World Bank on trial

On September 21, 2007, hundreds of people will assemble in New Delhi to put the World Bank Group on trial. In four days of parallel sessions in front of more than a dozen judges, people from all walks of life will air their grievances against one of the world's most powerful institutions. In convening an Independent People's Tribunal on the World Bank Group in India, they are attempting to do more than simply chalk up another protest against injustice. The People's Tribunal is also a shrewd political strategy, aimed at renewing a silenced debate over neo-liberalism and economic policy. But most profoundly, it is a direct assault on one of the Bank's (and the elites') most powerful tools: the monopoly of knowledge. By bringing into the limelight the testimony and personal experiences of the poor, adivasis, Dalits, women, and other marginalised people, it is in direct conflict with the World Bank's own means of understanding economic and social policy. That challenge is not one the World Bank can afford to ignore. ..........Read More