On 14th October, a (rally) dharna was organized by Bunkar Dastkar Adhikar Manch (weavers and artisans forum) before District Magistrate Varanasi to protest the policies of WTO, IMF and World Bank.

In this Dharna hundreds of weavers gathered from different parts of the district. Weavers submitted a memorandum to ACM (first) Varanasi, who appeared at Dharna on behalf of DM Varanasi. In their memorandum
weavers demanded to halt Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA), which is supposed to be introduced in ministerial meeting of WTO in HongKong. Weaver and Artisans signed the 4 meters banner with message of anti-NAMA demand. They shouted slogans of down �down. WTO.

In this dharana hunger victims Vishambhar was also present. These were communities in North UP where starvation had claimed 18 children . While the State Government reacted to these deaths by providing food packets, it was clearly a Public Relations effort in damage control. A region with large numbers of dalits and landless laborers, in the absence of land reform and social support, these communities that have been oppressed over centuries have little means of sustaining themselves and continue to be exploited.

Implementation of policies like WTO have affected agricultural sectors even worse with communities having even less access to these resources which are being re-aligned to the global markets and finding it more difficult to sustain themselves and are more easily exploited. Other sections � for example, fishworkers from all over India � are also opposing NAMA.

On the same day a press conference was organized by Jan Caravan against WTO, eastern UP in which Dr Lenin and RajKumari Gandhi made demand to halt the NAMA and asked the Indian Government to clarify hits position on NAMA before the Indian people. They warned that if NAMA was accepted it will have disastrous effect on Indian weavers and on other marginalized communities.

People�s Caravan will start its campaign in eastern UP from Balia on 24 Nov., 05, because Balia has historical importance to initiate movement against colonialism in British era. It is a land of Chittu Pandey, who led a movement against British imperialism and established independent administration in Balia for 24 hours.

On 17.11.2005 once again a press conference was organized by Hong Kong based human rights organization AHRC and Varanasi based people�s human rights organization PVCHR on KARMA FESTIVAL for land, employment and food and against World Bank-IMF-WTO, which is scheduled on 25.11.2005 - International Day Against Violence on Women would be celebrated with
special focus on food security and the women in Varanasi.

Famous Sarod Maestro Vikash Maharaj told that KARMA is a folk dance of Ghasia tribe of Sonbhadra. He told to media persons that 18 children in 2002-03 had been died of hunger in Raup village belonging to Ghasia Tribe and parents of the same children who died of hunger are going to perform Karma Dance in protest of WTO and in support of plural culture of Country. He told that through the policies of WTO, IMF and World Bank Indian Government was being forced to go away from the policies of welfare state and that was creating havoc among marginalized farmers, weavers and other communities and it has thrown the people on the verge of malnutrition and starvation. He said that it was duty of every Indian to come on to protest the policies of WTO-WB-IMF. Especially he called for to organized nationwide protest against NAMA, which is going to be discussed in Hong Kong next month in ministerial meeting of WTO.

Ashok Sinha of Action aid International, India told that the festival would also be a symbolic protest against the decision taken by the government to withdraw subsidy on the raw materials and implements used in weaving. Further women Human Rights activist Shruti Nagvanshi
told that 152 Gram Panchayats in district Balia, UP have signed a memorandum in the protest of NAMA which would be taken to Hong Kong to give force to the protest of NAMA. In this a 30-meter long banner is
being signed by so many dignitaries, which will be displayed in Hong Kong to protest NAMA on behalf of Indian people. Karma is a tribal�s resistance against monoculture of Brahmanism as well as imperialism.

From Kachnar of Varanasi in the leadership of Nandlal associated with Asha a Sampoorn kranti Yatra has been started from 23 Nov. 2005 under the banner of NAPM and Lok Samiti against the policies of WTO and Coca and Pepsi. The demand of this yatra is that India should come out of the WTO. It will end its journey at Coca Cola Plant in Mehdi ganj of Varanasi on 30 Nov. 2005.

Report filed by PVCHR

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