January 27, 2005; Porto Alegre: The World Social Forum is just too huge. There are hundreds of events scheduled for each of the day’s three sessions and a dozen seem interesting at any given time. To make sense of it, I’ve decided to select an impressive delegation or NGO each day, and tell you why I think it’s worth your time to get to know them. So for the next few entries, if you are looking for some personal blogs you will just have to wait!

Today I spoke with delegates from the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights in India (NCDHR). Dalits are the ‘untouchables’ of the Hindu religion. To be untouchable means that you cannot marry ‘above’ your status. It means being relegated to the worst jobs that society has to offer – for example, dealing with dead bodies and waste.

Vincent Manoharan, who is serving as spokesman for the Campaign said to me: “It is worse that racism! For us, Dalit means broken people, the oppressed people, oppressed by someone, so we want to struggle…..and we want to establish contact and solidarity with others elsewhere in the world.”

The Dalits have come to every World Social Forum since the first Forum was held in January 2001, in the hope of making themselves visible and networking with other excluded ethnicities. They have clearly made some wise strategy decisions and followed the good activist’s handbook, (if one exists) because they managed to mobilize 25,000 Dalits to attend the last World Social Forum in India.

They have catchy slogans, like “Cast out caste!” and “Dalit rights are human rights!” “Cast out caste” might seem a bit campy, but you might well remember it a week from now, and maybe even repeat it to someone. That’s the power of a slogan and a campaign.

Photo of Vincent Manoharan, from the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights based in India.Their literature, though sprinckled with grammatical mistakes, is focused and concise. It always contains an intelligent call to action. Every piece of paper from an advocacy organization should give the reader something to act upon and a reason to get involved, otherwise it is pointless.

The Dalit handouts also end on a positive note which makes the reader feel that getting involved with them would be noble AND effective: “NCDHR has been increasingly receiving recognition from various International Networks and Movements and is being invited to join with them to collective voice the issue of excluded and discriminated peoples all over the world.”

This is exactly why they came to the World Social Forum. Vincent Manoharan, their spokesman, listed other excluded ethnic groups that are building an alliance with the Dalit campaign: the Buraku of Japan, the Roma of Europe, the Osus and Orus in Africa, and the landless in Latin America. If they can all pass on the message about each other, then awareness about them will spread exponentially faster. Very intelligent message delivery.

I was impressed by the delegation’s quiet, determined manner. They numbered twenty-two and had come well prepared. They brought several thousand fliers from India in Portuguese, English and Spanish.

However, the date, time and location of meetings had been left empty, because none of this information had been available when the flyers were printed. So they were sitting here in Porto Alegre filling in each one by hand. I suppose that many hands make light work. But they exude a quiet optimism that can only come from a total commitment to their cause.

200 people attended their event today. Tomorrow they will be putting on an event on the Land Rights of Dalits.

The NCDHR is fortunate in its two spokespeople, Ruth Manorama and Vincent Manoharan. These two are clearly practiced in speaking to journalists. They speaking style was to the point and they stayed on message. They talked about the discrimination faced by Dalits as they seek jobs; about social exclusion; about the routine rape of Dalit women; about forced segregation and about humiliation. But they always focused on the practical, and what is needed to fix the problem, namely putting pressure on the Indian government and the upper classes.

I tend to evaluate an activist campaign by whether it shows ingenuity or innovation. In addition to their website (www.dalits.org), the NCDHR literature offers to put a Dalit on any panel event in order to show solidarity with the organizing NGO community. Of course this also gets the NCDHR much more exposure

Their advocacy efforts here at the World Social Forum have been very effective. Many people in the journalists’ tents have mentioned them. It would be interesting to the NCDHR’s progress when they return, and see if this well-planned and diligent activism in Brazil leads to reform back in India.