Solemnity, Security & Struggle
Stories around the Exposition, IFFI rolls down a saffron hill and Louis Berger's lesser-known and long-forgotten brother in this weekly roundup from Goa
Boy, has it been a busy week in Goa! From the inaugural of the 18th decennial exposition of the sacred relics of St. Francis Xavier to the International Film Festival of India, lost in the middle was the news that not only have many of the accused in the cash-for-jobs scam quietly secured bail but that fresh complaints have also dried up as the government announced more than 2,000 fresh group C & D posts to be recruited by the Staff Selection Commission.
Let’s break it down then.
Solemnity, Security & Struggle
On November 21, the solemn Exposition of the sacred relics of St. Francis Xavier got underway. And while much has been written and said concerning the history, significance, and enduring appeal of the 16th-century Jesuit missionary, rather than pointing you towards any recommended reading, I think the most striking piece of journalism to emerge from the inaugural is not any written piece, but this photo by Times of India photographer Rajtilak Naik. (The link leads to his Facebook page where the photo is uploaded, and I hope the privacy settings enable you to see it.) (Else, you can always check out the ToI Goa edition epaper dated November 22.)
Security
The exposition inaugural passed off peacefully, and the organisation was by and large lauded by those present, but what also caught my eye was that the police rounded up a bunch of people associated with the Popular Front of India or those who have been speaking up for the Palestinian cause.
While I’m not sure on what basis those who were picked up were perceived to be a threat to the exposition, if the police were really looking at making preventive arrests in a bid to maintain peace and avoid trouble ahead of the exposition, perhaps they should also have been looking around in Panjim or perhaps the twin villages of Veling-Priol or thereabouts.
Struggle
And finally, remember how the Goa government recently went to town about how it is going out of its way to reach out to minorities suffering persecution in Pakistan and Bangladesh by offering them refugees citizenship via the CAA? That commitment is being put to the test. According to this story in The Times of India, a group of Goan Christians from Karachi is attempting to visit the state for the exposition but are facing trouble thanks to delayed visas and a roundabout route. Surely minorities in Pakistan are this government’s utmost concern?
IFFI goes saffron
The 55th International Film Festival of India got underway in Goa this week with a drab and long-drawn opening ceremony that forced invitees to sit through more than three hours of inanities interspersed with the odd bits of brilliance like Boman Irani’s moving tribute to the legendary maestros who passed on in the recent past and a few well choreographed sequences.
IFFI is, of course, not just about the opening ceremony. In fact, the real quality of the festival—held at a huge cost to the taxpayer—is the quality of films that make it there.
Twenty years ago, when IFFI set up shop on the banks of the River Mandovi, on the urging of then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, the idea was to have a festival on the lines of Cannes with a permanent location in Goa that would, over the years, earn a name for itself thanks to Goa being a resort destination.
To an extent, that was its way to being achieved, even if slowly. Films from around the world were vying to be shown at IFFI, and some big names from tinseltown made their presence felt, the most recent being Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, who made it to the festival last year.
But then political interference took over—what was once only a creeping feeling became a full-blown damage control exercise when, two years ago, the head of the International Jury, Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, pulled no punches when he slammed the uncharacteristic and undeserved inclusion of the vulgar propaganda film that was The Kashmir Files in the ‘International Competition’ section of the film festival back in the 2022 edition of the festival.
Since then, things have only gotten worse. Films that speak the language of the ruling party seem to acquire enough merit to make it to the festival.
Here’s a couple of examples. The opening film of the Indian Panorama section—IFFI's flagship offering—where the best films representing the diversity of the length and breadth of the country, many from independent, non-commercial filmmakers, were selected this year was “Swatantra Veer Savarkar,” directed by Ranadeep Hooda.
That’s not all. “Article 370,” a film released in February this year and described as a ‘thinly veiled propaganda film’, endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his re-election bid earlier this year, was not only included in the Indian Panorama section but also made it to the ‘international competition’ section, a collection of 15 odd films that vie for the Golden Peacock Award containing a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, and is supposed to be a contest between the best films from around the world from the preceding 12 months. The film received mixed reviews (ranging from 2.5 to 3.5 out of five stars from mainstream critics) when it was released this year. What’s an average film like that doing in an international competition of a prestigious film festival?
If that wasn’t enough, Sabarmati Report, another film endorsed by the Prime Minister that released just last week, was screened at IFFI at a screening that was attended by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. Last year, it was the film ‘The Kerala Story’ that had the dubious honour of being an undeserving entry. Much like those without any real merit seem to get all the government jobs (with or without paying money).
Does this matter, and should you care?
Well, if you aren’t a film buff and couldn’t be arsed about what’s happening at IFFI, then your only concern should be how taxpayers’ money is being used to promote a certain ideology at the cost of deserving films and filmmakers.
But for the rest, what this ultimately means is that IFFI is rigged, and as such, its value is akin to that of a fixed sports match—completely bereft of integrity.
Look, I get it that a government will generally have its way at a film festival it is organising. But for one that taxpayer money is being splurged—with a stated aim of being a festival organised to showcase India’s diverse, multicultural filmmaking prowess to the world and to offer a platform to independent, sometimes talented but amateur filmmakers—being reduced to being just another propaganda arm of the government to showcase poorly made films is an atrocity.
There will always be people who defend these selections, and to be fair, IFFI has had its fair share of controversies concerning movie selections over the years—from allegations of favouring Hindi cinema to inclusion of commercial films (films that you can anyway watch in any theatre when they are released)—but the pattern is now inescapable.
However, rather than upholding the prestige of the festival, ever since Nadav Lapid spoke up against the inclusion of Kashmir Files, the organisers have refrained from naming internationally renowned filmmakers as heads of the jury and have instead opted for locally grown talent. If you want to promote propaganda, at least let it be good quality propaganda.
When asked to explain their selection of films and whether there was a political hand in the selection, the 12-member jury said that selection was ‘unanimous’ and that there was no political interference or pressure.
Now, I’m not sure what’s worse. Admitting that they succumbed to political pressure to include undeserving films (which they obviously couldn’t do, at least not publicly) or saying that you acted of your own free will and that this is the best you could come up with.
So much for Goa being the next Cannes.
That said, if you can stay clear of the noise, though, there are a lot of good movies that you will not get the chance to see elsewhere, ever. So if you are someone who appreciates the art of storytelling through film, you really should sign up to see some good non-mainstream films if you haven’t already.
Sadda Kutta Kutta, Tuada Kutta Tommy
Adani doesn’t have much to do with Goa. Other than the fact that his company, Adani Mormugao Port Terminal Pvt. Ltd. (AMPTPL) Terminal, holds a long lease for a berth (berth No. 7) at Goa’s Mormugao Port, where it operates a fully mechanised coal handling facility capable of handling the largest of cargo ships.
His recent indictment by the US SEC for failing to disclose to US-based investors bribes he paid to secure contracts in India don't really have much to do with his company’s Goa operations, and as such, you might wonder why I’ve decided to talk about him in a Goa-focused newsletter. And no, this isn’t my feeble attempt to break down the saga for you—that's best left to those who have been following the issue closely—like the reporters’ collective, who were among those who exposed inflated power purchase agreements signed by states with the Adani Group and others like Article-14.
But what caught my attention was how the BJP, which interestingly was the first to rise to the defence of the indicted Adani, was quick to quote from the indictment document that said “the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”
It reminded me of 2015, back when Louis Berger International Inc. (LBI), a New Jersey-based construction management company, admitted to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and agreed to pay a $17.1 million criminal penalty to resolve charges that it bribed officials in India to secure government construction management contracts. Two of the company’s former executives also pleaded guilty to conspiracy and FCPA charges in connection with the scheme.
Among these contracts was Goa’s water supply and sewerage project costing Rs 1082.89 crore, for which the Government of India was granted a loan of 22,806 million by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
If one party has admitted to paying bribes, the other must have accepted the bribes. And so, the then ruling government lost no time in launching cases against Digambar Kamat, who was Goa’s Congress chief minister when the bribes were allegedly paid, and Churchill Alemão, who was the PWD minister when Louis Berger signed on as a consultant for the JICA-funded water supply and sewerage project. Alemão went to jail and had to stay there for two months, while Kamat narrowly missed out on going to jail thanks to an anticipatory bail application that was decided in his favour.
It is the same law that the Adani Group has alleged was violated when it concealed the fact that it bribed officials in India and now can either admit to paying bribes, considering the evidence on record, and'resolve’ the charges by paying the fine running into millions of dollars like Louis Berger Inc. did, or can contest them and face trial.
But back home there seems to be a strange (actually not so strange) reticence towards going hammer and tongs against the alleged accused like the BJP government once did to Churchill Alemão and Digambar Kamat—cases that continue to drag on.
Is it a corruption case only when the ruling dispensation decides it to be as such?
The question doesn’t really need answering because for us in Goa, the answer is already staring at us in the face.
You may have heard of Louis Berger, but did you hear of his lesser-known brother (from another mother, if you will) CDM Smith?
In 2017, exactly two years after the Louis Berger scandal broke in the state, yet another US-based construction consultancy firm admitted before US Department of Justice that it has bribed officials in India, including for a water supply project in Goa.
The US Department of Justice has revealed that “its investigations at CDM Smith, through its employees and agents, and those of its wholly owned subsidiary in India (“CDM India”), paid approximately $1.18 million in bribes to government officials in India in exchange for highway construction supervision and design contracts and a water project contract resulting in approximately $4 million in net profits.”
CDM Smith’s division responsible for India and CDM India paid $25,000 to local officials in Goa in relation to a water project contract, the company admitted before US prosecutors and was let off with a fine to the tune of USD 4 million.
What happened back in Goa? Since the disclosures involved periods during which the BJP was in power: a whole lot of nothing.
I’ve you’ve read it till here, congratulations and thank you. It’s a long post but I hope I was able to keep you engaged. Yet before I leave, I must mention the protest by the people of Anjuna, in their continuing battle against noise pollution held a silent protest against mega events in the village and the pleas in the High Court have begun to bear fruit. It’s something to watch out for as the tourism season enters December and January.
Hope you enjoyed reading this week’s edition of my newsletter as much as I did writing it. Make sure you interact, comment or write in, should you have something, anything to say.
As always, please share and help spread the word. Until next week, then. Tchau!
I clearly feel that ever since the Pramod Sawant led govt has come to power, saffronisation has been clandestinely used through different means and methods. It's not only culturally but socially, in education, etc everything is being saffronised with a coating of development and talk of Naya Bharat. The people of Goa are least interested in IFFI and are more worried about the economic state of Goa.
And what do you propose can be done about it?