The Hindu : CPJ seeks clearance for documentary on Gujarat riots

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 22, 2003

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CPJ seeks clearance for documentary on Gujarat riots

New York March 21. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called upon India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to reverse its earlier decision to deny a certificate to the documentary, "Aakrosh", which prevents the film from being shown publicly. "Aakrosh" or "Cry of Anguish" is a 20-minute Hindi documentary, which features interviews with the survivors of the communal violence that swept Gujarat in 2002.

On March 4, the CBFC notified the producers of "Aakrosh" that their application for a certificate was denied. The filmmakers appealed against the decision to the Board's Revising Committee, which met on March 19, to screen the documentary. The Committee members said a decision would be made shortly, but no date was given.

In CBFC's March 4 letter to the filmmakers explaining the decision, a copy of which was obtained by the CPJ, the Board lists several "Reasons for Refusal of Certificate", including the fact that " the film depicts violence and reminds the people about the Gujarat riots last year. It shows the Government and police in a bad light. The overall impact of the film is negative as it leads to communal hatred".

The film's producers say "Aakrosh" does not show footage of the violence and is not incendiary. The film "preaches the importance of peace and communal harmony,'' said a statement from the People's Media Initiative, an independent production company that made the documentary. "We wanted to show the futility of the violence and tell the people that violence of any kind is bad."

The filmmakers say they did not identify the victims interviewed by name or religion to avoid contributing to further polarisation between the Hindu and Muslim communities.

The clashes in Gujarat began on February 27, 2002, when a Muslim mob set fire to a train carrying Hindu activists, killing 59 persons, according to official reports. More than 2,000 Muslims were killed in the retaliatory violence that followed. Journalists, diplomats, and human rights groups have reported that much of this violence was actually organised and encouraged by political leaders and groups associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), that governs Gujarat and leads the coalition Government at the Centre. Arvind Trivedi, a former actor and BJP politician from Gujarat, currently heads the CBFC.

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