My wife goes to school at Buffalo. And I look at my wife’s yahoogroups and see the notification:
Film: ‘Final SolutionÂ’ (2004)[ Author’s Note: Subtle undertone–; Indians are Nazis], 148 mins, IndiaDirector: Rakesh Sharma (Filmmaker will be in attendance) [Author’s note: Of course he is in attendance–this is his US junket, now he shall spend his time in the fleshpots of capitalistic decadence studying sin cities first hand]
In a conundrum fuelled by fascist regimes and apathetic national governments [Author’s note: what the hell does a conundrum fuelled by fascist regimes mean in any case?], ‘Final SolutionÂ’ is an attempt to chronicle the brutal events of a state-sponsored genocide that occurred in Gujarat,India in the year 2002. It is a study of the politicsof hate. In 2002, India saw about 2,500 Moslems being brutally murdered, hundreds of women raped and more than 200,000 families left homeless. Right-wing Hindu fundamentalists argued that this bloodshed was necessary to retaliate against the equally brutal and senseless burning and killing of 58 Hindus on the Sabarmati Express train at Godhra, Gujarat on February 27, 2002. The film examines the aftermath of the deadly violence that followed this event between the months February 2002 – July 2003. Borrowing the chilling term Endöslung, meaning the systematic relocation and murders by the Nazis, for the title of his film, Rakesh Sharma seeks to remind that “those who forget history are condemned to relive it.”
What’s with us as Indians? I mean just looking at this paragraph above makes me squirm . It also makes me understand why we have been invaded ad nauseum by Islamic despots and imperialist powers for centuries. That’s because we as a country, through the ages, have kept on producing enough traitors to keep our enemies smug and happy. Traitors ? Am I over reacting? After all here’s a Channel V ex-producer who after being associated with such a serious news channel has decided, out of the force of his own conscience, to expose the vicious Nazi-scale “Final Solution” type state-sponsored pogrom perpetrated on Muslims (sorry Moslems) by the apathetic Indian national government. (My lesson of the day: it was the “national” government which was responsible for the genocide—last time I heard the shrill barkings of Shabnam Hashmi and her ilk, it was the Gujarat government that was culpable.)
I must be a crazy right wing loon. But hold on, I don’t believe in organized religion. I also believe that Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat, is a dangerous man who deserves to be behind bars for criminal negligence and for inciting riots. But I also believe that Hitler he is not—either Rakesh Sharma and his friends have no idea of Mr Modi or they have no idea of Hitler or what the Final Solution was.
It might be the later. The “Final Solution” was conceived at the Wannsee conference by office holders in the German administration to come up with a long-term plan to murder and dislocate Jews. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that even one murder in Gujrat was conceived at the state or national level, no evidence that it was ever a part of government policy. Because it was not.
The reason I stress this is because it is precisely here that the treachery of Mr Sharma lies. Mr Sharma knows the truth. Yet he, very mischievously, associates a term (Final Solution) which has a far darker connotation for Westerners (it implies violence as a part of government policy) with what happened in Gujrat in order to get brownie points from those who matter.
And who are they? The Western audience ! The people who don’t know better, who have deeply entrenched stereotypes of Hindus and India. Mr Sharma’s meal ticket comes in pandering to that stereotype———–of India being a land torn asunder by Hindu-government-orchestrated religious and caste violence (he has made another documentary on caste violence !). Being a self-flagellator and a dissident is a sure-fire way to get noticed in the place that matters—-the US of A. That’s where the dollars come from, not to speak of the soundbytes and the awards that matter.Me bad. I am ascribing motives to a noble individual. But am I ? If Mr Sharma really wants to stop the hate and the violence, should he not be in Gujrat showing his movie and shaming people into reform? Should he not be touring India’s educational institutes informing students of the truth behind the genocide. In all my years at Jadavpur University, I never once saw these documentary film makers despite the glowing leftist traditions of my alma mater. I however have seen them at Stonybrook, in NYC, in the valley……..the last places on earth where there is a need to educate people on the dangers of communal violence. Unless of course your motive is not to educate but to sensationalize.Sensationalize. Yes, that’s the word. The publicity literature above says ” state-sponsored”. Libelous. There has never been any proof whatsoever that the state sponsored or paid for any of the violence. The official movie description is a bit toned-down where Final Solution is said to ” examine the patterns of pre-planned genocidal violence (by right-wing Hindutva cadres), which many claim was state-supported, if not state-sponsored.”
Hmm……..”many claim was state-supported, if not state-sponsored.” Clever use of words, right? Once you can put “many claim” before your sentence you can get away with anything…..like “many claim” Elvis is still alive. Plus you also weaken your assertion with the “state-supported” word….however none of this second guessing finds its way into the promotion which is as provocative as can be.
Let me draw your attention to this news item.
March 22, 2005
The fighting in the town of Dera Bugti erupted last Thursday after the tribesmen allegedly attacked a convoy of pickup trucks carrying paramilitary troops along a mountain road.
Officials have said up to 45 people, including eight soldiers, were killed in the clashes between the Frontier Corps troops and Bugti tribesmen, who dominate Dera Bugti.
It was an alarming escalation of a low-level rebellion in Baluchistan, the country’s poorest province, where tribesmen are demanding more returns from the natural gas extracted from their territory and resent the army’s moves to set up garrisons in the region.
Abdul Samad Lasi, the top government administrator in the area, said yesterday that several homes of Hindus near the temple in Dera Bugti also were damaged by rockets in the fighting.
“This is true that some 17 Hindus were killed and their temple was severely damaged,” Lasi said.
Full article here.
Now let’s imagine if this had happened here in India. A mosque destroyed and the top government administrator speaking non-chalantly of the death of 17 Muslims…sorry Moslems.
All hell would have broken loose. Shabnam Hashmi would have been barking herself hoarse on every street corner saying that the Indian army (the greatest institution we have) has shown bias by destroying a minority place of worship, Arundhuti Roy would be fingering herself into a frenzy, Dilip Kumar would be frothing at the mouth, the JNU crowd would be bleeding green and Rakesh Sharma and his friends would rush out with their cameras and then line up at the US embassy for visas.
But with Pakistan, we have a shattering silence. It’s also interesting that we don’t have a single Pakistani Mir Jaffer—-they do not promote themselves at the cost of their country. And none of the bleeding-heart liberals on India’s side care for Hindus. Cause it is not fashionable. Or in other words no money in it.
Pakistan has gotten rid of its minority problem by decimating the Hindus and Bangladesh is following in its footsteps. Yet they do it silently without world attention because both of them are dictatorships (yes I know Bangladesh is nominally a democracy) and people like Rakesh Sharma would be getting canings on the soles of their feet if they were in Pakistan.
However in democratic India, these traitors can get away with doing anything. They can take the full benefits of their Indian citizenship and spit on their country’s face……..case in point the Kashmiri freedom fighters of the Hurriyat conference send their sons and daughters to Indian schools far away from Kashmir while they spew venom at our country. Cause they are Indians only when it is convenient.
As to people like Rakesh Sharma…..the best way to deal with them is to ignore them. However as mentioned before, they are not really concerned with Indians at all—their main ploy is to sell a negative image of India to westerners and denigrating India is something that cannot be ignored. Hence the need to have an informed rebuttal for his sleight of hand—-while his entertainment value comes from his ability to lie and exaggerate our entertainment value has to come from being able to call his bluff.
I remember, along with some friends of mine at Stonybrook, calling Shabnam Hasmi’s bluff in 2002 when she came on a venom-sprewing mission. I wish there are people at Buffalo who can do the same. And hasten Mr Sharma onto his next movie project for which this ex-channel-V staffer is suitably suited—a funny documentary on the “Kama Sutra”.
You can bet I will wait eagerly for that one.
The Greatbong Blog & Podcast 
Hear hear….I wish the mainstream Indian media carried such points of view.
These people you speak of are what I like to call “liberal fundamentalists” which is an oxymoron in itself. They include such specimens as Arundhati Roy and Shabana Azmi – people who are dangerous because their zeal to prove their liberal credentials at any costs far outweighs their grasp on reality. Sadly, they are excellent at playing the media, so while the RSS thugs are shown up for what they are, these people are hailed as true friends of the people.
Have you seen the documentary?
If you don’t believe in organised religion, then what’s the deal with your excessive sensitivity about the potrayal of Hindus? I don’t see the same concern about the potrayal of Muslims (if indeed you are so religion neutral). Please try to be a little more reflexive and less hypocritical.
Indian Army the greatest institution? Sure, you should go preach this to the whole of the North-east, especially the Manipuris!
Do you even know of the battle that Rakesh had to fight with the Indian Censor Board to get the film released in India? He did not make this film to pander to Western audiences, he can’t even show it in a public screening in India. Perhaps you should write about such censorship before you begin to shoot the messenger.
Please don’t run away with your biases and use the “Final Solution” as an excuse to air your predetermined views.
Dear Thalassa Mikra or whoever you are,
Firstly the Indian army is a GREAT institution. It is because they bust their guts that you are alive today (I presume you were once in India )and can sit in California like a “true patriot” and sling mud at them.
As to the portrayal of Muslims in a negative light, please point out one documentary film maker who has made a movie on Islamic excesses? Or about any of the small exterminations done in Pakistan/Bangladesh? Name friggin one.
“Please try to be less hypocritical”
I think that applies to you.
Rakesh Sharma doesnt care two hoots if its banned in India as long as he has a ready audience of people like you to lap up what he makes and passes of as truth.
Looking at what you wrote, I understand why we were ruled by the British for 200 years. The desire to be patted by the foreign masters is just too strong.
I normally consider myself to be apolitical, and it’s quite out of character for me to comment on an issue such as this, but it is your response to thalassa’s comment more than anything else, that made me decide to express my opinion.
First of all, to pre-empt a barage of assuptive invective from you, let me make it very clear that I do not fit your conception of a liberal. I have nothing but dislike for the likes of Shabana Azmi and especailly Arundhati Roy. I believe in dams, not in Medha Patkars. And I believe all tigers in the Sunderban’s ought to be shot, because they are genetic ally anthropophagic, and it’s a travesty of all justice to talk about the rights of a man-eating tiger over and above the rights of the men and women who have an equal if not greater claim to that land.
Given that background, I must now proceed to say I’m apalled by what you’ve said. I’d earlier enjoyed your writing, but this particular tirade leaves me deeply dissappointed.
I do not know anything about Rakesh Sharma or about the film in question. Your assessement of his motives may or may not be correct, but your putative defence of the Gujarat government, borrowing from the deliberately misleading official verbiage, is worthy of nothing but the strongest condemnation. The truth, in official hands, is malleable, and we all know that. It can be distorted and turned on its head. But there is the truth,and then there is the truth. And that truth is that what happened in Gujarat was state sponsored genocide.
Being a proud bengali myself, it scares me to see in you the kind of synthetic patriotism, or to give it its proper name, jingoism, which I have seen in many of my RSS bred Bihari and UP-ite acquanitances. Indeed, in your so called patriotic outburst, you’ve proved yourself to be George Bushe’s sould brother. True patriotism is not about My country, right or wrong- that is the realm of Xenophobia. True patriotism presupposes the ability to stand up for your country when it is in the right, and to condemn it when it is in the wrong. not because you’re a traitor, but precisely the opposite- that you love your country and wouldn’t let her moral image be sullied at any cost.
Moreover, Arnab, to come back to my eralier point about the north Indian zealots I’ve come across, Hinduism is something far, far beyond karwa-chauth and Vaisho devi and cow worship. in its essence it is a system of philosophy, not an organised religion- one of the world’s first and most enlightened systems of qualified monism. Some of the greatest of hindu sages, kanada for example, were actually atheists. So your’s and the RSS’s plastic version of hinduism is as bad if not worse than the Benny Hinn version of Christianity- worse because even true Christianity is an organised religion, with its own inherent dogma, but Hinduism is one religion that is all-inclusive. The so called sanatana dharma propounded by the RSS is the grossest possible insult to the writers of the rig veda.
About the Indian Army- that great institution. I have to disagree with your overtly emotional defence of it. It is not true the because of their blood sweat and all that, we ungrates are leading a life of treacherous contentment. (incidentally, thallassa’s writings, if you’ve bothered to go through them, clearly prove she’s against the America establishment). It is not true because, by any dispassionate and unbiased yardstick, the indian army is a bloated, chaotic, corrupt and rather inefficient outfit which has always come up short in any actual test. And it has unleashed a horrendous rule of terror in the north east in the name of containing terrorism. First of all, the entire terrorist problem in the north east is through and through a result of the Indian government’s utterly apathetic, even hostile treatment of the region for four decades after independce. the putrid, corpulent delhi babudom treated them in a way that even animals don’t deserve, let alone human beings, thereby creating a fertile soil of discontent for terror (which, mind you, I roundly condemn) to take roots in. The way the Indian army has behaved in the region should, if there had been any justice in the land, have led to a mass court-martial. In stead, it has only led to rewards (for killing innocents in fake, staged encounters) and a vicious, self-perpetuating cycle of the corruption. Proof of the indian army’s moral standards, if any were needed, is provided by the on going anjali gupta case.
In the end, arnab, all I can tell you is remove the blinkers.
Dear Kaashyapeya,
Firstly thanks for your detailed comments on my posting.
Let me start. Point 1 is that you do not know me. I am not a Hindu RSS fanatic by any means—nor a supporter of Narendra Modi. If you would care to look through my archives you would see that I SUPPORTED the arrest of the Shankaracharya and wanted him to be treated like a common criminal, I have vented my spleen on Narendra Modi ( as well as the out-to-make-money Zaheera and I-want-publicity Ms Teesta), and in general have opposed fundamentialism in all forms (and that included liberal fundamentalism too).
Another point—a good debater always attacks the point and never the other debater. You unfortunately have gone after me.
Hence I am forced to defend my “secular” credentials—let me say it again I DO NOT believe in any kind of organized religion. (If you read my appreciation of Deepak Chopra on CNN I would presume that would be self-evident)
Point 2 is that you misinterpreted my post as a defense of Modi. It was anything but. It was an attack on Rakesh Sharma and the other limosine liberals for whom the atrocities in Gujrat are a meal ticket.
Point No 3—repeating the word “genocide” a thousand times does not make it the truth—no matter what Goebbels said. Because the word genocide has a very specific meaning (semantics) and I have made an argument why it is the wrong word to be used when talking about Gujrat.
Point No 4—I applaud your definition of true partiotism. Now let’s consider this situation. Your uncle is a child molester. (This is for argument’s sake—to prempt any invective from you). What should you, a good member of the family, do? Hand him over to the authorities, counsel his victims—right? But say instead of doing that you buy a ticket to Mumbai, set up a dias in front of VT and start shouting “my uncle is a child molester.”
This is precisely what Rakesh Sharma is doing and which people like Thalassa and you support. This is not the behavior of a true patriot—it is of someone who wants to attract attention (and dollars) to himself based on someone else’s misfortune. This is what I am opposing—I am by no means part of the “India is right in everything” crowd. I however do not feel any need to address my country’s problems in front of foreigners.
Point No 5: I agree with you on Hinduism. It is a remarkable philosophy which never ever says “Hinduism is the ONLY way to God.” Islam and Christianity say so. As a result you can never convert to Hinduism because Hinduism embraces other beliefs. I strongly oppose the RSS/VHP’s attempt to make Hinduism something it is not as a reaction to militant Christianity and Islam. I do not know why you brought this up cause it was not part of the post—I presume you think I am a RSS fanatic. Again I request you to look at my archived posts.
Point 6: Yes I accept I feel a lot of emotion for the army—the people who protect us and die in the process. Perhaps I should not. Anyhoo I never quite understand how every accusation against the Army acquires the status of truth? How come you make sweeping statements about court martials as if you know all sides of the story? I mean “bloated, chaotic, corrupt”——–where is the proof sir? Why this visceral , almost fundamental hatred of the Armed forces? Is it because it is “cool” to be anti-Army?
The Anjali Gupta case? If someone claims sexual harassment then the accusers are automatically guilty is it sir? And you call yourself rational? And it isnt the Army on trial its 3 officers. Can you just hear yourself talking? In your obscene hurry to castigate the greatest institution in our country, you are willing to totally go out on a limb and take sides when NOTHING has been proved.
Who needs to remove blinkers here ?
A parting question for you: Why did you mention Bihari and UP-ite RSS friends? Why “Bihari and UP-ite” instead of “Indians” ? And what does “proud Bengaliness” have to do with this? Since you have made many presumptions about me, let me make one about you. What you said smacked of parochialism—on the lines of “Bihari and UP-ites may say this (support RSS) but not Bongs”.
Again let me conclude by saying that I appreciate your comments and I also found your blog very interesting.
People will call you “Hindu fanatic” while you try to analyze the psyche of India baiters – a common strategy used by communists – and is reflected in many ‘self-secular’/closet fundamentalists Indians.
-Communism Watch
“And that truth is that what happened in Gujarat was state sponsored genocide.”
Kaashyapeya may be u need to use ur brain instead of lapping up slogans used by media. How does the killing of 754 Muslims out of millions of Gujarati muslims make it a genocide, genocide is when u entirely kill off or cleanse a community out of it’s land, majority of muslim gujaratis still live in gujarat so it is not a genocide.Sloganeering get’s u nowhere, use ur brain the next time u comment.
Dear GB,
Let us for a moment assume that you are an award winning athlete. You have won several Olympic medals. Now one day a young historian wants to study your childhood . He goes to your ancestral home, a dilapideted but proud building and looks around for souveneirs of the great person on whom he is writting a story. But the neighbours and people around say the same things which are already known- the historian is looking for something unique, something hidden in time and something which the world has hitherto not seen.
Then he moves up the old building, finally reaches a small room beside the terrace and decides to look inside. In the most unlikeliest of places he finds a gold medal which you had won when in high school beating your arch rival whom you again had the better of in the olympics several years later.
—
My analogy may seem obscure but this post of April 2005 is something like that. Now in June 2006, the world knows you more for desibaba, 1-900 and those film reviews, not to forget the andaman and birthday posts. But just like classics of poets hitherto unpublished , this post stunned me into silence. True why does not mainstream media have writers like you. Why dont i find writings like this elsewhere? I ask myself. The reply that comes from within is “He is the best blogger. Others cannot write like that.”
To the casual reader, this post may seem like just like any other post (like the plethora of medals that the athlete has won ), but to the historian in me, this one is priceless.
I wont go specific parts of your post as each line is a gem. Even stunning is the reply to others. My blood pressures now racing and Im feeling so good now.
Why only 8 responses? This ought to be taught to all the schoolchildren in India. Awesome. You are one of the greatest Indians of this century.
Suffice it to say that even by your standards this ones a classic. Seldom can such levels of blogging be achieved. A classic is a classic is a classic is a classic is a classic.
-yourfan2
Hey,, thread still alive.
Great post, Arnab. Wonderful. So clearly put. Expect to be attacked by the seculo-liberal terrorists.
I think there is an equivalent of Godwins Laws at work in Indian forums and blogosphere. Modi takes the place of Hitler in the Indian version of Godwins laws. Alas…. there is no justice. 😦
@gamesmaster
You are right. Rather than forcing us to take action, the calumnous exaggerated shrill barkings of these liberal fundamentalists actually irritates.
I call them seculo-liberal terrorists. I use this term commonly on my blog.
*Applause*,
I think dishonesty and reluctance on part of guardian of public conscience (i.e media) is one of the fundamental reasons behind so much rot in India.
Regards
PS. Thanks for standing for us “bhayyas” ;-). I think the kind of stereotyping (thoughtless and narrow minded) some people indulge in is a dissservice to our countless ancestors who sacrificed for this country.
These people should ask themselves did Gandhi serve for Gujarat or Netaji fought for Bengal only.
@yourfan2: Thank you for the kind words….ahem…blushes. This was written at a time when not many read my blog….this piece is a follow up to the anger I felt at Shabnam Hashmi’s anti-India rhetoric @Stonybrook where she presented herself as a secularist a few days after she gave an interview to a radical Muslim website where she kept on harping about how Muslims were facing a genocide in India.
@Shadows: I have real issues with the use of the word “genocide” with respect to Gujrat 2002 simply because the word has a very specific meaning. And by using it loosely and if I may so mischievously, these traitors are responsible for getting India into all kind of human rights watchlists.
@Gaurav: Thank you….and yes the stereotyping is definitely disappointing.
gb:
did you tell ms. hashmi that she should have packed her bags and fled from religious persecution and joined pollywood? if not, you should’ve.
needless to say, i really agree with this post. on the other hand, at one location, your response to kashyapeya’s comment states that you are not parochial, but each time i come across your support of ganguly, i doubt it.
on a lighter note: “I agree with you on Hinduism. It is a remarkable philosophy which never ever says “Hinduism is the ONLY way to God.†Islam and Christianity say so.” when did they say that?!! lol!
yourfan2:
thanks for redirecting me to this excellent post. came from amit verma’s (yet another mirjafferian – he has approached uk instead of usa) article in the guardian.
– s.b.
GB,
This time you disappoint. Both your post and subsequent responses to people who expressed opposing views to yours lacked the unerring sense of judgment that you normally display, one that has endeared you to people like me.
For one, I can’t quite figure what is that you are attacking? Or defending?. Rakesh Sharma could well be a prick out to sell his motherland off for scraps from the white-skinned, but why even for a moment defend something as despicable as the Gujarat Riots? (You did say you wanted Modi behind bars, but nothing in your post backed that up) To top it, you sounded to be in silent awe of Pakistan for the deft handling of their minority problem. That is what I get when I read about “shattering silence” and the lack of “Mir Jaffers”, and you seem to be recommending the same solutions to us in India.
Secondly, if Rakesh Sharma chooses to create a movie out of an event such as this and screen it wherever he chooses, what makes him a traitor? Just because he used the term “Final Solution” and you know a few things more about “Final Solution” than him. How do you define patriotic parameters? In all probabilities, wanted to but could not (a) Censor Board, you see – these guys wont even let you smoke in celluloid (b)Our moral policing brigade – they wouldn’t let Fanaa be shown, how the heck do you think this piece would have been screened? (c) or plainly, fear for his life. What he did surely makes him an opportunist, and a coward maybe, but no Traitor. That was pure pop-patriotism gurgling out of you. The kind we see marketed by the cola brigades on Cricket Grounds when India takes on Pakistan which evaporates even before the fizz in the cola goes off.
Your view that Modi sure deserves a rap on his knuckle but does not deserve being compared to Hitler beats me.. Heart of the matter is, Modi, if left by himself could have done exactly what ‘Mein Führer’ ended up doing. Not just Modi, but any individual set upon violence as a means to express his / her racial or religious hatred carries the same virus as those that inflicted the cranky old man. Countless numbers across the globe including Arabs, Indonesians, Rwandans, Israelis, Croats, Boznians, Chechens.. endless.. and unfortunately, a few Indians as well. That is the fact, an irrefutable fact. (Any omission in this is not by design, but because of limitations of my historic perspective, I do not intend to raise a debate on this point).Hitler managed better numbers in the end, conditions were ripe for him. We at least have the benefit of hind-sight, and shouldn’t be making the same errors.
Again, before you bring upon me the entire weight of your wrath using your considerable literary skills, may I submit that I am no pseudo-liberal, I have no political alignments, and I stand for nothing but my conscience here.
After all, as Atticus Finch says in To Kill a Mockingbird – ” The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience. .”
hey GB…have not watched “Final Solution” but have you by any chance watched “Parzania”..
Again one of those movies made for the so-called western audience…waitin for your review on this..
Kudos GB and excellent replies in comment section.great work!
I think it’s a greater tragedy if muslims get killed in india than if hindus do in Pakistan. we’re secular. they aren’t. deal.
far more black people die in rwanda than in baltimore. yet, guess which one is more egregious? (hint – the one where democratic institutions purportedly exist)
you don’t have to believe in organized religion to be ‘right wing’. hitler was a vegetarian, socialist, animal lover. which proves little. just like the channel v slur to smear rakesh sharma’s cred. does little except make you sound petty.
you’re more like a garden variety right leaning soc-economic libertarian who for some reason likes to flag wave every now and then. not to mention pander to the dominant Indian hegemonic social group i.e. hindus.
i do like your movie posts, which are quirky and sometimes genuinely funny. and it’s scary because i come from a fairly similar background as you, knew dozens of people like you, yet reading your hyper nationalist screed makes me want to take a shower.