Final Solution (2004) Online

FINAL SOLUTION, documentary film, set up in Gujrat during February 2002 - July 2003, deals with the Gujrat riots, which shook the country. The movie is a study of the politics of hate. It is divided into four parts. It depicts the planned Genocide against the Muslims (minority community) and the aftermath of the carnage: Hindu-Muslim polarisation. It also tries to figure out the meaning of the emerging 'Hindutva'. The Terror Trail reconstructs through eyewitness accounts the attack on Gulbarg (Ahmedabad) and acts of barbaric violence against Muslim women at Eral and Delol/Kalol (Panchmahals) even as Chief Minister, Narendra Modi traverses the state on his Gaurav Yatra. The film is so powerful, that it can literally destroy a political party. A must watch!

A no-nonsense, well-researched documentary containing footage the Indian media will never show. It does not exposition or proselytize, just shows the fact about what happened in Gujarat and its consequences.

Even though the film is banned in India, definitely try to get hold of a copy especially if you are Indian. The documentary clearly shows the insidious ways used by the RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal and BJP to spread their doctrine of hate and poison Hindu minds against Muslims just for the purposes of getting votes. See what is being done in the name of Hinduism.

In February and March 2002, the Indian State of Gujarat witnessed horrific incidents of unparallelled violence that can only be described as Genocide. Over 2000 people, including British Citizens were slaughtered with more than 100,000 people displaced in under-resourced refugee camps. Houses were systematically looted; businesses burnt down, hundreds of women gang raped and many children murdered.

Substantial evidence suggests that the Gujarat State government, led by the current Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the police orchestrated the violence and were responsible for the carnage. Yet, despite domestic and international public pressure, not a single prominent individual has been held to account or brought to justice.

Commentating on the violence in Gujarat, The US based Human Rights Watch states - "What happened in Gujarat was not a spontaneous uprising, it was a carefully orchestrated attack against Muslims. The attacks were planned in advance and organised with extensive participation of the police and state government officials." The violence in 2002 followed a deteriorating trend of human rights abuses against the Christian, Muslim and Dhalit minorities in Gujarat, this trend has continued since 2002. Indeed, in 2005, the Chief Minister of Gujarat was banned from visiting the US for his part in the Genocide and continued Human rights abuses in Gujarat, citing Modi to be in "in severe violation of religious freedoms".

This film is worth a million textbooks, because it shows first-hand what was happening in Gujarat and draws some very relevant parallels with the Jewish experience in Nazi Germany.

Never Again? Watch this film and wake up....

SPOILER ALERT:

Their is no religion, no class, no race, but only two kinds of People ' Good ' and ' Bad ', these two sides of Humanity has been shown in this Wonderful yet Very much disturbing Documentary.

Rakesh seem to have went in to depths and a vast research before making this wonderful piece of work ! Though it couldn't make it to general public cause of an obvious reason known to people who have actually seen this documentary, i must confess that i have never seen any thing like this in my whole life ! Literally i have cried only 4 or 5 times hardly in my life since i gained my senses and in that 4 or 5 times one is while watching this ......, The story uncovers brutality, Murder, Rape of innocent girls and pregnant women, robbery , and in depth violence which any living man can hardly imagine. The Documentary starts with a young boy hardly 3-4 years old speaking to Rakesh about the riots !!! I was shocked to hear the words from his mouth, it just showed the kind of impact which laid down on the young minds. The documentary covered everything starting from the Godhra train burning ( February 27, 2010 ) till the next year effects which it had on Gujrath. It highlighted all the political Leaders who are begging for votes with an alibi of this Riots. Most of the statements given by political leaders in this documentary are SHOCKING !!! they speak openly about eliminating Muslims from India and even Attacking Pakistan !! till now i thought speaking like that will have you arrested but little did i know about it.

It had so many people describing the sad story which happened back then, even some of the witnesses speaking about this gruesome Acts committed by Soulless people. At the end every one reduced to tears they could not speak due to the pain they have in their hearts which is totally felt by me. Every one should watch this master piece to be aware about where our country is actually going.

By the end of this documentary every one can say it was not Muslim or Hindu who started this Living Hell . It was always them ' Politicians ' I hope they them selves who speak about protecting our country shall stop destroying her. I would have paid 200 bucks and watched this in theater instead of some sensational drama where Millions are spent.

India is no stranger to religious violence, nor ban on films that seek intelligent introspection of those events. What makes it different this time, is that the leader behind the genocide is neither shadowy (like the grand old party) nor limited to a small region (like the Tiger). He is rather upfront about his actions, intentions, and frustrations. His diatribe is coated with brilliant oratory, his exhortations are served with a dash of sarcastic humor, and his pride at "cleansing" those who'd hurt the "MotherLand" is infectious. As he's proved with over two decades of elected mandate, and effortlessly crushing any opposition and opponents to his crusade, his force is not to trifle with.

The Final Solution by Rakesh Sharma, thankfully available in good quality on Youtube (for now), is also important at this point in history because we're on the verge of electing our new Prime Minister. Unfortunately, hate-mongers find it easier to exploit the polarization in society and gain ardent followers, rather than those who talk about peace and concessions. It is very easy to divert attention from the broken hull and instead claim that throwing a few people overboard will keep everyone afloat. By the time people realize it didn't work, and that everyone is drowning, it is too late. The shock value of Final Solution, to me, was not in how the administration perpetrated genocide; rather, it was in the honest, widespread and, indeed, CASUAL acknowledgment by the majority community: "Yes, we did it. So what? They had it coming...". Somehow, Modi's fiction has found its audience-- and not just in Gujarat. People are willing to suspend disbelief, and overlook obvious plot-holes, to live that dream where everything will be OK once the Muslims are eradicated.

The tales of human tragedy, the families split apart, the generations wiped out, the mutilated bodies are heart rending, yes. Even more is the way mobs attacked different parts of the state at the same time, in almost every case, accompanied by cops to make sure no one escapes. The few voices of dissent and sanity were killed, by questioning their patriotism or politics. Proved crimes, such as recorded speeches or fake encounters, were simply ignored till the public forgot.

The Final Solution is not a chest-beating apology for the minority. It is a gripping and honest record of what happened. At no point does it demonize Modi or his cronies. You draw your own conclusions from speeches they never deny making. That's when you feel that cold shudder down your spine.

He could be the PM one day. The dread sinks in that the parallels with another such brilliant and deadly figure in history is no exaggeration.

I saw this quite a long time ago, but I'll comment on it now. It is a very good documentary, probing into the horrendous massacre of Muslims in Gujarat, in 2002, as well as all things pertaining to Hindu nationalism and communalism. It employs the technique of interviews with minimal commentary, allowing for a very nuanced and interesting flow/style, and allowing for a relative open-ness for your own critical thinking to ferment.

Despite that however, this documentary seriously lacks a certain kind of depth. It is... it is naive, deceptive, snide, and... essentially catered; catered to westerners, outsiders to this issue, for the intended sputtering response of OMG FASCISM! and for garnering western 'critical claim'.

To start off, this film provides no ideological backdrop to Hindutva, and spends a great deal of time talking to dipsh*t cadres, basically assuming from the beginning: Hindutva is wrong. It also steers clear of the difficult task of tackling the extremely complex historical and political backdrops regarding how Hindutva came to be, why it came to be, and what sustains it. It makes foreign the idea of examining legitimate Hindu frustration regarding past colonialism inflicted by external Islam and Christianity, and most importantly the present colonialism inflicted by internal Nehruvianism/Communism. It doesn't talk about India being the most beleaguered and terrorized nation in the world, with it's largest minority out of many minorities, being so fiercely secessionist, anti-integrationist, anti-secular, and anti-majority in so many aspects and through so many of its dealings ever since losing power a century and a half ago. Within the movie, I could not fathom the absurdity (and therefore hilarity) of two short but crucial scenes. The one first was a Congress Party rally, making it quite clear for us that it is the good party, the defender of secularism and freedom. Oh yes. "When a giant tree falls, the earth below shakes", am I right? ... The second took place in a mosque, with the Imam asking for calm and unity. Now, how easy that was. With such speed and efficiency, we've been assuaged. Islam is a religion of peace; there's your proof. That case is closed, now lets move on to other things. ...

LOL.

It is this method of 'just' interviewing the people, which, while good on one hand, is bad on another. This method lends to a disproportionate analysis of the Indian Hindu-Muslim conflict. Though the following example doesn't fit perfectly, I think it's sufficient: think about a hypothetical, analogous film condemning the racism and extremism of the Black Panther Party and the Nation of Islam. Of course, racism and extremism are worth condemning, but all of us living in North America know that there is much more to the issue than that, and would be quite exasperated if such a hypothetical film were about that and nothing else. (Now... a film I'd like to see would be one about the FULLY REALIZED fascism of Pakistan, lol.)

So, in closing, this film definitely is great, despite having like, 90% of my review made up of criticism. Though, you know, still, keep that criticism in mind. As for myself, I am an atheist of Hindu descent, but I don't identify with the corresponding atheists in Indian society, the masochistic Nehruvianist/Communist elites. Instead, out of the warped political landscape of India, the Hindu Nationalists are the least bad and most sensible, therefore I identify with them in that capacity. Of course, they're a conservative religious party, and looking at grassroots cadres, have elements of violent and bigotry, they, at a political levels push forward a few very progressive and correct ideas: uniform civil code, liberalizing markets, Ram Mandir (which definitely should be built; Muslims should come to say, "out of the thousands of mosques built of demolished temples, we'll let you have this one back, which is your Mecca, Medina, or Al-Quds"), and striking down article 370 (giving special status to Kashmir). The existence of the Hindu nationalists is quite justified, despite this blemish (of blood), and they may be one of the best things to happen to India.

Ultimately, I think, what India needs is a prominent straight-forward liberal party, a liberal nationalist party that is pro-capitalist, pro-modernist, (truly) secularist, egalitarian, feminist, free speech / libertarian, and assertive with Pakistan. India should have, from the beginning, followed the ideological and philosophical example of the United States and the practical example of Japan.

* And just to add, did you notice how laden with English everybody's Hindi was? I've read that this mixing is prestigious, but to me it just sounds SO idiotic! Childish would be another way to describe it; as would the words gimmick and caricature. Hindi is going down the drain... perhaps an 'Urdu' of English will develop is this isn't kept in check.

As for Narendra Modi, call him a murderer, but LOL, can that guy ever orate. It's sad how for Indians one standard for which I accord respect is simply knowing the words of their own language. Too bad for his Hindutvadi subordinates, those defenders of of Hindu culture, LOL. They had no problem in indulging in the Anglo-vocabular smörgåsbord... linguistic colonial chains more like it. And even more absurd, is how Muslims are not OK, but their words are (duniyaa, zindagi, khoshish).

This movie is not "totally based on fact" or "balanced", as some other reviewers would like you to believe, it is quite the contrary. The movie shows too many exaggerated and false claims on the one side, and when an interview with a Hindu is shown, they picked the Hindu with the most extreme opinion they could find. The movie also does not say that about one third of the riot victims were Hindus, or that Modi and his government did all they could to stop the riots. For a more balanced perspective than this propaganda movie, read the book "Gujarat after Godhra: Real violence, selective Outrage" by Dr. Koenraad Elst and Prof. Ramesh N. Rao, or "Gujarat Riots: The true story".

That Muslims (and Hindus) were victims in this violence is bad, and Hindu-Muslim riots are not a rarity in South Asia (but this movie lays all the blame only on Hindus, and shows Muslims as the eternal victims). All those who talk endlessly about the Gujarat riots won't say a word about the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits, of the 1 to 3 million Hindus murdered in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, or the state-sponsored Anti-Sikh riots, or indeed about the persecution Hindus and Christians suffer every day in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The riots started after 60 Hindus (including women and children) were burned in a train by a Muslim mob - and to this day, political extremists try to claim that the Godhra train burning was only an accident. The Godhra train burning happened in reaction to the Ayodhya debate (see the books by Sita Ram Goel and Harsh Narain for the best overview on this debate).

Because of such propaganda, Narendra Modi was denied a visa to the United States, which has unnecessarily strained India-US relations. However, Modi has received a "clean chit" over his role in the Gujarat riots, no riots have happened since then in 12 years of Modi-ruled Gujarat (which is not the case in the rest of India and South Asia), and just some days ago Modi has been elected Prime Minister of India. The people of India have made it clear that they are not going to believe in lies and propaganda forever.