FINAL SOLUTION - Rakesh Sharma

FINAL SOLUTION (The HITLER inside Narendre Modi)

Final Solution is a study of the politics of hate. Set in Gujarat during the period Feb/March 2002 - July 2003, the film graphically documents the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the 2002 genocide of Moslems in Gujarat. It specifically examines political tendencies reminiscient of the Nazi Germany of early/mid-1930s. Final Solution is anti-hate/ violence as “those who forget history are condemned to relive it”.

Director's Statement

Post-911, we live in a world where politics of hate and intolerance has gained mainstream acceptance, even grabbed centrestage. The right-wing seems to be tightening its stranglehold across Europe and USA, a nationalism being fuelled by the anti-immigrant/anti-Moslem rhetoric. The ‘War on Terror’ dominated the electoral discourse in the US presidential elections, with both candidates promising to hunt ‘em and kill ‘em better than the other. In a world where it has become legitimate to use fictitious intelligence to justify the bombing of innocents in Iraq, where it has become acceptable to launch precision bombs and rockets against non-“embedded” journalists, where shameless politicians divide up oil wells and farm out reconstruction contracts for their $ 36 million bonuses, where babies are killed and mutilated as acceptable “collateral damage”, where suicide bombers and terror attacks claim hundreds of innocent lives, we face a challenge greater than ever before.


We have earlier lived through many dark periods in history, often justifying our barbarism by using similar rhetoric. Hate, despair, destruction and tragedy can not possibly help create harmonious societies and a democratic world.


During the making of this film, I noticed shocking parallels between India 2002-2004 and Germany of the 1930s - State-supported genocidal violence against Moslems in Gujarat and its continuing impact – segregation in schools, ghettoisation in cities and villages, formal calls for economic boycott of Moslems and attacks on intelligentsia by right-wing Hindutva cadres.


Unchecked and unchallenged, the rapid rise of politics of hate and intolerance could very well be the forerunner of a 21st century Endlosung – the Final Solution.

In Modi's Gujarat, Hitler is a textbook hero

Harit Mehta, TNN Sep 30, 2004, 05.11am IST


Gandhi is not so great, but Hitler is. Welcome to high school education in Narendra Modi's Gujarat, where authors of social studies textbooks published by the Gujarat State Board of School Textbooks have found faults with the freedom movement and glorified Fascism and Nazism.

While a Class VIII student is taught 'negative aspects' of Gandhi's non-cooperation movement, the Class X social studies textbook has chapters on 'Hitler, the Supremo' and 'Internal Achievements of Nazism'.

The Class X book presents a frighteningly uncritical picture of Fascism and Nazism. The strong national pride that both these phenomena generated, the efficiency in the bureaucracy and the administration and other 'achievements' are detailed, but pogroms against Jews and atrocities against trade unionists, migrant labourers, and any section of people who did not fit into Mussolini or Hitler's definition of rightful citizen don't find any mention." They committed the gruesome and inhuman act of suffocating 60 lakh Jews in gas chambers" is all the book, authored by a panel, mentions of the holocaust.

Hitler redux – Modi’s style reminds one of Hitler

- Prashant Panday (Times of India)

In my two previous posts on Modi, I have tried to show how Modi’s claim to Gujarat’s economic prosperity is untrue. Gujarat was always prosperous. Gujarat never had electricity shortages. Gujarat always had an industrial climate – industrialists always loved Gujarat. The roads were always good. Yes, the drinking water is Ahmedabad is now much better thanks to the Sardar Sarovar Project, but that project was started much before Modi or the BJP came to power in Gujarat. I have also written about why Modi was desperate to woo the Muslims – in no state in India where the Muslim population has exceeded the national average of 13% (and that includes four of the biggest five states – UP, Bihar, WB and Andhra Pradesh) has the BJP ever done well. This last piece is a focus on Modi personally. Not on the BJP. Not on other leaders of the BJP. Nor it it any wave of support for the Congress or other non-BJP parties. This is an apolitical piece. This piece is solely and squarely on Modi himself. The more one looks at Modi’s conduct, it becomes apparent that there is an inner core of his which is comparable with Hitler’s.
You cannot hide the true dictatorial character of a person behind a pretentious veil of democracy for too long. On the one hand, there is the sham of a democratic “sadbhavna” fast on in Ahmedabad. On the other hand, there is a shameful dictatorial attempt on to scuttle the protesting crowds. Protests against Modi in Gujarat?
But why should we be surprised by Modi’s suppression of the protest held by riot affected victims against his fast? Knowing Modi’s style and his attitude to those who don’t swing to his tune, it should have been expected. After all, the sadbhavna fast was Modi’s grand plans to pitchfork him into the arena of central politics. How could some so-called victims disturb those plans?
A few months back it was no different when the Congress attempted to scuttle the voice of dissent by first not giving Anna Hazare permission to fast at Jantar Mantar. That was panned by one and all. Then the party made the mistake of arresting him and putting him in Tihar. That immediately backfired. But at least the public howls woke the party up. It quickly changed tracks. The party was forced to agree to an alternate and bigger location for the fast; to an unconditional fast-unto-death no matter how undemocratic that is. At least, the Congress responded with contrite behavior. What about Modi? Will Modi respond by apologizing for the detention of the protestors? We will wait to see if he does that.
In many ways, Modi’s motives, ambitions and methods are similar to those of Hitler. Modi’s motives have always been to cater to the fringe right-wing elements of his Hindu followers (the majority), just like Hitler catered to the vast majority of right-wing Germans. He has unabashedly been anti-Muslim, just like Hitler was unabashedly anti-Jew. And it’s worked for Modi just like it worked for Hitler. The Germans handed Hitler one of the biggest electoral victories of the time with 44% of them voting in his favor. The Gujaratis have likewise rewarded Modi by giving him three successive terms in the state. Modi’s ambitions have always led him beyond the shores of Gujarat towards Delhi. Just like Hitler’s led him beyond the shores of Germany to continental Europe. Modi talks of the “asmita” of Gujaratis; Hitler spoke of the Aryan pride of Germans.
Even the early beginnings of Hitler’s anti-semitism could be traced back to a pre-existing feeling of German majority suspicion against the Jews. A theory that existed after WW1 was that the German defeat in that war was not caused on the battlefield but by the liberal, socialist and communist subversive elements on the home front (the Jews). It’s a very similar situation that exists in India. There is a feeling in many in India that it is the Muslims who are behind the terrorism in India. Additionally, in Gujarat, for many decades now, there has been a feeling that the Muslims are anti-India and pro-Pakistan. That they cheer for Pakistan when an India-Pakistan cricket match is played. This may be all rubbish but this feeling has persisted for long in Gujarat.
There was another reason why Hitler became anti-semitic. Hitler was influenced by the thinking of Marx in his early life. However, he despised the “class division” propounded by the Marxists. After WW1, when the German society was vastly divided, Hitler blamed the Marxists for the divisions in society. And to his chagrin, most of the proponents of Marxist ideology were the Jews. In Hitler’s mind, that was proof that the German problems were because of the Jews. It’s a very similar thing with Modi. In many ways, Modi hold the politics of appeasement followed by the other political parties responsible for many of the problems in India. If the Muslims were not appeased, they would have “fallen in line”. If the Muslims were not appeased, they would have been more nationalistic. Modi’s strategy is a political strategy. A strategy to win the support of the majority community by using the appeasement of Muslims as bait. Just the same was as Hitler’s political strategy was to win the support of the majority Germans by using the minority Jews as bait.
Hitler’s supporters often cited his huge popularity at home to prove his leadership and charisma. His right to rule Europe. Hitler was an extremely powerful orator who could rouse the crowds. It’s the same with Modi. Even the biggest detractors of Modi cannot deny that Modi’s charisma is more than that of most other leaders and so is Modi’s oratory. By making Jews the butt of all things wrong in Germany, Hitler used his oratory to the hilt in polarizing the Germans against the Jews. Modi’s doing the same. He is making the Muslims the butt of all things wrong in India to generate the support for himself in Gujarat.
Hitler had many allies in his war against the Jews. The Axis powers – the alliance of like-minded nations – included Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. There was indirect support from Finland, Iraq and Thailand – countries who were fighting their own local problems and found that their enemies were the same as the enemies of Hitler. Many people who commented on my previous two posts on Modi said that Modi was “growing the NDA alliance” and making it stronger than it was. That’s exactly how Hitler’s thinking was when he signed the agreements that joined the Axis Powers. The NDA includes partners like the VHP, the Bajrang Dal (non-political but still large organizations) and the Shiv Sena who agree with Modi’s ideology. And it also includes many other parties who are merely fighting their local battles against the other non-BJP political parties.
And here’s something that everyone knows but no one really ever admits. Hitler’s cherished goal was to set up the “New Order” – German hegemony in continental Europe. In many ways, Modi’s goal is also the creation of a new order. A rule of Hinduism all over India. If he had his way, Modi would have India be called a Hindu country rather than a secular one.
The parallels between Modi and Hitler are nothing unique to this post. But sometimes, it just helps to re-look at historical facts to see if there are lessons to be learnt. Germany was always a great country like Gujarat has always been a great state. Germany was one of the leaders of the Industrial revolution just like Gujarat has been one of the leaders of the industrial revolution in our country. Germany led in engineering. Gujarat leads in exports; in chemicals and pharmaceuticals and many other domains. Hitler thought that domestic support could leapfrog him to pan-Europe leadership. That’s the mistake he made. That put the entire German population – along with a few allies – against the rest of Europe. Modi should keep that in mind. His home support is good for him to remain in Gujarat. But that support cannot leapfrog him to the center. For that, he has to have a new gameplan; a new strategy. A new strategy that recognizes the lay of the land outside Gujarat…..and to get there, he has to first shed his dictatorial ways. He has to become much more inclusive and democratic. He must allow protests against his government. He must be man enough to face them….
The real truth is that by stopping protests against his movement, Modi has once again shown his Hitleresque features. This is his moment in the sun. How can someone put up a protest against him at this moment? The protest has to be scuttled. This is a very Hitler-like response. Hitler scuttled all opposition to his rule. But he failed. Modi shouldn’t make the same mistake…..

The lakshman rekha between 2G and Modi

- Manoj Mitta (Times of India)


What if Sita hadn’t crossed the lakshman rekha? There are two possible answers. One is of course that Sita would not have been kidnapped. But then, as a corollary, Ravan would not have been killed either. The Supreme Court cited the latter logic on Thursday while justifying its decision to continue monitoring the 2G investigation even after chargesheets had been filed in the trial court. In contrast, just a few days earlier, a larger bench of the same court upheld the inviolability of the lakshman rekha even before any chargesheet had been filed on the complaint against Narendra Modi.

In the span of a fortnight, the Supreme Court has come up with conflicting approaches to corruption and communal violence. While it has been goading the CBI to spare none of the culprits in the 2G scam, the apex court showed more concern about ensuring fair trial than about making the Modi regime accountable for the Gujarat carnage. The activist zeal involved in transgressing the lakshman rekha to kill Ravan, much as it is evident in the corruption case, is conspicuously absent in the communal violence case.

The UPA government tried to scuttle the Supreme Court’s monitoring of the 2G probe by citing, ironically enough, the precedent set in the Modi case. The two-judge bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi, however, clarified that it would not allow the lakshman rekha to come in the way of monitoring the remaining aspects of investigation and insulating the trial from extraneous pressures. In one such bona fide transgression of the lakshman rekha, the Singhvi bench attacked the covert attempt to undermine the trial by bringing in the telecom regulatory authority’s assessment of a zero loss in the spectrum allocation.

On the other hand, the three-judge bench headed by Justice D K Jain ended up taking an ultra conservative view of the lakshman rekha of monitoring in the Modi case. Yet, its September 12 judgment, directing the special investigation team (SIT) to file a final report before an Ahmedabad magistrate, is bristling with legal anomalies. To begin with, it was an SIT probe initiated by the Supreme Court in April 2009 into Zakia Jafri’s complaint against Modi and 61 others. The so-called “preliminary enquiry” into the big picture of the 2002 riots stretched for over 13 months. Then, in a surreptitious move, it suddenly transformed into “further investigation” of the Gulberg massacre in which Zakia had lost her husband.

The opacity and inconsistencies of the Jain bench are most evident from its handling of the two reports given by its amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran, who had been appointed to give impartial advice. When Ramachandran gave his “preliminary note” in January 2011 on the first two reports of the SIT, the Supreme Court directed the SIT to give a fresh report “in light of the observations” made by him. But when he gave his “final report” in July 2011 on the SIT’s third report, the Supreme Court actually withheld it from the SIT.

This is despite the fact that Ramachandran’s last report was based on an extraordinary mandate given by the apex court to conduct “his own independent assessment” by going down to Gujarat and interacting with the witnesses examined by the SIT. Yet, after the submission of his final report, the apex court refrained from repeating its direction for a reappraisal by the SIT “in light of the observations” made by Ramachandran.

All that the Supreme Court instead said in its verdict was that it would “be open to the SIT to obtain” a copy of Ramachandran’s final report, that too not from its registry but from the man himself! Little wonder then that SIT chief R K Raghavan said blithely that the verdict only required him to do “the mechanical act” of forwarding Ramachandran’s report along with his to the competent court in Ahmedabad.

With the sudden termination of its monitoring, the apex court has in effect left it to the complainant to figure whether Ramachandran’s assessment has been duly considered by the SIT while chargesheeting or dropping those named in Zakia’s complaint. Such abdication of responsibility on the part of the apex court may lead to at least one unintended consequence. The upcoming trial may land the Supreme Court’s amicus curiae in the witness box! In its bid to keep within the lakshman rekha in the Modi case, the Supreme Court has reduced the chances of killing Ravan — that is, securing justice to riot victims. The cause of justice would have been better served had the Jain bench shared the Singhvi bench’s approach to criminal law. 

Myth of Gujarat Development : Myth of Vibrant Gujarat

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Myth of Vibrant Gujarat

- Ram Puniyani

Nearly nine years after the carnage of Gujarat (Feb 2011), a perception has been created that Gujarat is developing with rapid strides, there is all peace and harmony and minorities are happy. Like ‘Shining India’ a word has been coined, ‘Vibrant Gujarat’.
Nothing can be farther from truth. In the aftermath of the violence, the death of over two thousand Muslims, the rapes, the humiliation at the hands of instigated mobs, are still fresh in the air as the state has totally been unjust to the victims of the violence. There was no rehabilitation worth its name, the ‘refugee camps’ were closed too soon. State totally washed its hands off the rehabilitation process.
Today while the few amongst the Muslim minorities, especially a section of traders, have been won over by the BJP and dominant social forces, the majority of Muslim community has been forced to live the life of severe social and economic deprivation. The trend of ghettotization is increasing in major cities and expanding. Juhapura is the showpiece of the fear and insecurity which has gripped the Muslim community. Many a traders are trying to continue with their businesses in old localities while settling their families in the Muslim ghettoes like Juhapura. Most of the Muslim establishments have changed their names and patterns to sound like being the Hindu establishments, with the hope that this will prevent their religion being identified in the future pogroms, protect their property, and this move will overcome the economic boycott from the majority community. Incidentally this call of economic boycott of Muslims has been given by VHP. The domination of Modi/BJP in the social and political arena is leading to the situation where a large section of Muslims is forced to hide their pain and anger and carry on with the ignominies of their situations. Remarkably many a social groups from amongst Muslim communities are concentrating their work in the area of education; preparing the youth to take up jobs in the fields that are free from discrimination, and to prepare them to traditional and newer avenues of self employment.
A major study by Abdul Saleh Sharif (Relative Development of Gujarat and Socio-Religious Differentials, 2011) is very revealing about the condition of Muslims. This shows that Muslims fare very badly on the parameters of poverty, hunger, education and vulnerability on security issues. The study shows that levels of hunger are high in Gujarat alongside Orissa and Bihar. Muslims are educationally deprived. Muslim community which at one time was dominating in diamond and textile trade has been pushed behind. Poverty of Gujarat Muslims is 8 times more than high caste Hindus and 50% more than OBCs. Twelve per cent Muslims have bank accounts but only 2.6% of them get bank loans. This study concludes that Muslims in Gujarat face high levels of discrimination, even on the roll out of NREGA, Gujarat is at the bottom of the pile. (TOI, Feb 18, 2011, Mumbai)

As per the report of Pratham, an NGO devoted to the issues of education (Annual Status of Education Report), Gujarat is worse than Bihar when it comes to educational standards. Gujarat has been doing miserably in Social development indices and its budgetary allotment in this sector is low compared to other large states, being 17th amongst the 18 large states. While all this is happening, the mental ghettoes, the emotional partitions have become fairly strong and physical ghettoes tell the real truth of Gujarat, the ‘Hindu Rashtra in One State’. Those displaced due to carnage are living with no civic facilities reaching them. The banks and telephone companies are shunning these areas and children’s education is one of the major problems for the victims.
Through conclaves like Guarvi Gujarat, and the annual meetings of NRIs; Industrialists, investment is being solicited and more than the forthcoming investment, projections are being made of the flow of dollars, creating the image that it is during Modi regime that Guajarat has begun to progress. The fact is that there are some investments; there is some industrialization; but it is far from what is being projected. In previous Vibrant Summits claims of big capital investments have been made. For example in 2005 claim for Rs.106161 crores had been made. Out of that investment of Rs.74019 crores (63%) was made as stated by Chief Minister but in reality as per the information availed under R.T.I. only Rs.24998 crores (23.52%) projects were under implementation.

As per Teesta Setalvad, “…Likewise, in 2007, 363 MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) were made in which Modi Government claimed to have mobilized capital investments of Rs.461835 crores. Factually this amount was Rs.451835 crores and not Rs.461835 crores so an excess investment of Rs.10000 crores was claimed. Out of this State Government claimed to have made an investment of Rs.264575 crores but as per the figures by Industry Commissioner of Gujarat projects worth Rs.122400.66 crores (27.08%) were under implementation. Actually out of the investments in 2003, 2005 and 2007 only 20.28% of projects were under implementation in Gujarat.”

While Gujarat was already amongst the most industrialized states, it has been able to invite good deal of investment. Still it remains next to Maharashtra which leads the pack. While one does not hear much about the Maharashtra progress, through different types of media hypes the image of Gujarat phenomenon has been built up. The industrialization in Gujarat has a pattern. Two decades back, the growth rate of Gujarat was something between 12 and 13 per cent. The national average was six to seven per cent then. Today, Gujarat has the growth rate of 11 per cent while National growth rate is 10 per cent. This fact should make the matters clear to us.
As such Gujarat state has opened its coffers to subsidize the industrialists. Land, water and soft loans are the order of the day; they have been given to the industrialists at extremely cheap rates. It was one of the reasons because of which Tata shifted his Nano project to Gujarat. The subsidy, which this small car gets, is huge. Industrialists are having a free run and the social concerns like job creation are very poor in the Gujarat pattern. Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are far ahead of Gujarat in the Job creation ratio on the investment. The investment figures which are flashed are not all actualized. One of the major victims of the reckless industrialization is the ecology, which has been ignored totally far as Gujarat is concerned.

The growth differentials in Gujarat are very appalling. On one hand, there is the growth, on other there is a serious decline in the social indicators of like sex ratio. According to ‘India State Hunger Index 2008’, Gujarat is shockingly ranked worse than Orissa. Gujarat is ranked 13th in the 17 big states which were calculated in this list. Gujarat is only above Jharkhand, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, which are globally equal to the hunger situation in Ethiopia. Poverty levels are rising; employment and agriculture are not in good shape. The agricultural production has been declining, e.g. from 65.71 lakh tones in 2003-2004 to 51.53 in 2004-2005. A survey conducted by NSS in 2005 reveals that approximately 40% farmers of state said that given the option they would like to shift away from agriculture. Recent studies show that during the last decade agriculture and labor both have suffered extensively.

Modi, in a reply given in state assembly stated that in one year up to Jan 2007, 148 farmers had committed suicide and the condition is worsening on that score. While on one side the state exports electricity, its villages are having a power deficit. Indian Express 8th April 2007 reported that state is reeling under the shortfall of 900 mega Watt of power, the victims of this are mainly in the villages. One of the indices of poverty, prevalence of anemia, is very revealing on this count. The percentage of women suffering from anemia has risen from 46.3% in 1999 to 55.5% in 2004 (Third round of National Family Health survey report 2006) among women. Amongst children it rose from 74.5% to 80.1%. Some of the reports point out the conditions of dalits and women has deteriorated during last decade. For women, one of the indices is the declining sex ratio in Gujarat during last decade. The plight of Adivasis is no better.
Gujarat is facing problems at the level of living conditions more of poor, women and minorities. The media hype is meant to change the image of Narendra Modi from the one who led the carnage to a development man. But deeper look at the economic and social situation tell us another story.

Gujarat 2002 - Tehelka REPORT - The TRUTH Full Coverage

The TRUTH Full Coverage

Conspirators & Rioters

First-hand accounts from the men who plotted and executed the genocide in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Sabarkantha. Mayhem was meticulously planned and carried out by VHP-Bajrang Dal cadres across Muslim localities.

The Bomb Makers

The VHP and the Bajrang Dal manufactured and distributed lethal weapons across the state, often with the connivance of the police.

Role of the Police

Shocking accounts of how the guardians of the law colluded with the outlaws to make Gujarat’s horror even worse

What they said about NARENDRA MODI

Key BJP, RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal activists speak openly of how Narendra Modi blessed the anti-Muslim pogrom

Legal Subversion

How public prosecutors ran with the hare and hunted with the hound, keeping their sympathies strictly for the accused. Government Counsel Arvind Pandya on how he hopes to subvert justice by manipulating the Nanavati-Shah Commission, set up to ascertain the truth

Dance of HATE

The truth behind Naroda Patiya, the grisliest massacre of 2002. Ahmedabad police’s collusion in the pogrom and its cover-up. Gory details of how former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was hacked limb by limb at Gulbarg Society, in the words of those who did it.



GODHRA - The Diabolic Lie

How spontaneous mob fury was shown as a premeditated conspiracy by the police who produced fake witnesses by bribing, coercion and torture

Surviving Life - Aftermath of Gujarat Riots

5,000 farmers had committed suicide in Gujarat and six lakh waited for electricity for ten years, yet there are restrictions on farmers drawing sub-soil water; however, industrialists face no such restrictions.