Written by Heathcote Williams, narration and montage by Alan Cox, with photos by Adrian Arbib.
Professor Nanjunda’s Direct Actions
“What India needs today is the Gandhian formula for progress,
not the presence of the West which is interested in stealing our wealth.”
This was Professor Nanjundaswamy’s war cry
As he fended off corporate kleptocrats
And made war on genetically modified crops
And trashed Colonel Sanders’s outlets.
He knew they threatened to “affect India’s food security”
And in Bangalore swore, “they do India no good”
Pledging direct action to a farmers’ rally of 50,000 he said,
“Junk-food joints serve chemically poisoned food.”
He charged multinationals with “Western biopiracy”
Thanks to their patenting indigenous plants –
“They legalize theft and steal ancestral knowledge”
Then he added to loud cheers, “You can’t.”
The Margosa Tree, known as Neem in Hindi,
Has been subjected to eighty-five patents:
A priceless nitrogen fixative with anti-viral properties
Is misused to grow money in Manhattan.
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