Chennai: Climate Change and Equality, Labour Rights and Dignity, Food Sovereignty and Security, Social Justice, Equality and Communal Harmony and Gender and Sexuality are among the broad topics under which 33 back-to-back sessions would be held at the Tamil Nadu Social Forum (TSF) meeting at Chennai on Saturday with a plethora of grassroots-level people’s organisations presenting their views.
Held for the second time in Tamil Nadu, the meeting of the State wing of the World Social Forum (WSF), launched in 2001 in Brazil to counter the World Economic Forum held every year at Davos in Switzerland by the capitalist regime for the benefit and growth of global corporate giants, will have a session on ‘State Rights and Federal Policy,’ a hot topic of discussion in the public sphere now.
The WSF that came into being to address the threat posed by globalization, privatization and liberalization and with an avowed goal of creating an alternative world by giving a voice to the voiceless people of the world had held its annual meetings in several countries, including India, in the past before the global pandemic slowed down international activism itself.
However, as a sign of its revival, the Tamil Nadu Social Forum has set the stage for a plethora of grassroots organizations in the State to air their grievances. Among those who would be voicing their concerns will be an association of native dog breeders, seeking protection to their dogs from the onslaught of pedigree foreign pups that are flooding the country’s rich homes displacing the local breeds, said T S S Mani, member of the TSF.
Among the many subaltern communities that have grievances to air at the meeting are the fisher folk, whose traditional vocation has come under threat from foreign fishing companies operating in the high seas with the protection offered by globalization and liberalisation policies of governments and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, who are refused jobs in governments despite an existing reservation policy.
Social Justice, Equality and Communal Harmony is another subject that would be discussed at the event, expected to be attended by over 1000 persons from different parts of the State and also other States.
The Chennai meeting will be a run up to the conclave of the National Social Forum that would congregate at Patna in Bihar and deliberate on national issues of concern on December 2, 3 and 4, said Sheelu Francis, coordinator of the WSF-TN.
Apart from activists and office-bearers of fishermen organisations, the TSF meeting will see members of the transgender community taking part actively and expressing their unique concerns. In fact the vote of thanks at the inaugural function at the Patrician College of Arts and Science in Adyar will be proposed by Grace Banu of Transgender Collective.
Other key participants expected at the event include Feroze Mithiborwala of the Mumbai India Palestine Friendship Forum, J Amalorpavanathan, member of the State Planning Commission, Ashok Bharathi of WSF-Delhi, Nagalsamy, former Indian Accounts and Audit Service officer and PUCL national secretary V Suresh.
Besides the 33 sessions, there will be at least five film screening events and four book exhibitions organized by different activist groups of the State, said Sheelu Francis.
