-----Original Message-----
From: Ekta [mailto:contactus@ektaonline.org]
Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2002 11:42 AM
To: kent@amnh.org; LKendall@amnh.org; Charnov@amnh.org; canty@amnh.org
Cc: Anand Patwardhan; contactus@ektaonline.org
Subject: Disappointment at Rescheduling and Change of Venue of
Patwardhan's films due to threats of violence; Request for screening
inside AMNH premises at the earliest.


February 7, 2002

Ms. Elaine Charnov
Director, Public Programs and Artistic Director,
Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival

Ms. Melonie Kent
Managing Director
Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival

Ms. Laurel Kendall
Curator of Hinduism Exhibit
Anthropology Department

American Museum of Natural History
79th St. at Central Park West
New York, NY 10024

Subject: Disappointment at Rescheduling and Change of Venue of
         Patwardhan's films due to threats of violence; Request for
         screening inside AMNH premises at the earliest.

Dear Ms. Charnov, Ms. Kent & Ms. Kendall,

I am writing on behalf of EKTA, a South Asian nonprofit organization based
in the San Francisco Bay area. We are extremely disappointed about the
decision of the museum to reschedule the screening of Anand Patwardhan's
films "We are Not Your Monkeys" & "In the Name of God" originally scheduled
for Feb 9th in the museum, to a venue outside the museum. Giving in to
threats of violence by religious fanatics would mean giving in to terrorism
and fundamentalism.

We request a well publicized and well protected screening of the above
mentioned films at the same venue, at the earliest. We believe that these
films serve a valuable function in fostering public scrutiny and debate
regarding communal politics and the rise of Hindu fundamentalism in India;
and therefore deserve to be screened at the same venue.

Attached is a petition signed by 657 individuals who share those sentiments
as well and believe that the films of Anand Patwardhan should be screened at
the AMNH. Please note that this petition is ongoing and we will continue to
collect signatures and send them to you periodically.

We hope that the museum will take a strong stand against the terrorists and
screen these films inside the museum at the earliest.

Sincerely,
Raj Barot on behalf of EKTA

-----------------------------------------
E K T A
-----------------------------------------
email: contactus@ektaonline.org
website: http://www.ektaonline.org


Petition: PROTECT FREE SPEECH: SUPPORT FILM SCREENINGS BY ANAND PATWARDHAN
Date: 02/07/2002
Signatures: 657
Location: http://www.thePetitionSite.com/takeaction/783684768