SOUTH & SOUTH EAST ASIA HAAT: Asian Rural Culture and Technology Exposition

SOUTH & SOUTH EAST ASIA HAAT: Asian Rural Culture and Technology Exposition At Gurusaday Museum Ground, West Bengal, Bharat, 10^th to 20^th May, 2013

Looking Inwardly – Call for Grass-root-level Crafts Technology Collective Activism

Bongiyo Paromporik Kaaru O Bastra Shilpi Sangho is a grass-root non-funded organization of the State of West Bengal, Bharat, organizing fellow artisans, craftspersons, weavers and performing artists for last three years. More than 2000 artisans have been organized throughout the state. This is the first initiative of Bharat where artisans came together themselves to address various issues of livelihood as also protect their rights. Last year it has organized North Bengal Festival, UTTORRONGO 12, without any institutional funding with a great success.

THE vital part of cultural history of Asia is eroding rapidly for last two centuries. Most of the traditional artisan and communities are feeling the heat of the changing scenario. They are evicted from their age old professions & loosing their identity fast. They are the majestic communities from time immemorial playing magical tri-roles as a creative genius, traditional engineer/keeper of people technology & market their own products. These Communities created Iron Pillar of Delhi, cave art of Ajanta-Ellora, Barbudur, AnkorVat, numerous Buddhist Hinyan-Mahayan Stupas, Mandirs across the world.

Of late western centralized technology, new marketplace, new ethos, new technologies driving these people & cultures out from their natural habitat. It is a glorious fact that prior to circa 1800 countries of South & South East Asia was the centre of the earth along with China & Parsia. This region used to produce more than 80% of the world industrial production. Most of the industrial & agricultural exports become monopoly. Even these communities exported technology around the world. The European domination changed the socio-eco-cultural scenario by force, loot, treachery and destruction. It extracted not only money, but steals and then destroyed intellectual resources like knowledge, production process, management patterns which are the foundation of South-East Asias’ Culturescape.

Sitting on these unfathomable looted resources and ideas, the West per se, planned a destructive and centralized industrial revolution. It is a no denying fact that so-called industrial revolution going to doom the world. Scientists fear that the world human civilization may be extinct in less than 100 years. The centrally controlled mass producing technologies and the urge of making filthy profit of the dominating west, where human are treated as a surplus, are killing the mankind day by day. The English speaking socio-political elites imposed world-destructive western technology in Asia.

The answer of this centralized culture is Asia’s own time tested rural not-for-filthy-profit-making technology and lifestyle. Still the world has not understood its potentiality. Even today the hand weaving Sarees are the best in quality, the iron products of the traditional metalsmiths do not attract rust, food prepared by fire wood test best, traditional agriculture are coming again with a bang, even the home remedy can cure various ills.

The need of the hour is to look & act inward. Small is beautiful. It is not the alternative technology, this is Asia’s own technology. We need to break the shackle.

The craftspersons of Bangladesh, Bharat are calling all the grassroot level initiatives of Asia working hand in hand to save their tradition, technology & culture. They need to come together to make a mark & to change the course of the pattern of development. The need of the hour is to make a loose international federation of all the grassroot level organizations working to strengthen and revive their own traditional culture. As a grassroot organization undersigned six organization’s of Bharat I Bangladesh are calling the village dwelling sisters & brothers of the South East Asia to come together to save the world, to save the humankind, to save own culture & resources. To make this possible a South East Asian Rural Cultural Federation is need of the hour, before it is too late. Before doing this venture, we need to know each other, we need to talk each other, we need to understand the process of coming together.

In this initiative we certainly love to have more and more organizations/federations of South & South East Asia to put their footprint to make this a true peoples’ initiative. To make this possible the undersigned are proposing a SOUTH & SOUTH EAST ASIA HAAT: Asian Rural Culture and Technology Exposition in the state of West Bengal at the Courtyard of Gurusaday Museum from 10^th to 20^th May, 2013, where these grassroot organization’s will come together, share their experiences and make this idea of federation a reality.

As a true grassroot organization we could not offer you passage money, but the local hospitality - 10 day stay, food, fair stall and local sight scène.

For the grassroot level technology initiative, Abul Hussain, International Federation of Hawkers & Urban Poor, Bangladesh, Biswendu Nanda, Kalaboti Mudra, West Bengal, Bijan Mondal, Gurusaday Museum & Banglar Bratachari Samity, Madhumangal Malakar, Bongiyo Paromporik Kaaru O Bastra Shilpi Sangho, West Bengal, Om Pradhan, Nepal Artisan Association, C Bhutia, Bhutan Crafts Organization