What made Gujarat "special?" It is "special" because perhaps for the first time it was established that the state (Gujarat) was responsible for the brutal killings that took place under its rule. For the first time, the highest judiciary body in India, the Supreme Court, ruled that all cases related to the event will be tried outside of Gujarat since they recognized that none of the victims will get justice if their cases were tried by the state's judicial system. And also for many other reasons that are too long to enumerate here.

No, this is not the first case of Hindu-Muslim riots happening in India. So, does that make it OK for the Gujarat riots to occur? And yes, riots such as these occur all the time and all over the world. But aren't we complicit if we do not recognize that these brutal events took place. That if we continue to squabble over the right statistics of those killed or raped and think it is not "special" aren't we to be blamed as well? What is our agency as those who claim to know better? While we espouse certain ideologies, whether in this space or elsewhere, isn't it our responsibility to extend them to those that we think are normal, the everyday and not out of the ordinary?

True, the Congress party is as evil in their machinations. And yes, the murder of those many thousands of Sikhs is deplorable. They have to be accountable and never made to forget the fact. But, Gujarat here is "special" simply because it is happening in our times, while we are still of capable mind and spirit to do something about it. The Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, has been held responsible for the riots but still got voted into power and remains in power. Can't we draw parallels to what is happening here in the US? The politics of power and resistance, in all their muddled glory, are the same anywhere in the world. Why the double standard when it comes to looking at one's own country? I have noticed this constantly over these two years that I have been in the US. It is so much easier for people to point at this country's wrongdoings but it amounts to betrayal of our beloved Bharat Maa (Mother India) if we speak out against any atrocities happening in India. Listen, I love India. Not for romantic glorifications of its land, its people and its smells but because it is home for me.

True, the police in India fire indiscriminately if they are threatened. The politicians incite violence and walk away. We, the 'common' people marvel at the spectacle of it all, shake our heads at it and walk away. Who suffers? The victims and their families. They continue to fight for justice even today. Whether it is the Sikhs or the Muslims. Top officials (police and government) are coming out now to publicly indict the Modi government in the genocide.


Also,
Another case in point*:
Former Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad , Shri P.C. Pande
(he was CP when the carnage took place)
Nothing illustrates police role better than police commissioner P.C. Pande's statement that, "Police were not insulated from the general social milieu... (When) there's a change in the perception of society, the police are part of it and there's bound to be some contagion effect".
-– The Telegraph, March 2, 2002


Again, why does Gujarat become special? Because here it is not killing based on just the Hindu-Muslim divide but on a much deeper and chilling ideology of race supremacy. The Gaurav Yatras (Pride March) that the RSS and the BJP are so fond of conducting are concentrated efforts to incite violence against the Muslim minority.
Case in point*:
"Relief camps are actually child-making factories. Those who keep on multiplying the population should be taught a lesson.
-Shri Narendra Modi, addressing a rally in Mehsana district during his gaurav yatra, quoted in The Hindu, Sept 10, 2002.

This is why the film is called 'Final Solution.' It is a loaded term, agreed. But look at the parallels. Firstly, the systematic relocation of the Jews and then their murders are similar (although nowhere near that scale) to the relocation of Muslims to 'refugee camps' outside the cities and then the killing of these people, as Modi himself talks about. These baby machines need to be taught a lesson! The ideology of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), the extreme right-wing nationalist wing of the BJP party is borrowed from Nazi ideology of race supremacy, the pure race. In recent years it has only gotten worse as they continue to gather supporters for their malicious twisted ideologies. Whther it is Bombay riots of 1990 or the Gujarat riots of 2002.

The numbers (2,500) used are 'official' numbers. Independent human rights commissions put it at a much larger figure. As is always the case the 'official' numbers are what are carried in the mainstream media and have been used in this case to avoid unnecessary splitting of hairs. No violence can be condemned. Especially not in these crazy times that we will live in. What Rakesh Sharma is doing with the film is to make sure that it reaches the widest audience possible that something like this not happen again. Sure, it is idealistic but who made that a dirty word anyway? And yes there are films made about all sorts of violence. The spread of cheap, digital technology has just made it easier for filmmakers to actually document such events so as to keep reminding us not to be complicit. We cannot put the onus of talking about all the fucked up events occurring across the world on one person. It is the responsibility of artists to use their art for greater good, however small their audience may be. There has to be real and urgent immediate reactions to any sort of injustice.

Finally, the film does not base itself on a simple reading of the Hindu-Muslim divide. It talks about the rise of right-wing fundamentalism in India. It is important to deconstruct to their binary oppositions the semiotics of their ideologies. The presence of overt stances and doings is just as important as the apparent absence of them.
We have to continue to speak out against all violence in the name of religion, power. It is our responsibility. Isn't it easy to look the other way and pretend these things do not happen because it just makes our lives so much easier?

Some of the websites devoted to the Gujarat riots:

• all quotes in the above passage are from this source :

The screening of the film has opened up controversies that i knew would be created but the viciousness of it all has me baffled. not only have i been called unpatriotic but accused of being sucked into idealistic left-leaning "pseudo-liberal" fundamentalist rhetoric. one guy actually asks whether for the sake of telling the truth, we need to go around publicizing it? while i brushed aside the question as being silly it does question our agency as 'progressive liberals' and our own complicity in the growth of a normative hegemonic nationalistic ideology.

The poem below by pakistani poet faiz ahmed faiz is not only beautiful but also appropriate in this climate.

bol ke lab azaad hai tere
bol zabaan ab tak teri hai
tera suthwa jism hai tera
bol ke jaan ab tak teri hai
....
bol ye thoda waqt bahut hai
jism-o-zubaan kii maut se pehle
bol, ke sach zindaa hai ab tak
bol, jo kuchh kehna hai kah le


Speak, for your lips are free
Speak, this tongue is still yours
Your bare body is yours
Speak, for life is still yours
....
Speak, this limited time is a lot
Before the death of body and tongue
Speak, for truth is still alive
Speak, say all that you wish

- faiz ahmed faiz

In a conundrum fuelled by fascist regimes and apathetic governments, 'Final Solution' 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 politics of 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."

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Film: 'Final Solution' (2004), 148 mins, India
Director: Rakesh Sharma (Filmmaker will be in attendance)
Venue: Room 112, Center for the Arts, University at Buffalo
Date: April 26th, 6.00 p.m -9.00 p.m
Contact: Swati Bandi – sbandi@buffalo.edu; 716-536-1928
Rima Aranha - raranha@buffalo.edu; 716-796-5641

finally, after many months of waiting, my nephew is here. He was born December 20, 2004 at 9 lbs and 10 ounces. he is the most gorgeous baby I have ever seen and I am right now i love. And in other news, I have been accepted into the PhD program and they are giving me monies, i was their "top choice" they said. Life is good and life is good.

Here's Dhruv (named after the north star)



And here's aunty and nephew

type and so i drag my ass back to this site. my elder sister in new york is having a baby this week. i am gonna be a pinnamaa( that telugu for aunty)! and also am moving to frightfully expensive place because i feel like spending some more money i don't have. what fun i say!

I was one of those with the cabernet and cheetos...

CANADA BUSY SENDING BACK BUSH-DODGERS
Joe Blundo,
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The re-election of President Bush is prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray and agree with Bill O'Reilly. Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal-rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night. "I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota. The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. "He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn't have any, he left. Didn't even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?" In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn't give milk." Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals Near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them Across the border and leave them to fend for themselves. "A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though." When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often Wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about the Bush administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer and watch NASCAR. In the days since the election, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age," an official said. Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies. "I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history majors does one country need?" In an effort to ease tensions between the United States and Canada, Vice President Dick Cheney met with the Canadian ambassador and pledged that the administration would take steps to reassure liberals, a source close to Cheney said. "We're going to have some Peter, Paul & Mary concerts. And we might put some endangered species on postage stamps. The president is determined to reach out."

the cup runneth over and i cannot find bigger mugs. im leaving. tata.

you guys must think I am a pig, for inviting you guys to a party and forgetting all about it. sorry. will update in the near future. things have happened and I cannot do anything

No cats and dogs in my house and I am thinking 2 weeks time is good time for a party?

I am running out of journal titles,seriously. It troubles me much when I have to sit and think about a title, I never was much of a name-caller ;) .

So today was the first day of school. It was cool. Now I cannot write too. Anyways I shall persist. I realized for the first time in my life that I cannot bullshit as well as I thought I could. When asked in class what my research interest was I proceded to splutter and barely managed to string and incoherent thread of slightly disguised crap about my interest in Domestic violence amongst immigrant women of South asian origin. I am deeply interested in the subject but for the life of me could not think straight and coalesce many many tiny threads of thought into one. I hate it. Does it happen to other people too? Please write and make me feel better. I discovered when I got my first Masters degree that bullshitting was integral to academia. I soon grew to love it and got quite good with it. But lately my pretentiousness has bit me in my more than ample arse and I have taken to looking at people who continue to do so with great contempt derison and loathing, note here my use of words, Ah... the familiar traces of pretence.
And I also realized that there is familiar nagging feeling that I think crept up on me one day when I was asleep. I feel completely, thoroughly displaced. I love Buffalo but I love the dirt and grime and familiarity of old familiar lanes that take you to hot sambhar and rice. Going back to school was a culture shock. I realize that I sing the same words as everyone but I hear a different song in my head.

In other thoughts, how many of you e-peeps would like a Bhangra dance party and Indian food fiesta? Please post votes. I can accomodate about 15 people at my place and I am itching to shake da ass