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Condemn the Indian Censor Board for suppressing "Flames of the Snow"

By SANSAD

19 July, 2010

In 1940 The Film Advisory Board was set up by the British colonial regime to censor films that might promote the independence movement in India. In keeping with its colonial inheritance the Indian Censor Board, which has an inglorious history of suppressing information and views inconvenient for the state has refused to certify 'Flames of the Snow', a historical feature film on Nepal, for public screening on the ground that the film 'tells about Maoist movement in Nepal and justifies its ideology.' As this appears to this repressive apparatus of the Indian state to be dangerous in view of 'the recent Maoist violence in some parts of the country,' it refuses permission for the public screening of the film. As such, this repressive act becomes a part of the current assault, code named "Operation Green Hunt" undertaken by the Government of India against the adivasis/tribals led by the Communist Party of India (Maoist0 who are engaged in a battle to defend their land, livelihood and lives against the impact of neo-liberal globalization. Produced under the joint banner of 'GRINSO' and 'Third World Media,' the film has been produced and scripted by Anand Swaroop Verma, a senior journalist with expertise on Nepalese affairs, and is directed by Ashish Srivastava.

South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD), an organization of South Asian diaspora in British Columbia, Canada, dedicated to promoting democracy, secularism and social justice, finds this repressive act of the instrument of the Government of India utterly reprehensible. Such suppression of information?the film deals with the history of the Nepalese monarchy and the popular struggle against it culminating in the Maoist insurgency that led to its abolition?is alien to democracy and an open society, which India claims to be. It is our understanding that Mr. Verma is submitting the film for reconsideration and we strongly urge the Censor Board to revise its decision and grant the film permission for public screening without any demand that it engage in self-censorship to make itself acceptable to the Indian state.

Board of Directors
South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD)

South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD)
# 435-552A Clark Road, Coquitlam, BC; [email protected]