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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox film
|name = ''Ram ke Naam''<br>''In the Name of God''
|image = Ram ke Naam.gif
|director = [[Anand Patwardhan]]
|producer = Anand Patwardhan

|released = {{Film date|df=yes|1992|09||Film South Asia}}
|runtime = 75 minutes
|country = India
|language = English, Hindi
}}

'''''Ram ke Naam''''' (English: ''In the Name of God'') is a 1992 documentary by Indian filmmaker [[Anand Patwardhan]]. The film explores the campaign waged by the Hindu right-wing organisation [[Vishva Hindu Parishad]] to build a Ram temple at the site of the [[Babri Masjid]] in [[Ayodhya]], as well as the [[Violence against Muslims in India|communal violence]] that it triggered. A couple of months after ''Ram ke Naam'' was released, VHP activists [[Demolition of the Babri Masjid|demolished the Babri Masjid]] in 1992, provoking further violence. The film earned Patwardhan a wide recognition, and received several national and international awards.

==Background==
{{Main|Ayodhya dispute}}
In 1526 following the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] invasion of the Indian subcontinent, [[Mir Baqi]], a general of the emperor [[Babur]], built a mosque at Ayodhya which he named after Babur. Hindus believe that Ayodhya is the birthplace of the deity [[Rama]].<ref name="hindbus">{{cite news|last=Bhagat|first=Rasheeda|title=The Ayodhya Conundrum|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/09/28/stories/2010092850310800.htm|access-date=29 September 2010|newspaper=The Hindu Business Line|date=28 September 2010}}</ref> Local traditions hold that a temple to Rama stood at the site and was demolished by Baqi. The site was used for religious purposes by people of both beliefs until 1949.<ref name="van der Veer 1987">{{cite journal |last=van der Veer |first=Peter |title='God must be Liberated!' A Hindu Liberation Movement in Ayodhya |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=21 |number=2 |year=1987 |pages=283–301 |jstor=312648 |doi=10.1017/s0026749x00013810}}</ref><ref name="Narain 1993">{{cite book|last1=Narain|first1=Harsh|title=The Ayodhya Temple Mosque Dispute: Focus on Muslim Sources|location=New Delhi|publisher=Penman Publications|isbn=81-85504-16-4|date=1993|pages=8–9}}</ref> In that year, idols of Rama were surreptitiously placed inside the mosque. An uproar followed, and multiple civil suits were filed laying claim to the site. The site was declared to be in dispute, and the gates to the mosque were locked.<ref name="Ayodhya Timeline BBC">{{cite web|title=Timeline: Ayodhya holy site crisis|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-11436552|publisher=BBC News|access-date=19 March 2014}}</ref>

In the 1980s, the [[Vishva Hindu Parishad]] (VHP), a [[Hindu nationalist]] organisation, began a campaign to build a temple dedicated to Rama at the site, with the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) backing the movement politically.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Guha|first1=Ramachandra|title=India after Gandhi: the history of the world's largest democracy|date=2007|publisher=Picador|location=India|isbn=978-0-330-39610-3|edition=1st|pages=582–598}}
</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Katju |first=Manjari |title=Vishva Hindu Parishad and Indian Politics |publisher=Orient Blackswan |year=2013 |isbn=978-81-250-2476-7 |pages=88–112}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Lochtefeld |first=James G. |title=The Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Roots of Hindu Militancy |journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion |volume=62 |number=2 |year=1994 |pages=587–602 |jstor=1465279 |doi=10.1093/jaarel/lxii.2.587}}</ref> In September 1990, the BJP leader [[L. K. Advani]] began a "[[Ram Rath Yatra|rath yatra]]," or chariot journey, to the city of Ayodhya in support of the movement. The journey triggered communal riots in several cities, leading to Advani's arrest by the government of Bihar. A large number of volunteers nonetheless reached Ayodhya, and attacked the mosque. This resulted in a pitched battle with government's paramilitary forces that ended with the death of several VHP volunteers.<ref name="Guha2007a">{{cite book|last=Guha|first=Ramachandra|title=India After Gandhi|year=2007|publisher=MacMillan|pages=633–659}}</ref>

==Synopsis==
''Ram ke Naam'' explores the VHP's campaign to demolish the Babri Masjid and build a temple to Rama in its place. The film begins with a clip of an organizer describing Advani's ''rath yatra'' in 1990. It then shows scenes from the ''yatra'', with young men dressed in saffron seen in Ayodhya, followed by a video prepared by the VHP. The video depicts an incident at the temple in 1949, when an idol of Rama "appeared" inside the mosque. In the VHP's retelling, Rama is shown descending from the sky and miraculously appearing in the mosque, watched by astonished spectators, followed by a member of the VHP telling the same story.<ref name="Pande 1992">{{cite journal|last1=Pande|first1=Mrinal|title=Ram Ke Naam Chronicle of a demolition Foretold|journal=Manushi|date=November 1992|issue=73|url=http://www.manushi.in/docs/66ram_ke_naam.pdf}}</ref>

The documentary then shifts to interviews with Muslim residents, who state that they do not have access to justice, and describe the destruction that occurred during communal riots in 1986. Patwardhan then interviews young male members of the VHP, who say that they will take Ayodhya by force if they need to. One of the men is unable to answer a question about historicity of Rama's date of birth. The film then shows Advani's ''yatra'' entering the state of [[Bihar]], and several provocative speeches by politicians of the BJP. This is followed by an interview with a tax inspector, who was fired for objecting to irregularities in the tax returns of the VHP. The film concludes with a clip of people at a BJP rally attempting to justify the assassination of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] by [[Nathuram Godse]].<ref name="Pande 1992"/>

==Reception and analysis==
The film received a positive reception from critics, and also received several national and international awards. A review in the magazine ''[[Manushi]]'' stated that the film was a reminder of "that rare commodity called truth," and went on to say that although the film might be considered to have flaws of a technical nature, it should be mandatory viewing for people who wished to understand the Ayodhya dispute.<ref name="Pande 1992"/>

The VHP and its affiliates in the [[Sangh Parivar]] reacted with hostility to the film, stating that it was "anti-Hindu." In 1993 volunteers of the [[Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad]] and the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] prevented the documentary from being screened at a college in [[Mumbai]].<ref name="Sen 1993">{{cite news|last1=Sen|first1=Manjula|title=College Barred From Screening Film|work=The Times of India|date=26 December 1993}}</ref> In 2002, the VHP also prevented the movie from being screened at the [[American Museum of Natural History]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Joshi|first1=Namrata|title=Naked Man Outside Frame|journal=Outlook|date=9 August 2011|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/printarticle.aspx?278045|access-date=19 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Maclay|first1=Kathleen|title=Anand Patwardhan, the 'Michael Moore of India,' brings his hard-hitting documentary films to campus|url=http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2004/10/13_patwardhan.shtml|publisher=UC Berkeley News|access-date=19 December 2014}}</ref> After a screening of the documentary at [[ILS Law College]] on 27 December 2014 was cancelled due to threats from right wing organisations, Patwardhan officially released the documentary on YouTube.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.punemirror.in/entertainment/bollywood/These-right-wingers-cant-decide-what-India-should-see/articleshow/45781228.cms | title='These right-wingers can't decide what India should see' | work=[[Pune Mirror]] | date=7 Jan 2015 | access-date=7 January 2015}}</ref>In February 2019, YouTube put an age restriction on the documentary which now opens with a disclaimer saying it may be “inappropriate for some users” even though the film holds a U certificate (for unrestricted public exhibition) from the [[Central Board of Film Certification]].<ref>https://scroll.in/reel/912806/youtube-blocks-anand-patwardhans-documentary-ram-ke-naam-for-users-under-the-age-of-18</ref>In August 2019, a screening of the film at the [[Hyderabad Central University]] was interrupted and the organisers detained by police.<ref>https://www.telegraphindia.com/education/three-campuses-the-brouhaha-over-the-screening-of-ram-ke-naam/cid/1702124</ref>

Patwardhan was already fairly well known thanks to his earlier films, such as ''[[Prisoners of Conscience]]'', which critiqued the [[The Emergency (India)|state of emergency]] imposed by Prime Minister [[Indira Gandhi]] in the mid 1970s. However, ''Ram ke Naam'' earned him a wide recognition for the first time.<ref name="Lal 2005">{{cite journal|last1=Lal|first1=Vinay|title=Travails of the Nation Some Notes on Indian Documentaries|journal=Third Text|date=March 2005|volume=19|issue=2|doi=10.1080/0952882042000328089|s2cid=142194323}}</ref>

==Awards==
* [[Filmfare Awards|Filmfare Award]] [[Filmfare Award for Best Documentary|Best Documentary]], India, 1992
* [[National Film Awards|National Film Award]], [[National Film Award for Best Investigative Film|Best Investigative Documentary]], India, 1992<ref name=NFA1992>{{cite web|url=http://dff.nic.in/2011/40th_nff_1993.pdf|title=40th National Film Awards|publisher=[[Directorate of Film Festivals]]|access-date=2 March 2012}}</ref>
* Ecumenical Prize, Nyon, Switzerland, 1993
* Documentary Prize, [[Fribourg International Film Festival]], Switzerland, 1993<ref name=IMDB>{{cite web|title=Anand Patwardhan|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0666674/awards|publisher=Internet Movie Database|access-date=23 November 2014}}</ref>
* Citizen’s Prize, [[Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival]], Japan, 1992<ref>{{cite web|title=YIDDF 1993|url=http://www.yidff.jp/93/93list-e.html|publisher=Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival|access-date=23 November 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://patwardhan.com/wp/?page_id=178 Official website of Anand Patwardhan]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO-VaJBHiik ''Ram ke Naam'' on You Tube]

[[Category:Indian documentary films]]
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:Anand Patwardhan]]
[[Category:Ayodhya dispute]]
[[Category:Hindu nationalism]]

Ram ke Naam - Revision history

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