In Kerala, traders report that the sale of Coke and Pepsi has come down sharply ever since the invasion of Iraq. The Anti-War Forum, which is spearheading the campaign, has announced that it will make Kerala a "Coke and Pepsi free zone" by April 13. Already, there has been a 60 per cent drop in the sales of Coke and Pepsi. Predictably, the two cola majors are deeply concerned. With filmstars leading anti-war rallies and holding fundraisers for the war victims, the anti-MNC campaign has gathered much steam. In Calcutta, Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad, several peace coalitions and Left groups have called for a boycott of Coke and Pepsi.
In Delhi, some prestigious schools like Springdales had, in response to Sheila Dikshit’s health campaign for kids, already banned Coke and Pepsi products in their canteens. But the prevailing anti-war mood has spun a whole new symbolism around the ban.
Interestingly, this time the students themselves are demanding a ban on colas. A protest rally is also being organised by several Delhi schools on April 16. A poster put up by schoolchildren says it all: "The money you spend to buy a Coke or Pepsi goes to make a killer missile."
By Cyrus Batliwala
