Racial profiling, cries Indian filmmaker held in US

New Delhi: In his first interview since being incarcerated in a US jail nearly 10 days ago, Mumbai-based documentary film maker Vijay Kumar has claimed that he is a victim of racial profiling and is being harassed by US officials.
Speaking over phone from a detention centre where he was shifted from Houston county jail, Kumar, a strict vegetarian, claimed he skipped food in jail for two days as he was deliberately served non-vegetarian fare. Kumar's visa was revoked and he was declared an illegal visitor after he got bail from Houston county court.
Kumar was detained at Houston international airport while on his way to Vancouver, Canada after "behavioural detection officers" at the airport felt something was amiss with him. They pulled him in for questioning and were further alarmed when his baggage revealed publications dealing with Jihad and Islam. According to US authorities, his checked-in baggage from New Delhi revealed a pair of brass knuckles, prohibited by Texas state law, though not banned under US federal law.
"While at Houston airport there was a last-minute change in my flight's departure terminal due to which I had to run a long way inside the airport. That's why I was sweating and furiously searching for my travel documents. The Transportation Security Administration officials then took me aside for interrogation. ..," the filmmaker revealed.
When asked why he was carrying such an exhaustive collection of publications/books dealing with jihad, Kumar said he was researching jihadi terrorism and was headed to Vancouver to work out options for making a documentary. "I have been involved in making short films, documentaries on Muslim issues especially on how to bring misguided youths back into the mainstream, victimisation of Muslim women in India, their personal laws.
On reports of his being a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Kumar conceded he had been part of the organisation but had "long disassociated" himself with it owing to ideological differences.
30/08/10 Abinav Garg/Times of India

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