HOW SANJAY KAK GOT OUR SCREENING SCUTTLED

It was a very sad day for all of us at RIK. When I should have been posting the pictures of our screening at Kamla Nehru College, which was to be screened today, I am writing this post to pre-empt another bundle of lies and self pity which the Jashn-e-Azadi team will come out with. Let me put the sequence of events straight.
We had approached Kamla Nehru College for a screening of the documentary”And the World Remained Silent” and were given permission to screen the movie on 24th of Aug at 2.30 PM.We had accordingly put the date of screening on our blog. Even in our recordings of Agrasen Collge Screening we had ended saying “See you at Kamla Nehru College on Friday the 24th,Aug”.
Our activist Pooja got a message from the college authorities on Tuesday saying they could not screen our movie because of some un-avoidable circumstances. We suspected “someone” was playing games and trying to scuttle our screening. Accordingly we went to the forums and posted on this very blog the news of cancellation of our screening.It was late that night that one our friends from Kamla Nehru college told us that at that same slot on the same day Jashn-e-Azadi was now being screened .Well we could understand Sanjay Kak being revengeful to the extent that he would get our movie cancelled by using his CONTACTS in the college but we had never imagined he would “teach us a lesson” by showing his movie on the same slot on the same day. How someone who has projected himself as a champion of free speech and right to expression was stooping so low as to “teach a lesson” to people who simply did not agree with his genre of movie making.
Since we are not well connected we again went to people, the forums and the SARAI readers list and posted Nishant Dudha’s post on Wedensday saying that someone had got our movie screening cancelled and had got a slot for his own movie at the same time same day.
Sad and hurt by the attitude of the college authorities there was little one could do, since they were acting on someone’s behest, someone so revengeful that he simply wanted to censor our movie from the face of the college. Since we are not known to Film Clubs, Leftist leaning one book wonders and self proclaimed champions of freedom and democracy ,we went to the Police Station next to the venue where Sanjay Kak had manipulated his way into. We filed a complaint and since Sanjay Kak is breaking the law of the land by screening a movie which does not have necessary censor certificate, the Police did the rest.
We have learnt a lesson, and learnt it well. Sanjay Kak is a well connected man and he can ensure that we can’t screen our movie if he does not want to. He can use his contacts and his blog to generate self pity and sympathy for his movie by being a CRY BABY. Anyone can cry hoarse by saying how his right to speech is being trampled by Police and Authorities but then he would never be honest to admit how he himself uses his contacts to get screenings of his detractors scuttled.
Ironic how “liberal intellectuals” behave when they feel insecure!

Successful Screening at IIMC

A screening of our presentations,video's and interview of the terrorist Bitta Karate was conducted at the Indian Institue of Mass Communication in New Delhi. An audience of 50 mass communication masters students gathered with much interest to see the woes and plight of this displaced community. We thank Mr. Sunil Bhat, a student of prestigious IIMC who through his tireless efforts conducted this screening single handedly.

In words of Sunil; he sums the entire event as follows: "After the screening was over we (students) engaged in a disscussion on the plight of Kashmiri Pandits. Everybody was moved by seeing the K.Ps. living as refugees in their own country. Many of them raised their voices against Bitta Karate."

He continues further, "Some of the students got emotional and said that the K.Ps. have been subjected to genocide. They further said that the psuedo-secularism in the country is responsible for the present plight of K.Ps. "

Few pictures from the IIMC Screening...

Liberals or Hypocrites by Nishant Dudha

The urban Indian intellectuals proudly declare themselves as liberals. They do not stop there, they go a step ahead and claim themselves to be the reason for the existence of Indian nation state and everything good that India stands for. Everything that this nation has managed to uphold, despite naysayer’s prediction about us 60 years ago.

This may be true to some extent, but I wonder how to define this India liberalism, that makes messiahs of monsters. That allows secessionist venom to be spewed in the name of “Freedom of Expression” but scoffs at ultra-nationalism. That loves to label MinorityAppeasement as Affirmative Action but when the recipient of appeasement is Majority, it is quick to label it as Fundamentalism.

All these questions used to arise in my mind at different points of time, but what has collated them is the following sequence of events.

Kamla Nehru College (Delhi University) authorities allowed RIK to screen a movie “And the world remained silent” followed by a panel discussion about this alternate perspective of truth nation refuses to see.

A few days later they revoke the permission assigning the cause as non-availability of proper facilities. And now we get to know, in the same time slot and on the same day another movie is being screened at the same venue.

I can’t fathom the reason, the question that arises inmy head which possibly you could help me find ananswer to is:

"Is Indian intelligentsia Liberal or Hypocrite? "

Screening at Kamla Nehru College-Postponed or maybe Refused

So much so for freedom...sorry but we have to indefinitely postpone screening at Kamla Nehru College,New Delhi.
Our apologies to everyone,we will however not play the blame game because we are not here for cheap publicity.

Screening at Maharaja Agrasen Collge

One more screening,one more day of learning.It was interesting experience for all of us when the movie was screened to a 125 odd students and some teachers at the Maharaja Agrasen College.A large section of the students were Journalism students so the discussion after the screening was thought provoking to say the least.Kashmir issue is so mired and vexed that it is impossible to even suggest solutions without fraying tempers and raising eyebrows.The panelists Vinod Verma(Leftist leaning intellectual) and Madhusree Chatterjee of Hindustan Times raised vital issues and the discussion did go beyond Kashmir.The minority question and treatment of minorities as an issue did come around.Students joined in and new perspectives to the problem were seen and some brushed aside.As a moderate,liberal and modern initiative "Roots in Kashmir" has always encouraged persepctives,ideas and solutions which are different than ours.It was one such effort to reach out and discuss and maybe explore the "new dimension".A humanitarian view of the Pandit problem would help the nation raise it better said Madhusree.Vinod stressed the need for a more inclusive agenda wherein we as a nation could address marginalised populations,Pandits being one.

The curtain however came down when a student asked Rashneek to answer in Yes or No and the question was"Do you think that the Pandit problem is being swept under the carpet to appease the minorities in general in India" and Rashneek answering Yes.

Hope to see you this Friday ie 24th Aug at Kamla Nehru College at 2.30 PM.

This EVENT was covered here...

http://headlinesindia.com/national/index.jsp?news_code=52968

http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/20/stories/2007082054880300.htm