Aug
6
Documentary on Gujarat Pogroms Banned; Update on Gujarat Proceedings before Commission
August 6, 2004 | Comments Off on Documentary on Gujarat Pogroms Banned; Update on Gujarat Proceedings before Commission
The Indian Censor Board has banned Rakesh Sharma’s documentary on the right-wing Hindu politics of hate in India, titled Final Solution:
The censor board’s letter states: “The film promotes communal disharmony among Hindu and Muslim groups and presents the picture of Gujarat riots in a way that it may arouse the communal feelings and clashes among Hindu (and) Muslim groups. It attacks on the basic concept of our Republic, i.e., national integrity and unity.”
It adds: “Certain dialogues involve defamation of individuals or body of individuals. State security is jeopardised and public order is endangered if this film is shown. It violates guidelines 2(xiii), 2(xiv), 2(xvii) and 3(i). When it is judged in its entirety from the point of view of its overall impact, it is not advisable to be exhibited. Hence refused under Section 5(b) 1 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952.”
Although Sharma has not been able to show his documentary in India publicly, he has won several international awards. Two other filmmakers have gone to court to protest the censor board’s response to their films on nuclear weapons in India and Pakistan and the 2002 Gujarat pogroms against Muslims.
Recent testimony before the Nanavati-Shah commission examining the Godhra carnage and the 2002 Gujarat pogroms against Muslims has revealed the police’s inability to explain its failure to counter the carnage:
Additional DGP M K Tandon, who was joint commissioner of police, Ahmedabad, during the post-Godhra riots, on Wednesday told the Nanavati-Shah Commission that the police was not prepared to handle the situation despite indications of “possible repercussions” of the Godhra carnage…
A fumbling Tandon failed to explain why there were no deliberations, or why more Muslims were killed in the police firings when the mobs largely comprised Hindus, or why there were no investigations into the “private firings” which claimed more Muslim lives than of Hindus.
As the Delhi administration tried to justify the 1984 Pogroms against Sikhs in India, Tandon tried to justify the killings as a response to an attack on Hindus.
During another police officer’s deposition before the Commission, the role of a police officer in participating in the violence surfaced.
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