits from Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka to continue to break the silence on caste atrocity and discrimination through seminars, demonstrations, dance, singing, and poetry. Finally, at every hour, Dalit Drummers marched throughout the WSF MUMBAI, the Parai drums echoing the Dalit call of justice throughout the city. The impact of this march is still felt today as Dalits remain a key part of the WSF process, and the intersection of caste has continued to be emphasised for movements all around the world. #dalithistory #dalitwomenfight!
