3 - Afro-Asian entanglements and East-Berlin's 'World Festivals for Students' through the lens of the Communist Party of India's youth organizations

This paper explores the changing tides of the world, framed by two editions of the World Festival of Youth and Students (Weltfestspiele) taking place in the same city, East-Berlin, in 1951 and 1973. Considering this time frame’s developments in geopolitics, world economy, technology, and social movements, one could state that they took place in the same city but on a different planet. Highlighting voices from the ‘Global South’, this paper looks at the Weltspiele through the lens of Indian youth magazines. These are publications stemming from the two organizations that contributed the most from the Indian side in preparation of the events - the Communist Party of India-affiliated All India Youth Federation and All India Students’ Federation. How were Afro-Asian solidarities and entanglements envisioned by these collectives? And how did local realities shape these global visions? Between the two mentioned festivals there were six more versions of this truly global event. Two of them were very particular. The World Festival Vienna in 1959 as well as the following one in Helsinki in 1962 took place in non-aligned states. Hence, they will receive additional attention aside from the two marking the beginning and end of this exploration.