From January 2020, we were living through a plandemic. A planned worldwide epidemic designed to lockdown people all over the world and give a free hand to the corporates to reshape the world. A word with a system in which the multinational industrial corporations have taken up the actual (if not nominal) governance of countries, through the agencies of supra State actors ike the WHO, the WEF and the like. This system is both the cause and effect of the concentration of most of the wealth and power worldwide in the hands of a few. This is causing further alienation of the majority of the people from their basic rights of food, clothes, housing, health, education, liberty and a dignified living. The global elites are dictating the terms of world agenda that are reshaping our economy, structure of governance, social fabric and alter the ethos and principles in relation to public health and environmental safety. The tightening grip of big corporations specially the medical industrial complex in connivance with the digital surveillance - finance capital complex, has unprecedented telling effects on our lives.
This new totalitarianism is now being put into force by way of subjugating the people to the designs of the multinational corporations in the name of health. Our country is one of the main stages of enactment of this new world order. It is in this scenario that afew people in India, have been calling upon the members of all sections of our society to unite together to further the common cause of the common man. We will describe in brief our efforts. In and around Kolkata, starting from late March 2020, a few people, and fewer doctors were trying, on individual efforts to try to convince people, that there were many discrepancies in the COVID narrative being dished out by the government, through the government media.
The individual efforts gelled into a meeting ultimately next year on the 27 th of March, 2021, at the Dover Guest House, Gariahat, Kokata, from where GRAPH (Global Rational Alliance for Public Health) was born. It made its first public appearence through a seminar against the lockdown and on the issue of the ‘COVID Pandemic’ on the 18 th of April, 2021, at Surya Sen Bhaban, Jadavpur, Kolkata. From, then on it went on in its campaign against the lockdown, against the dangerous COVID vaccinations, against the unscientific COVID treatment protocols, and against the making of the fear psychosis, through online meetings, online seminars, other online modes of propaganda and individual publications. The GRAPH actually consisted of a heterogenous ‘Whatsapp’ group with members drawn in by individual choices and invitations. The only few criteria for joining were the orientation against the lockdown, the vaccines, and the treatment protocols.
However, GRAPH being a group for public health did have a definite written orientation on public health, written as aims and objectives. During its intensive campaign against the corporate COVID narrative, demands came up from within the group members to broaden its perspective as per the written (and accepted) aims and objectives, to call the bluff of the COVID narrative and declare it as false, and to form a more cohesive organisation from the group. These demands gave rise to contradictions within GRAPH, on three questions. One, whether GRAPH should involve itself in other questions of publc health (this later translated into the question whether GRAPH should involve itself in other issues of society and governance, related to public health), two, whether GRAPH should term this narrative as false or as a wrong policy decision, and three, whether GRAPH should try to constitute itself into a more cohesive organisation.
The Whatsapp group of Prepratory Committee of GRAPH was formed on 9 th June, 2021, with the aim of forming an organisation from the GRAPH group. A section from within the GRAPH resisted the formal organisation of GRAPH vehemently, alleging politicisation of the organisation and constituting it into a political party. Although, this point was conveniently not addressed that public health is politics in action. As for the allegation of trying to make a political party out of GRAPH, it will suffice to say that all that the proponents of a cohesive organisation wanted was an upgradation of organisation into a two stage organisation, in line with the society registration act, as per the prescription of that act. However, the three contradictions went on unabated, without any sign of resolution, and spilled over to other issues. It spilled over, as the parties to the three main contradictions also became warring parties to the other contradictions. It came to bitterness over the issue of the website formation in the month of July – August 2021, when after quarrels inside of meetings on the agenda of the website, communication stopped among some of the members. The website was however prepared by 13 th August, 2021. It could not be opened for public viewing on account of the ongoing contradictions which spilled over to the issue of the website. Normal work resumed from late October 2021, but the contradictions went on, chiefly centering upon the question of organisation, but not without the other two. The website was opened for public in November, 2021.
Another, contradiction also surfaced; regarding the activities of a particular organisation with rightist leanings, working as a subgroup within GRAPH. This particular organisation, did not adhere to the basic tenets of science when addressing issues on public health or individual health. They also wanted to draw down GRAPH to the narrow sphere of propaganda against the COVID vaccine only. They also took recourse to fraudulent ways when bragging about the legal actions taken by their own organisation. Association with these tenets, brought about much embarassment to GRAPH. The question of association with this organisation formed the fourth contradiction within GRAPH. The contradictions raged on within the group. In the meantime, a meeting was called on 4th November, 2021, at Dover Guest House. This meting had, as the agenda, the formation of a formal Prepratory Committe of GRAPH. In the meeting, however, the prepratory committee was not discussed, but various other committees were formed. Thereafter, a seminar was organised by the group on the 4 th of December, 2021. In the seminar, the previously referred organization revealed its aims of taking control of GRAPH, by bullying the other GRAPH volunteers. They also tried to subvert the online propaganda of the speeches of some of the speakers. This helped to ossify the rift between that organization and other members of GRAPH.
On 15 th December, 2021, Dr. Sthabir Dasgupta placed in writing, his views on GRAPH, which only intensified the present four contradictions within GRAPH, and drew clear lines, between the contradicting forces. In expressing, his views, he also called for the organisation of a conference. Based upon this, and also on the decisions taken in a meeting of the Prepratory Committee (the Whatsapp Group), held on 12 th January 2022, a call was given for an organising conference. Thus the members of the Whatsapp group of the Prepratory Committee, from thereafter, started an effort of organising a conference. This culminated in the “Janaswasthya Sammelan” a conference on public health, on 20 th February, 2022. In this conference, all the organisations, with whom GRAPH started its journey, were invited, except the previusly mentioned organization, for a specific reason; the reason being its tendency of trying to capture an organisaton by disruptive activities and make it subservient to its own ideology. A major section of the members of the WhatsApp group of GRAPH, did not attend the conference. Some stated their reason, which was for not inviting that oranization. Others preferred to remain silent. In the conference, discussions were held as per agenda. One important agenda was whether or not to claim right to the name GRAPH, and retain it. Majority opinion was to have a new name for the new organisation.
A new organisation was born from the conference, but without a name. A new Whatsapp group was formed and the first discussion held there was about the name of the organisation. After much discussion, debate and deliberations, the majority of the members opted for “Janaswasthya Morcha” aka “People’s Alliance for Public Health”. The new organisation appealed to GRAPH group for discussion on the future of the website, but no response was received. The domain license expired on 22.06.2022. Thereafter preparations began for the formation of a new website. Meanwhile, a blog was created for PAPH along with a facebook page.
Thus began our journey in PAPH.