Our tipline has been buzzing (thanks “mg” and others) with news that Rakesh Sharma, director of the award winning “Final Solution” about the Gujarat riots, is suing the City of New York, and that the NYCLU’s got his back. Here is why:
Rakesh Sharma was filming cars emerge from under Manhattan’s Metlife building in 2005 when he was stopped, questioned, allegedly shoved, and then detained by the NYPD for shooting footage of the building. The cops were suspicious of Sharma’s motives but, after four hours, the director was released and told that he would need a permit if he wanted to do any further shooting.
When Sharma applied for a permit, however, his application was denied because he lacked the proper insurance. Now, represented by the New York Civil Liberties Union, the director (who has won multiple awards for his documentaries) has filed suit against the city’s “police restrictions on taking pictures in public.” Among those named in the suit are the city itself and the commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting. [Link]
Why was Sharma filming cars? Well it will make sense when you know what kind of cars he was filming:
Rakesh Sharma was shooting footage for a film on New York taxi drivers in May 2005 when officers stopped him…“It’s a sad day when the police think they can detain and mistreat someone simply for making a film on a public street in New York City,” Mr Sharma said on Tuesday.
“I co-operated with them and answered all their questions, but they treated me like a criminal. It was wrong, and I was scared and humiliated,” he said. [Link]
A blogger at Mediabistro quips:
Honestly, if the cops in New York start arresting Indian guys with cameras, they’re going to have to shut down all of Sixth Avenue. We’re officially scared.
I’m hoping that DNSI’s Valarie Kaur might leave a comment and shed some light on this for us. She has recently been filming in New York City as well. I wonder if she was similarly hassled.
Update: Both Rakesh Sharma and Valarie Kaur were kind enough to respond to this post.
You can sign the petition to protest his arrest here.
the state officials studied the voter/municipal lists to identify the Muslim houses in Hindu majority areas You should be able to bribe and get the list in less than half an hour – anywhere in India, even today.
Yes that is probably true. It does take some planning though. I am presuming that the municipal offices were closed under curfew. So someone had to take out these lists when the government offices were open. Also, as I understand some of the state officials themselves were leading mobs.
Boy! I sure do hope that ‘those’ state officials dont read this blog, because I dont want them to sue me for libel, confisacte my assets and imprison me.
If RS cannot pay the amount, all his assets should be confiscated and he should be imprisoned as per international criminal law
Sorry to keep coming back to this, but this is mad funny.
Moornam:
Under what International Law can a person be imprisoned for libel against a police officer?
For the rest of the Mutineers, to prove a defamation case, the New York police will have to prove in court that Rakesh Sharma was either intentionally lying or had reckless disregard for the truth. For all practical purposes this is an impossible burden to meet for the police officers. As this is a matter of public concern and New York police officer are public officials, hence the additional burden of proving that Rakesh Sharma was lying in addition to proving the regular elements of harm etc., for defamation. Also, there are no prison terms for defamation in either the United States or under International Law.
Law Student mutineers: Feel free to correct me as its been years and years since I last read about defamation.
ALMD:
RS is a foreigner in the US, and could be charged with defaming US citizens. I am not sure whether it is the US laws that apply or RS has recourse to International law.
M. Nam
Moornam said:
Tom said:
This is a hilarious concept to me. A petition signed by desis SUPPORTING the NYPD’s harassment of a desi. Good luck with that fellas. I don’t know why but that idea caused this story I read about yesterday to pop into my mind.
RS is a foreigner in the US, and could be charged with defaming US citizens.
I already stipulated to the fact that the police officers can sue him. However the burden is on the police officers to prove that Rakesh lied. This burden cannot be met.
I am not sure whether it is the US laws that apply or RS has recourse to International law
In this case the US laws will apply. RS does not have recourse to any International Law to the best of my knowledge.
This is a hilarious concept to me. A petition signed by desis SUPPORTING the NYPD’s harassment of a desi.
Among desis, its all in a day’s work. In fact, if you DONT fight among urselves u AINT desi. http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/jan/09pbd5.htm “Narayana Reddy, an NRI delegate, watching the incident, said it has only exposed the unity among the overseas Indians in the US. “This is part of the Indian culture. They fight among themselves wherever they are,” Reddy said.”
That is all too common – desis dissing other desis in non-desi countries…the whole narendra modi and the california textbook thing. Last time it was you who signed, this time it will be MoorNam (and me!).
Bhagwan blala kare Bhaarat ka!
Bhagwan ‘bhala’ (not blala) kare Bharat ka!
Please guys do youself a favor?
If you go hammer_sickel blog, there is a 20 minute clip of the documentary. Hammer_sickel is quite critical of Rakesh Sharma’s Final Solution. However, based on the 20 minute viewing, my views are quite different from hammer_sickel. I want to comment what I saw through the film. Even if you just focus on speeches (interviews are guided by the filmmaker), a disturbing scene emerges:
1) There is a very serious problem in India. Whatever, your faith, political leanings (don’t worry about Congress, BJP, BSD, Akali Dal, etc.) are, if such a thing goes unchecked, it may fracture the nation, if not countered with. Sure, Islamist fundamentalism is the 800 pound gorilla. However, Hinduvta fundamentalism is not smelling roses either. Look at the whole thing from a detached view – it is quite frightening. I am sure if one made a movie on 1984 movie on Sikh riots, a similar ghastly picture will emerge. It is not question of my sin (Congress) is less or more than your sin (BJP), or something like that.
2) I understand every country and religion has extreme, excluvist elements, but enough is enough. Even if it is not what I have read of Nazi Germany but it is not pretty either (from 20 minute clip). Listen to the speeches by some of the demagogues – should I laugh or cry or scream. How about “No more Patels” in USA? What do you want make of such stuff? I am sure thay are similar Islamic ideologues like them in India? Do you want India be full of them – of all shape and size.
Check out the movie clip your self. If you are critical of Rakesh Sharma, do your own research, write a serious article in a paper or a blog. But this needs to be discussed. Maybe, his take is slanted. Maybe, not. It certainly made me think. I ordered his DVD.
No one is going to be happy with they will see. However, it should not swept under the rug.
Dear All
As ever, it was most illuminating to read the flurry of posts here.
Some of you have asked where the movie is available – please go to my website – http://www.rakeshfilm.com and follow the links to order a DVD. The movie is not on netflix or torrent or any other site yet as I am stil trying to raise money/ recover costs through DVD sales.
1984 found a mention in one of the posts here. Like Gujarat 2002, I consider the 1984 carnage to be genocidal in nature as both events satisfy many aspects of the UN convention on genocide and should be termed as such. Anyone responsible for state-sponsored violence for either of these events deserves the stringest punishment possible. One of the reasons why 1984 hasn’t been documented in great detail is the lack of availability of cheap digital video technology at the time. DV has changed the face of film-making in India – it is one of the reasons why independent film-making in India is now very vibrant – right from Kashmir to the North East, from environment to gender politics – in the last 3-4 years many more films are being made. Those interested can check the link to the Vikalp website on my blog. Vikalp is a forum of independent film-makers from India.
Finally, let me reiterate – there is no law that prevents me from shooting on the streets of London, Paris, NY, Mumbai or Durban. The law does not need me to apply for a shooting permit. I applied only beacuse during the course of my detention, NYPD officers suggested that I get a permit if I want to shoot “for more than a few minutes”. My lawyers believe that to be incorrect advice. However, as a measure of abundant caution, we applied for a permit, which the city denied. This really is not about my rights as a film-maker, but about anyone’s right to free speech. If arbitrary regulations and deterrent fees stand in the way of free speech, then all we will have is psy-ops in daily newsgathering and media opinions tightly controlled by corporations. I find that a frightening prospect. US media coverage of the Iraq invasion is a case in point.
Once again, thank you everyone, especially my detractors, for spending so much energy in generating a debate/ discussion. I can happily sit and reason but find it very difficult to argue with faith (“nothing happened in gujarat…no women suffered any violence etc”). Once again, to all those who do not know the exact nature of what happened in Gujarat, please see the film – there is no narrator or voice over in the film – you will get to hear people from various walks of life speak about their own experiences. The film has families who lost dear ones inside S-6 and families of Akshardham victims as well as women, children and communities that were subjected to genocidal violence. Since it was my intention to go beyond mere documentation of grief and tragedy, the film spends a lot of time following politicians who engineer such strife. If after seeing the film, you believe everyone is lying, that the “karsevak” families who condemn the VHP/BJP for exploiting their tragedy for electoral gains are lying as well, that the words you hear national, state-level and local leaders speak are digitally manipulated etc, so be it!
Since I am preparing to shoot my next film, I may not be able to respond any further to posts on this forum. Please write to me directly at actindia@vsnl.com in case you’d like to get in touch with me.
Thank you very much for your time.
Rakesh
ps – May I once again invite you to read the piece I wrote about Gujarat? It is on rakeshindia.blogspot.com
“Check out the movie clip your self. If you are critical of Rakesh Sharma, do your own research, write a serious article in a paper or a blog. But this needs to be discussed. Maybe, his take is slanted. Maybe, not. It certainly made me think. I ordered his DVD.”
Wasn’t able to open it – or rather wasn’t sure if my compute froze up. Are we supposed to click on Open or Save? Don’t want to order the dvd as I don’t want to contribute towards instigation of hatred which is how I essentially view RS’s efforts.
Since the anti-Sikh riots have been mentioned, please note these were 100% political – there was not one iota of religious foundation for the creation, or the dynamics or the climax of this tragedy. Traditionally, there has never been animosity between Hindus and Sikhs. Indira Gandhi set it up for personal political gain and the affair just blew up in her face. The subsequent riots were also politically organized. In other words, this is not a religious issue but one of dirty politics. I am also convinced that the Hindu/Muslim issue (in India) is 75% politics and has very little to do with religion. Before anyone goes duuuhh on me, I hope you will concede that this is presented as a religious problem more than a politcal one.
Hammer-Sickle,
Very good point. It was precisely for this reason that it was decided to not go ahead with the petition. For all it’s worth, Rakesh Sharma is a desi – one of us. Regardless of our ideological differences, it was decided to stay on the sidelines on this one(neither support him nor go against him). Otherwise, there will be no difference between us and the other desi-dissing desis who campaigned against Modi in the US.
Let’s see what happens in the days to come.
M. Nam
Some of you have asked where the movie is available – please go to my website – http://www.rakeshfilm.com and follow the links to order a DVD. The movie is not on netflix or torrent or any other site yet as I am stil trying to raise money/ recover costs through DVD sales.
I don’t see an amount to be paid on paypal? How does it work?
Divya,
It is a zipped file, so you will have to unzip it. Yes, save the save the file on the disk. You might have to download a free version of one of the unzipping programs. You may have them. I agree 1984 Sikh riots was a 100% political problem. From the 20 minute clip, even Gujarat looks as a political problem but with a broader and more systemic outreach – that is how I perceived it. It comes out more a politics of facism. There is some outrageous claims by demagogues that Muslims and Christians of the world have united against Hindus under the auspices of Vatican. Don’t we all know that @ present radical Islam number #.1 enemy is Western Christianity or Judeo-Christian alliance. Please check it out. You can still be critical of Rakesh Sharma but facist tendencies gaining strength in India are quite disturbing.
Eddie, Press the button to order. There are two options: a) one with existing PayPal account, and another does not need PayPal account but still one pays with PayPal.You’ll figure it out.
Divya,
If you are still having problems with viewing the movie, I can send you an unzipped file as an attachment. If you want to, and I hope your email account can take around 102 KB attachment. Do let me know.
Kush – Yes, I’d be interested in watching the clip. Will reserve comments for later but I’m not aware of any Judeo-Christian or Islamo/Vatican alliance other than token lip service). Religion is inherently intolerant. If Jews accept Jesus they are no longer Jews. If Christians accept Allah, they are no longer Christians and so on. What we have managed to thrash out in the recent centuries is a form of civic tolerance. But religious tolerance is an oxymoron and logically inconsistent.
Thanks for offering to send the clip to me. I’m not technically savvy and have learnt not to waste my time and effort on anything that requires more that clicking.
Agreed.
Thanks Kush…your recommendation influenced my decision to buy the flick.
And Happy Doctor King Day, y’all.
Peace
Moornam and Hammer and Sickle: There is a difference between you two and the rest which is the real reason you’ve given up on your farce of an idea. We were protesting a desi (Modi) who helped organize and allow the murder of innocents. You wanted to protest a film maker who isn’t Hindu enough for you.
It’s actually the same issue: Sharma, the harrassee, made a film about the Gujarat massacre. That’s the core issue and that’s what they’re ticked about.
What do you expect when to dont get answers to questions and get tangent answers?
Hammer-Sickle,
It’s better to not talk about this on a public forum anymore as the matter is sub-judice. There are private forums though…
M. Nam
It’s better to not talk about this on a public forum anymore as the matter is sub-judice.
What difference does it make if the matter is in the court? People are free to discuss the case on a public forum even if there is a trial going on. Moornam: Bro you have some weird notions of justice and law.
Abhi
I was trying to be subtle which I gather is lost on Rocket Scientists (sorry couldnÂ’t resist) His is an “interesting” idea. I wanted to see what Moor Nam is cooking up. One scenarioÂ… – Start with “satyanarayan Katha” and start the petition. – Arrange an protest if RS ever shows up in NY. – get roughed up by NYPD. – go to “templA” and do the super-duper $501 abhishekA. – start another petition to withdraw his earlier petition.
Wait, did you mean subtle or sarcastic? If the latter I probably missed it, sorry.
That and the fact that they suffer from or deliberately indulge in employing Reductio ad Commie-ism fallacy.
“That and the fact that they suffer from or deliberately indulge in employing Reductio ad Commie-ism fallacy.”
Good link, Suhail, but did you really mean to switch sides? Hope RS reads this. He went for the Nazi slur right from starters. As for the commie thing, many of these people are self-described commies so you can’t argue with that.
Rakesh Sharma,
Could you kindly answer these questions:
While we appreciate your enthusiasm in depicting the events of Gujarat- have you done likewise for the acts of violence in Marad, Kerala? Where hindu families were ethnically cleansed and killed? Wouldnt that be classified as fascism as well?
Whats the point of going across the world and getting sundry awards- what have you done within India?
Your diatribe against India’s nuclear weapons- any thought about China and Pakistan having nuclear weapons and Pak routinely threatening India with them?
Hinduism doesnt belong to the louts in the RSS/ VHP for sure, but nor is it yours to publicize as belonging to extremists with parallels drawn to Nazism, just to get the attention of the west.
Dear Akash
Re your post, why don’t we start with your description of what you have done within India and for India. And do you think Modi, Jagdish Tytler, Togadia and Sajjan Kumar should be put behind bars and barred from contesting elections and holding any office?
Also, you might be confusing me with Anand Patwardhan whose film War and Peace deals with the nuclear issue. Or is there another “diatribe” you might be referring to?
May I also suggest that you write to me directly with any queries pertinent to my work.
Kind Regards Rakesh
Rakesh Sharma writes:
I know this was not directed towards me, but to answer your question…
Until any court in India proves the above persons guilty of any crime, these people should be free to contest elections and hold any office. Democracy does not work by kangaroo trials by self-styled intellectuals. The people of Delhi and Gujarat do not seem to have anything against Tytler or Modi – hence they voted for them repeatedly. That’s all that matters in a democracy.
If I take your argument to its logical conclusion, then most politicians in India will be guilty of something or the other. Should Karunanidhi be put behind bars and barred from elections/office because of his regular diatribe against Brahmins, including open incitement against them in the 60’s? Should Bangarappa be put behind bars and barred from elections/office because of his regular diatribe against Tamilians including open incitement against them in the 90’s? Should Patnaik be put behind bars and barred from elections/office because of his regular diatribe against Marwaris in Orissa including open incitement against them in the 90’s? Should Basu Chatterji be put behind bars and barred from elections/office because of his regular diatribe against businessmen, Marwaris and Gujaratis in Bengal? Should Laloo Yadav or Mayawati or Mulaayam be put behind bars and barred from elections/office because of their regular diatribes against upper castes, including incitement to violence?
If you or your ilk have spoken out against or made documentaries on the above people I mentioned, then I am not aware of it and would love to see any links. I won’t be holding my breath though…
M. Nam
And do you think Modi, Jagdish Tytler, Togadia and Sajjan Kumar should be put behind bars and barred from contesting elections and holding any office?
Are you kidding? Our beloved leader Modi, the avenger of lost honor and flag bearer of Hinduvta, cannot be put behind bars. He should be canonized and re-invited to speak at the Indian Motel Association conference.
Rakesh Sharma asked, “Do you think Modi, et al, should be put behind bars?” And MoorNam answered, in essence, “They should not be put behind bars until they are convicted in a court of law.”
MoorNam, arenÂ’t you begging the question? The question being: In your opinion, should Modi, et al, be convicted in a court of law?
But maybe you’ve answered this question, because you also seem to make the argument that “Others may have gotten away with similar crimes, so Modi should get away with it, too.” In making this (rather unprincipled) argument, you at least concede that there are indeed crimes that Modi, et al, are getting away with.
It’s a weak “Hindu culture” that won’t hold to account its own criminals.
— As an aside, thereÂ’s some indignation on this thread about comparisons of anti-Muslim violence with Nazism. It’s true that comparisons with Nazism should be handled with great care. But in this particular instance, hasnÂ’t ModiÂ’s goverrnment itself welcomed the comparison? http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/868469.cms
Of course. and i’m not being sarcastic. Its the same reason why i said RS’s complaint is valid and the case should be judged on the weather RS was improperly treated by the cops not his politics
This thread was about a complaint by brown-bearded-camcorder-toting dude. He was allegedly roughed by NYPD, didn’t like it so he went to court.
After the initial 10-15 comments this has drifted into a debate between RSS-VHP-rightwing chaddiwaalas and pseudo-secular fake jholawaalas. If facts were being debated it would have been interesting, however all I could read were rhetorical arguments from both sides.
Here’s a gem.
As far as I know the exact sequence of events in the “Sabarmati Express” killings and the Godhra carnage is still in dispute, this is after a Congress appointed Justice Banerjee report (which discredits the VHPs version). I would not believe stories made up by VHP and Bajrang Dal, but even NHRC has not been able to keep its story straight. I remember hearing an NHRC “investigator” saying on national TV that it was a Kerosene Stove that caused the fire in the train.
It would seem obvious that after a disaster like this the man-in-charge (Mr. Modi) would loose his chair, after all he was ultimately responsible for his people and he failed. This has not happened.
I was in Gujarat in December 2005 and indulged in road trip from Dahod (east most end) to Okha (west) [also went to Dwarika Dham]. It was a fascinating and an eye opening visit. In my observation the state of Gujarat is growing and getting more prosperous, common man “seems” to be happy and content. I was expecting an onslaught of hindutava in Gujarat but in my observation Indore (MP) and even Mumbai (Maharashtra) wore more saffron than Ahemdabad, Vadodara and Jamnagar combined. I met with a few businessmen (Gujjus and non-Gujjus), they all made it a point to mention “Narendra Modi” and his reputation as an incorruptible task master. “Not only Modi does not eat money”, they would say, “he would not let any of his men eat money”. They all marveled at his hard headed-ness in keeping the bureaucracy clean.
Funny thing is Modi was denied a visa to enter USA but USFDA has been frequenting Gujarat more often these days to inspect and approve the burgeoning generic-drug pharmaceutical facilities (so called “next wave” after IT). The FII and FDI have gone up and institutions are lining up to invest in Gujarat. Modi needn’t have troubled himself by applying for a US visa.
The results of ModiÂ’s adventures in Gujarat are obvious. He is politically stronger (BJP won elections in some municipal districts that were strong holds of Congress.) than before and more popular. So, jholawaals cannot simply wish him away. I was joking with some one that Cobra Post will have to catch him on camera accepting a bribe while nibbling on a T-Bone, to even shake him.
This is all what I observed. I would admit that nor did I go there to investigate Godhra neither did get a chance to speak with a Muslim citizen and get his/her perspective.
The Qn was directed at you, since you have made a big brouhaha over doing “this” for India. I would give greater credence to your claims if you actually worked to address communal violence across the religious spectrum, instead of merely concentrating on one religious denomination and rather cynically if I may add, using it as a platform for bandwidth/ attention hogging and gratuitously painting India as a nation of communal fanatics, nay fascists. Or is it a question of personal glory before the real issues facing the repubic?
Those, sir, are the tactics of the Singhals and Modis and Syed Shahabuddins, dont you think.
Did you collect evidence in Gujarat? File cases against any perpetrators, even on a token basis? Wouldnt that have been a greater contribution?
My original questions were these, why the reluctance in answering them?
While we appreciate your enthusiasm in depicting the events of Gujarat- have you done likewise for the acts of violence in Marad, Kerala? Where hindu families were ethnically cleansed and killed? Wouldnt that be classified as fascism as well?
Whats the point of going across the world and getting sundry awards- what have you done within India?
So when can we expect a documentary on Islamic fascists in Marad? Or Christian fascists from the Baptist denomination responsible for quite a few religiously motivated acts of extreme violence in the NE? Do ask any folks from the Indian Army- they’d be sure to point you towards a few organizations.
Irrelevant question I am afraid. However, since you did ask- I’d rather that they were all barred from contesting electorally, even if the matter was subjudice. Given the fact that there are innumerable claims and counterclaims against and for them, and their being in a position of power could affect the judicial process.
<
blockquote> Also, you might be confusing me with Anand Patwardhan whose film War and Peace deals with the nuclear issue. Or is there another “diatribe” you might be referring to?
<
blockquote>
Anand Patwardhans views are well known. He does appear to inhabit a parallel universe where his nations security is guaranteed by the largesse of the large hearted Pakistani Army and the Chinese Communist decision making apparatus. I was merely asking you for your opinion on this matter.
Time constraints prohibit me from carrying on two edifying conversations at one go, unfortunately.:-) I look forward to your reply.
Regards, Akash
http://home.snafu.de/mkgandhi/film.htm
Please note this: Rakesh Sharma signed the following:
As one who has no claim to being from the “elite” (as our leftist friends harangue everyone about) and as one who has had several members of his immediate family in the Armed forces, I find the above disturbing, and downright indicative of the intellectual baggage both film-makers bring towards their “cause”. One campaigns against India’s nuclear deterrent and equates it with Hindutva aka “rabid Hindu nationalism”. The other depicts India as a den of Hindutva “fascists”. Both sign off on pledges directed against India’s security establishment.
And meanwhile, both are globetrotting, and accepting sundry awards!
And note these:
What about the “fascists” who burnt the poor sods in the train? Any exposure of the dynamics of Islamic extremism in India and how it has radicalized Hindu opinion in turn? Any talk of the actual ethos of Hinduism to present a fair and balanced view?
The 2500 figure is pure agitprop widely cited and recited and now held to be a hoary truth. A Parliementary deposition held the figure to be in the approx 500 figure, with marginally more Hindus killed vs Muslims. Not to play down the barbarity of communal violence, assaults against women, destruction to property etc, but the number is yet one more instance of playing fast and loose with the relevant facts.
And to think this is fair and balanced reportage.
Regards.