First, a quick background. For those of you who aren’t already familiar with the subjects of this post, Anand Jon is the 30-something Indian-born fashion designer who is currently awaiting trial in the U.S. on multiple counts of rape, including the rape of minors. Most of these alleged rapes took place through “casting couch” situations and involved young models. You can get a quick re-cap on the specifics here and here and here.
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p>As far as Narendra Modi, most people don’t need a recap of his sordid history. He is the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat, and many both there and abroad feel he was complicit in the ethnic cleansing of Muslims (see our archives or here and here). Others however, including many American Gujaratis (especially hotel owners) admire him for his economic policies and his “tough stance” against Muslims. They support him vociferously from the U.S.
So what is the admitedly loose connection between these two individuals that motivated me to write this post? Both of these men, in there own way, have become symbols of Indian Nationalism and are being used as vehicles to enflame Nationalistic sentiments (with varying success) both in India and the U.S.
I started to think about this at a party over the weekend when my friend Ankur asked me if I had seen an interview in the print edition of India Abroad, a weekly NRI newspaper owned by Rediff.com. He said the interview was of Sanjana Jon defending her brother. I have not seen the India Abroad issue of which he speaks, but I am quite familiar with the campaign to use the media to recast Jon as a martyr of some sort.
Jacob Joseph (an ex-SM commenter), the lead blogger over at The Great Indian Mutiny blog captures the essence of this campaign quite well in a recent “interview” he conducted with Sanjana Jon. [Disclaimer: Sepia Mutiny readers should be made aware that The Great Indian Mutiny was named after this blog. They even call themselves…mutineers. Except their Mutiny is purer. Indian only (no People of Indian Origin fakers who give a bad name to Indians everywhere)]. Here is the “interview” (and I use the term loosely) of Anand Jon’s sister as posted on Joseph’s blog:
Following my earlier post on Anand Jon, someone named GWB left a link to a Dallas Observer article about him. Although GWB claimed it gives you ‘both sides’ of the story, I found it too one sided. I decided to get in touch with Sanjana Jon, his sister, to get some questions answered.
Here is the chat transcript:
Mutiny: Sanajana, let me start by asking you how your mother is doing? It must be pretty tough for a mother to have her son in prison and acussed of these crimes.
Sanjana Jon: I dont want to describe how she feels but not just as a mother and sister but as people who worked with him and lived with him-knowing that none of this ever happened it is traumatizing and kills us seeing this injustice. [Link]
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p>Quick. I’m not a journalist but don’t you learn (on the first day of Journalism school) to make fun of someone who begins an interview with “…let me start by asking you how your mother is doing?” I don’t blame Sanjana for saying whatever she has to in order to help keep bro out of jail, but come on!
It isn’t until further down in the “interview” that the idealogical bent of the interviewer (and the campaign) is revealed.
M: I read he is an Indian Citizen, is that true?
SJ: Yes he is.
M: Do you think that’s the reason?
SJ: Its definitely a big part why the case was manipulated by the prosecution- we trust the US justice system but its the people who are behind playing these manipulative games- if you actually Google you will see thousands of cases where there is prosecutorial misconduct-over zealous prosecution-as in the rescent Duke case – the main difference here is being Indian we have no one to question what they are doing. Of the 40 counts in NY 30 are from the same girls between LA and TX-does that make sense -why are they doing this-just to keep him in jail and not allow a proper defense.If its an African American or Hispanic person – you have a Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton questioning-in our case who is and who will?
M: Did you approach the Indian Embassy or Consulate? Did they offer any kind of help?
SJ: We have-the sfo consulate has been looking into this and hopefully will pursue this-we need them to–but in NY though we called innumerable times and requested Neelam Deo has not even responded once which is terrible since its this very consulate that honored Anand Jon over the years and gave him the title of cultural ambassador of India.M: But there are so many Indian-American/South Asian associations in the US. Haven’t any of them taken on this issue?
SJ: We approached a few and they feel this has to be on a level that the government is fully involvedM: But surely if they can fight for allowing turbans in the army or more H1B visas, they can fight against the injustice done to an fellow countrymen?
SJ: When its a US citizen the consulate and government get involved no matter where why or how-isnt an indian citizen important?-or just as improtant? Jacob-the fact of the matter is there is NO material evidence–no 911 calls-this whole thing propped up after Anand Jon’s company got funded and they thought 25 million had come into the account[Link]
Joeseph’s central (and only) argument here (and this is really an opinion piece thinly disguised as an interview) is that Anand Jon is Indian. “True Indians” in America (including Indians who refer to themselves as South Asians) should be defending him. If we can blog about the persecution of Sikhs and other injustices like hate crimes, then why can’t we blog in defense of a brown alleged child rapist? What is up with sell-out Indian Americans? The same general argument is used with respect to Modi. Why aren’t all Indians in America backing this fellow Indian? Why do some of us support the U.S. government for denying him an entry visa? Indian Nationalists argue that Modi is an Indian and should not be banned from visiting anywhere UNLESS India finds him guilty…which they haven’t.
In the interview snippet above you can see how Joseph and Jon are engaging in a little dance that benefits both. Jon plays up the “my brother is being prosecuted because he is Indian” angle, which is exactly what Joseph needs her to say in order to back his already formed position. Sanjana has been going around India trying to drum up support with slogans such as, “If our country won’t take care of us, who will?” For the record, I for one am glad that the Indian American community does not have a Jesse Jackson or an Al Sharpton. I like the more grassroots way that we’ve been trying to do things (see Macaca).
Back in 2005 when I learned that NBC’s Hardball host Chris Matthews was going to speak at the Asian-American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), who had also invited Modi, I posted it and the popular blog MediaBistro picked it up (because of my tip to them). In doing so it put such a spotlight on Matthews that he backed out of the event. I was pretty damn proud of that. Modi has been trying ever since that convention to build grassroots support in America by appealing to the Indian Nationalist sentiments of many NRIs. Just this weekend in fact, he urged Indian Americans to vote in the primary elections:
“You are going to have elections soon. I hope you would actively participate and show that you are a political force to reckon with,” Modi said, while speaking to his supporters in New Jersey via video conferencing from Gandhinagar, early Saturday morning.
In his hour-and-a-half long speech to over a thousand people, comprising Gujaratis living in the US, Modi communicated his government’s priorities. The event was organised by the Overseas Friends of the BJP (OFBJP).
Having been denied a visa by Washington, Modi has been speaking to his supporters in the US through video conferencing for the last couple of years. [Link]
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p>What Modi is really attempting to do is to get more Indian Americans to lobby as Indians. This, in my opinion, would be disastrous to the long term standing of our community in America. Circling back, Joseph’s interview also seems to be focused on this:
M: In all these years, why did he remain an Indian Citizen?
SJ: Cos he always was proud to be an Indian and wanted to maintain that-he is on a special O1 category given to less than 1% immigrants-outstanding talent. To the prosecution in all honesty this is a great high profile globally known case with noone to question their doings since he is an Indian brown boy.
M: Are you and your mother Indian Citizens as well?
SJ: I’m a resident here-mom is an indian citizen… [Link]
As it turns out, one of Jon’s alleged victims actually maintains her own blog:
This blog is a response to the another blog claiming rapist Anand Jon his innocence. In my eyes, there is nothing wrong with believing in your family – even if that means your brother is convicted on multiple rape charges. If my brother, whom I love dearly, was to ever get put in prison and he’d say he didn’t do it, I would believe him. But when there are more than 30 girls and counting to this date, including 14 and 15 year olds, the bail is raised to millions of dollars, it’s a disgrace to women out there to parade on the streets claiming all these girls are liars, throwing in words like “civil rights” and closing your eyes from the real truth.
I made this blog to give myself a voice, and possibly other girls who have been in the same situation. I was approached by Anand Jon when I was only 16 years old, and he raped me when I just turned 17. What some of his supporters don’t understand, possibly because most of them are men, is that he really picked us out by our background. I didn’t come from a stable home, wanted to leave, and when this powerful man came into my life saying everything would be better, I believed him. Naive, yes, but I was also still very very young. He took advantage of that, just like he did with so many other young girls that weren’t secure enough to say “no”…I believe all these young girls, and I believe the American justice system will lock him up for a very long time. I have absolutely nothing to gain from writing this, but to let someone hear my voice. [Link]
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p>Kudos to this woman for telling her story through a blog.
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p>Let me end by saying that I support Joseph’s right to believe anything he chooses to and to blog about it. That is of course what we do at SM and what bloggers everywhere do. You can’t fault him for having an opinion and stating it. If he is an Indian Nationalist then more power to him. But I also have the right to yell “bullshit” at what I see written on the internet. My central criticism here is not with Joseph but with some of the Indian media which seems to be falling for this revisionist campaign: Anand Jon as a native son done up Guantanamo style. Not even any so-called Indian Americans are coming to his aid.
Anand Jon will receive the justice due him once all the facts are aired in an American court. If he is innocent then he will be acquitted. If he is guilty he better hope he gets solitary confinement. Modi may never receive the justice due him. In either case, I hope that Indian Americans never conflate a desire for justice with pride in India. Anand Jon is not Gandhi despite what his family would have people believe.
JJ,
Mine is an insider’s perspective–colored, i’m sure, by the tenuous relationship between insurer and insured–but there are innumerable instances of judges in civil courts (especially in the Cook Counties of the country) not requiring that even the barest shred of negligence be shown on the part of the insured. Insurance policies are contracts of adhesion–one-sided because the Insurance company is very knowledgeable and the insured is generally not. Quite often it is just that the largest pocket pays, regardless of who is actually liable.
not trying to knock your credibility here but your statement is kind of an overreach–insurance companies have a very real interest in keeping insureds and getting new ones–objectives that require covering what the policy is sold as covering (a line of responsibility that will go through an agent and perhaps a wholesale broker–the insurance company does not, in most cases (outside of property), directly sell their own products).
My point was that Jon would have to be considered a professional in the context of the fashion industry and the models as not-professionals (and therefore deserved of special considerations while reviewing contracts between the two.)
I am not a lawyer and hence am happy to be corrected by someone who is a lawyer.
100 รยท Jangali Jaanwar said
YES!!! ๐
Melbourne Desi@77,
Other posters have called you out on your comment — I’m just adding my two cents. Have you seen a 16-year old girl use sexually ‘mature’ body-language? By your argument, an adult male would be entitled to treat her as an adult and insist that she deliver what she so provocatively ‘promised’. Do you see where this is going? I think your understanding of the dynamics of sexuality and power is very limited. There was an irrefutable difference in power between Jon and the models (under-age or not). This power difference will determine whether sex occurred consensually or was ‘expected’. Maybe you are resolutely ignoring the nuances of the case because your unstated assumption seem to be — “these women were aspiring models; as such they should have seen it coming/been prepared for it”
Its a little alarming that you are so blase about this. Hope you don’t have an adoloscent daughter, if this is your position on adoloscent female sexuality.
Preeti
Nayagan,
Absolutely correct. Which is why at least in NYC, the insurance contract is strictly construed against the insurer as it’s deemed that the insurance company has a stronger bargaining position and is the party who almost always drafts the contract. Following suit, the insurers also strictly construe the policies when they can find an advantage.
I think are difference is in the degree of interest and not on the fundamental premise. I have a different perspective, which doesn’t make it right but I will offer what I have seen. In my practice, I’ve been on both sides of the divide, defending insurers and prosecuting claims against insurers. To be fair, it only takes up about 10-20%. I’ve defended contractors or individuals (D&O) against suit and invariably had to turn to the insurer to make sure there was coverage. Sometimes that required suit against the insurer, even where I thought there was an insurance contract that covered the situation. That may be coloring my perspective as the insurance can often mean survival for a small firm especially where that firm is faced with a large claim. If I cam across too strong in my post, I can see that criticism as valid.
However, not all insurers are alike. Depending on the insurer, if they were willing to provide coverage, they normally substitute in their own counsel or pay me to defend the insured (if they can afford me). Other insurers, have a reputation for not wanting to provide coverage where the potential claim may be large. Other insurers follow your model. I’ve also seen it play out differently where the insured is a large institution or a director/officer of a large firm, where the underwriting of the policy is worth a great deal and the likelihood of successive claims is not likely. Where its a small firm, the insurer’s interests may be different. It may have an interest in avoiding paying on the claim especially where the exposure is large and the recurring business is not worth a great deal. And you also assume an insured will leave an insurer if its not provided with coverage. That’s not always the case. Some industries have a higher volume of claims and not a lot of insurers have policies written for it, in that situation an insured has little choice as to its insurer. NY also has a higher volume of litigation and that just may make the insurers I have dealt with more demanding on who they cover and won’t cover.
I think that’s written into the DNA of every attorney in the 1st year of law school, find the largest pocket and see if there’s any liability.
I’d like to get back to the thread too. I agree with this completely. The only caveat I would have is, obviously, where parties are represented by counsel or where an adult is acting on behalf of the child those special considerations don’t apply. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if adding a clarification to a legal premise actually helps a thread or just results in a digression. I could have left your sentence alone and it would have been accurate, I just disagreed with the tone or how far it felt. Believe me, I take no particular pride in trying to add a clarification or show off any legal knowledge. Rather it’s just offering my perspective on a legal point.
So back to the thread…. I hope we can all agree, regardless of guilt or innocence, if it looks like a prick, sounds like a prick, Jon’s most likely a prick. And yes, prick is a legal term used in NY courts everyday.
Read later comments as well – not just 77.
If you think about it, the point is inside the potshot.
No, Thank you. And how do you know I don’t like older women? ๐
My views plainly stated:- I think Anand Jon is guilty of the crimes. Obviously, his sister is going to do whatever she can to drum up support for Anand…talking in Hindi helps & so does blowing up the role of his Indian identity. Somewhere in all of this….I sense that Anand would get more support if he was (a)not South Indian (b) not Christian. I can imagine the fireworks if Anand Jon was Punjabi…:)
12 รฦรขโฌลกรโรยท zeph said
zeph, despite trying hard, the author of that piece seems hard pressed to not give away his prejudices..more than presenting a more realistic picture of gandhi, it reads like a “Desh” baiter’s dream.
You’re right, there would be fireworks if he were Punjabi. Fireworks of DISGUST. Punjabis don’t like child rapists/predators any more than anyone else in the desh ๐
No and no.
Chak De Modi!!
M.Nam
A soon to be released Bollywood blockbuster, starring Shahrukh Khan as a bearded and bloodthirsty despot who trains, leads, and then aids and abets a ragtag bunch of unlikely butchers to victory. Absolved, unquestioned, unpunished victory.
Coming to a Patel video conference near you!
Regarding underage models. All models under the age of 18 have a parent or guardian who has co-signed a contract with the modelling agency and acts on behalf of the model. In our office underage models used for hair shoots often have their mom’s with them.
Yes it’s disgusting that malnourished nevermind little girls are being allowed to sell adult clothing but regardless of what they are selling they are still children and should be afforded protection as prescribed by law.
Europe has made a lot of demands regarding age and weight of models but America hasn’t followed suit yet. If you saw some of the models at Fashion Week this week at Bryant Park it will make your stomach turn. They aren’t just waify, they look sickly and a lot of them are little girls but until women in general stop the demand for clothes that appears just so on such models and Designers think they are lucrative business this isn’t going to end.
so now its february 2008 is anand jon free? is he still in jail? please post.
Rarely comment here but had to delurk and commend Abhi on an excellent post. Hate people who use nationalism to further their personal and nefarious ends.
Delurking 1) to tell Abhi this is an excellent post, and 2) to say a word about this:
77 รโรยท melbourne desi said
First of all, this logic is crap. But many people have already explained why, so I won’t bother. What I do want to say is that a very good friend of mine (who is now my age; early twenties) became one of Anand Jon’s victims at 16. She is not, nor ever was, the kind of stupid, minksy teenage debutante you probably have in mind. Not that this makes her special or better than the other victims. You and I don’t know who those other girls were. (And so what if they were stupid, minksy teenage debutantes? Does anyone ever deserve to be raped?! This is matter of human rights and protection of minors, not IQ.) But anyway, my point is that he was so manipulative, so conniving and so aggressive that he could even make a victim out of my powerfully intelligent and dignifiedly feminist friend. She has not filed charges, but she is engaged with the bullshit Anand-Jon-is-a-Civil Rights-martyr campaign in other productive ways. Just remember that Anand Jon has more young, female victims out there than have filed charges against him.
No, it’s not. I fully agree with the implicit claim in your question that Narendra Modi is no better than a vile terrorist. However, when a terrorist assumes power and still continues with the same kind of behavior, and further, uses the machinery of the state to pursue his disgusting goals, he also violates the fundamental trust placed in him by his citizens. State actors have more privileges than individual citizens, but they also have greater responsibility.
74 รยท Manju said
do you mean a “contrarian” hedge fund or a contrarian “hedge fund,” Manju? ๐ since these days fingers are being pointed at “progressive speak,” i was keeping score for a little bit. but you know i respeck you, and your power suit.
why dont they revoke anand’s special category O1 or somesuch visa? then there will be one more commonality between the two…
Narendra Modi and Amy Winehouse finally have something in common, besides being on crack.
I am an Anand Jon supporter. From the beginning, he hasn’t been able to properly defend himself. He is already being judged by the media’s made up stories everyone’s coming out with, especially these girls. He deserves to be tried fairly in court. There isn’t any proof whatsoever that proves that he is guilty. Everyone is going by these hearsays. I respect his sister for fighting for her brother’s life every step of the way. Wouldn’t we do the same? His innocence will be proven!
Jan4,2008. Hi all, happy new year to all of u. I met AJ first in NYC and later (2nd time) in his infamous BH condo in 2005, when he had “engaged me” to raise money for his fashion brand. Even spent a nite in the apt, with a model who looked about 18, at best. She, (Amanda) was from Bakersfield, and seemed rather noncommunicative. She spent the nite with AJ in his room, and as far as I can imagine, they had to have made whoopie :-),
At the time, he had a website, and some brochures, but that was about all. The few investors I talked to decided to pass, for whatever reason. I found AJ to be devoid of personality and humor (which however, I am not surprised. IMnsHO, Desis of both the Indian and Pakistani variety are seriously deficient in humor, and so maybe he was just keeping in line with the stereotype.
That is not to say that most fo the mutineers in this cutely named blog dont have a SOH. The fact that u were creative enuff to come up with a Anglophilic names suggests that u all dont meet the stereotype. Another blogger who definitely doesnt conform to the wooden humorless Desi is http://www.currybear.com, which is worth a look. As well as my buddy, Richard Menon, the Indian Playboy. (We are the certified Cool Desis of America ๐
Anyway here are some of my comments: 1) Dont know what the real connection is between AJ and Modi, but I think Modi should definitely be locked up. In the US, he would have been convicted of hate crimes. I dont like fanatics, ideologues, and radicals of all stripes, whether they are Hindu fanatics or Muslim Talibans. I think they should kill all the Talibans, or convert them to Christianity. I am glad that the US govt had the good sense to deny Modi an entry visa to the US.
2) AJ had major attitude. He sort of pissed me off by his cavalier behaviour, and i am sure that the models who had expected to be introduced to Paris Hilton, and projected onto catwalks on Milan and Paris, and instead found themselves being groped on his couch, were equally pissed off. Plus, if he dissed them further by casting them off, without even following thru with his tacit obligations of getting them exposure in NYC, and perhaps started playing games with them, ie not returning email messages and phone calls, and generally becoming deceptive and evasive, it must have pissed them off no end.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, is what got him in the end, atleast IMO. If he had made friends after he screwed them, rather than cast them aside like so much basura, I dont think they would have filed those charges.
An unnamed Desi girl recounts her experiences: His arrogance and disregard for others was evident. http://lockupanandjon.blogspot.com/ Much as I was not enamored of AJ, I feel that the Government of India, and the Indian Embassy is remiss in not coming to the aid of an Indian citizen. Desis (Indians) rarely go out of their way to help another Desi in America, and this matter proves it all too well. No wonder all the Desis who come (atlleast the majority) wind up getting US citzenship.
Send me a note, and I will give u the name of my website and some of my articles on combatting global poverty, conflict and ecological warfare.
Long live America! kool k., CCD Certified Cool Desi (TM) PS: u may email me via the email link above.
Even if people believe he was culpable, it would be more of the second than the first. To provide a direct analogy, most Indian voters know that rape of Muslim minors is both legal and non-interference in such rapes is supported by the Congress party via allowance for marriages under a special personal law. That they support such a practice hasn’t made much of a difference to voting patterns since there are so many other issues that elections are fought on.