Synopsis:
The Final Solution is
a 2003 documentary directed by Rakesh Sharma about the 2002 communal
Gujarat Riots that arose as a response to the Godhra Train Burning
incident on February 27, 2002, where 58 Hindus were burnt alive on a
train carriage. An official estimate states that 254 Hindus and 790
Muslims were killed during the riots, with 223 more missing. The
documentary consists mostly of interviews, with both Muslims and Hindus,
of multiple generations, and both sexes, with different views regarding
the causes, justifications, and the actual events of the violence that
occurred, as well as their prospects for the future. The government of
Gujurat at the time, led by Chief Minister Narendra Modi, was highly
criticised throughout the documentary and was accused of inciting much
of the rioting and not doing enough to halt it.
A Pirate-and-Circulate campaign was conducted in protest against the ban (Get-a-free-copy-only-if-you-promise-to-
pirate-and-make-5-copies).
Over 10,000 free Video CDs of the film were distributed in India during
this campaign, which ended in Dec. 2004. Final Solution was offered
free to Anhad for their campaigns; it was included in their anthology
titled "In defence of our dreams". Subscribers of several journals/mags
also got a copy of the film free of cost. These included Communalism
Combat (Ed : Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand), Samayik Varta (Ed :
Yogendra Yadav), Janmat and several smaller journals.
Final
Solution was rejected by the government-run Mumbai International Film
Festival, but was screened at 'Vikalp: Films for Freedom', organised by
the Campaign Against Censorship.] Rakesh Sharma has been an active
member of the Campaign since its inception.
A pilot movement to
copy-and-redistribute the movie was held, briefly to protest the
censoring of the movie screenings. The film has been screened on BBC,
NHK, DR2, YLE and several other channels. It is yet to be shown on
Indian television.
Post Godhra violence
Tension gripped
parts of Gujarat state while examinations all over the state were
cancelled. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad had called for a statewide bandh to
protest the Godhra train burning. Fearing communal clashes the
administration imposed a curfew in several areas. Rapid Action Force
were deployed in Godhra's sensitive area and around Godhra station. On 1
March the Indian government dispatched around 1,000 paramilitary
personnel to Gujarat and asked the army to be on standby to maintain law
and order in the state. The Army began flag marches in the
worst-affected areas and shoot-at-sight orders were issued in 34
curfew-bound cities and towns in Gujarat.
151 towns and 993
villages in fifteen to sixteen of the state's 25 districts were affected
by the post-Godhra violence, which was particularly severe in about
five or six districts. The violence raged largely between 28 February
and 3 March, and after a drop, restarted on 15 March, continuing till
mid June. Northern and central Gujarat, as well as the north-eastern
tribal belt which are closer to Godhra City, were the worst affected
while Saurashtra and Kutch remained largely peaceful.