Jacdau2@poky.interspeed.net

From: "JacQuest" <jjalv@ida.net>

Hi All,

I just received the following information from Lisa Tsering. This article
will appear in "India West Online" for the Aug. 20, 1999 issue. Lisa has
included some interesting information both from the show's producers and a
comment from Tusta Krishnadas that should be of interest to all.

Very pleased to be able to be able to forward it to XAC.

Jacquee Alvord

Edited Version of ‘Xena’
Episode Back on the Air
Aug. 20, 1999 issue

By Lisa Tsering
India-West Staff Reporter
Xena is back.

"The Way," an episode of the hit syndicated television series "Xena: Warrior
Princess" which was pulled off the air at the request of a group of Hindu
protesters for its allegedly unfavorable portrayal of the god Krishna, has
been reinstated in the show’s schedule.

The episode will air in the last week of August.
"After receiving thousands of letters, emails and signed petitions — both
pro and con — and consulting with Indo-American community activist Sunil
Aghi, we opted to make changes based on the areas of common concern," read a
statement by the show’s producers released Aug. 13.

Readers may remember the controversy that erupted earlier this year (I-W,
April 9) when a group of protesters, led by Tusta Krishnadas of the World
Vaishnava Association, picketed outside the gates of Universal Studios
demanding that the episode be pulled, as it depicted Krishna as a fictional
character. They also disagreed with a scene showing Xena bashing her
forehead against Hanuman’s.
Complete details on the content of the edited episode were not available at
press time. Sources familiar with the show told India-West that the
head-bashing scene was removed but references to Krishna remained unchanged.
This was not confirmed, though, and the show may undergo even more changes
before it airs.

The show’s stars, Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor, have taped a 30-second
public service announcement with Aghi, which will air with "The Way."
Editing of the PSA is not yet complete, said the show’s publicist.
Tusta Krishnadas expressed his disappointment at the announcement. "They’ve
broken their word," he said. "I still hold fast to the belief that Hindu
deities should not be fictionalized." Krishnadas has curtailed his
involvement in the issue recently, due to poor health. "My doctor said I
should avoid stress," he said.

"The Way" was a part of a four-episode India-based story arc which aired
earlier this year. After its first airing, increasingly large groups of
Hindus in the U.S. and India launched a protest in person and by mail and
email demanding that the episode be pulled from the repeat schedule. In
April, the producers agreed after meeting with Aghi, a well-connected
Democratic activist based in Southern California. Aghi, founder of the
Indo-Americans Political Foundation, also met with the show’s stars and
producers on location in New Zealand, partly at his own expense, he said.
Indian American organizations were divided in their opinions.
One group unanimous in its outrage, however, included the show’s fans, who
accused the producers, Studios USA, of buckling to the protests too
readily.

Xenites Against Censorship, an Internet-based fan group, spearheaded a
letter-writing and petition campaign which Studios USA took very seriously
indeed. Jacquee Alvord, of the XAC "Hard Copy Petition team," estimated the
number of signatures at 10,000, coming from a dozen countries. "I frankly
have never seen so many diverse locations joined with a common (cause)," she
said in an email to India-West.

A statement from the Indo-Americans Political Foundation said, "We
understand the ‘Xena’ episode is a fictional/adventure show and (are)
satisfied that the producer did not intend to offend Hindus. Our goal has
been to allow our concerns to be heard and freedom of speech for the
producers, who are entitled to express their imagination about the beauty of
the Hindu religion."

From: I e <stand-in@juno.com>

Fellow Xenites:

I think Lisa Tsering's complete set of reports deserve posting here. In 5 parts (Rounds 1-5) she reveals the whole
story as she reported and perceived it up to and including the moment of the official letter issued by Tapert and the
announcement that 'The Way was being pulled. I've included the contact information for Lisa. I wonder if
Lisa realizes there are sometimes more than 10 rounds in a fight? (:

I have also got the contact information for Dr. Ravi Palat who I intend on using as a source. Notice carefully Dr.
Palat's reference to the civil disturbance and riot over a recent film in India that he believes the protestors were
trying to use as fuel to inspire outrage. And please note above everything else, that these protestors were acting
WITHOUT having even seen the episode. They just wanted to brawl!

And as for the reference to Madonna, a performing artist utilizing a head garment, have any of you seen the Exorcist?
Remember what the possessed girl did with a crucifix?

Here then are the complete set of stories by Lisa Tsering to be sent in 5 separate posts.

"Xena" vs. Hindus, Round One
By Lisa Tsering
>From India-West, Mar. 5, 1999

Los Angeles - A group claiming to represent two million Hindus worldwide has demanded that the producers of "Xena:
Warrior Princess" pull this week's episode from international distribution, on the grounds that the god Krishna is portrayed as a fictional character in the episode "The Way."

"Lord Krishna is not a fictional character that you can just put words in his mouth," said Tusta Krishnadas, a spokesman for the World Vaishnaiva Association. "Even if he is presented as good or nice, you don't treat the Supreme Godhead that way."

Dr. Ravi Palat, an expert in Indian studies at Auckland University in New Zealand, where the show is filmed, was hired as a consultant by the show to review the script. "I found (the controversy) strange, because there are hundreds of movies
made every year which portray Hindu deities as fictional characters," he told India-West. "There is a whole variety of texts
which are played around with, because there is no definitive version. Every movie or story about the gods, then, is in a sense fictional."

In "The Way," the latest episode of the popular, campy syndicated show, Xena (Lucy Lawless) - a buxom heroine
endowed with superhuman powers - invokes the help of Krishna (Rajiv Varma) to rescue her sidekicks Gabrielle (Renee o'Connor) and Eli (Timothy Omundson) from Indrajit, King of the Demons
(Rajneel Singh). Even Kali and Hanuman make an appearance.

"The episode is offensive in two ways," said Krishnadas. "One, it treats Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, speaker of the Bhagavad Gita, as fictional. Two, it makes it appear that Lord Krishna and Vedic religion approves of and gives its blessing to homosexual relationships, which is false."

He admitted that he had not seen the episode, explaining that repeated requests to see a tape or a transcript of the show in
advance had gone unheeded by the show's producers.

A member of the Los Angeles Chaitanya Mission, in a press conference called Feb. 26 on the steps of Universal Studios in North Hollywood, announced that Canada's Global Television Network had indeed pulled that week's episode from Canadian broadcast "out of respect for the local Hindu community and in response to a snowballing worldwide protest," according to a release from the WVA.

However, a source connected with the show told India-West that only the daytime broadcast of the episode was affected, and that too, for reasons of violent content. "The episode has intense fight scenes that don't fit Canadian children's viewing guidelines," she said. The show airs twice a week in Toronto and selected other Canadian markets; once, during the day, and again late at night. "They still showed 'The Way' in the later time slot," she said, adding that she felt it was unfair of the protesters to misrepresent the facts. "They're using something that was decided for another reason. The
pulling of the episode was a decision made before the protest." She said she wasn't sure if this was the first time an episode of "Xena" had been pulled from the Canadian daytime schedule for violent content.

The source, who asked to remain anonymous, also expressed rancor that the hastily-called press conference (which drew a lone India-West reporter) was held in front of Universal Studios.

"Universal has nothing to do with this latest incarnation of the show," she said. Studios USA distributes and produces the show in the U.S., while Universal Television is the international distributor.

"Xena: Warrior Princess," now in its fourth season, is tele-vision's highest-rated drama made for syndication. Broadcast in more than 60 countries, "Xena" is often shown on pirated cassettes in India and parts of the Middle East, said the show's publicist. "Xena" is broadcast in the U.S. on WGN, the WB channel, and on the USA Network. WGN will re-broacast "The Way" Mar. 6.

Each week, Xena and her partner Gabrielle meet gods, demons, and heads of state ranging from Helen of Troy to Ares, the God ofWar. "Xena's" unique blend of history, mythology, tongue-in-cheek humor and Hong Kong-style action - complete with plenty of muscular warriors and scantily clad babes - has catapulted it to cult status: over 100 World Wide Web sites are devoted to the loving dissection of each hour-long episode, and Xena and Hercules conventions draw thousands for a glimpse of its stars and a chance to bring home souvenirs ranging from action figures, t-shirts, buttons, calendars and plastic replica weapons like Xena's "chakram," a razor-edged circular boomerang. Internet newsgroups even debate the sexual orientation of its two heroines.

The show's unspoken, but playful, allusions to lesbianism are another factor which angered the members of the VWA and other Hindu groups. Producers of the show have never acknowledged that the characters are gay, although Lucy Lawless does appear on the cover of the Mar. 2 issue of "The Advocate," the nation's leading gay and lesbian magazine. Krishnadas commented, "'Xena' increasingly tries to link itself with spirituality and yoga but simultaneously promotes a lesbian relationship between the lead characters. This is an absolute outrage since Vedic scriptures, the scripture of yoga, reject homosexuality as a perversion."

"I saw the (episode)," said Palat. "There is absolutely nothing which even remotely suggests any sexual relationship, let alone lesbianism." In his opinion, the WVA is trying to capitalize on the recent controversy against Indian director Deepa Mehta and her film Fire, which found Shiv Sena activists across India storming cinema halls
and burning movie posters.

Joining the World Vaishnava Association in the protest are American Hindus Against Defamation, the Wellington (New Zealand) Indian Association, and the Chaitanya Mission of Los Angeles. "Regardless of whether or not Bollywood also creates fictional scenarios about Lord Krishna, the point is that the way that it is apparently done here
is in a way that equates Krishna with the gods of Greek and other mythology," said AHAD's Ajay Shah. "It thus cheapens and trivializes what is in actuality something held sacred to almost one billion Hindus...Hindus around the world can hardly be silent spectators while the god they worship so passionately is being denigrated," he said.

Like Krishnadas, Shah had not seen the show. "That doesn't indicate my lack of concern," he said. Chantanya Mission spokeswoman Braja Dasi, admitting that she hadn't seen the show either, said, "We haven't actually seen the episode, but we've had the communication to know that they definitely have fictionalized the supreme personality of the god Lord Krishna...and we take deep offense that they're doing this." In response to a comment that in India, the name of Krishna is
often used as a commercial brand name, Dasi said, "Those who are strictly following the Vedas and the teachings of Lord Krishna, they won't do that."

Controversy is nothing new to the WVA, explained the American-born

Krishnadas, who has been a devotee of Hinduism for the past 30 years. The WVA, which describes itself as an umbrella group representing 30 Hindu organizations, led a protest against Madonna last September when the pop star appeared on the MTV Music Awards wearing a see-through t-shirt and a Vaishnava tilak on her forehead.

The AHAD, too, led a protest against Sony Music over the art work on the album cover for the rock group Aerosmith's "Nine Lives," which showed a "denigrating" display of the likeness of Lord Krishna. After more than 20,000 people signed a petition, and thousands of others wrote and faxed their protests, said Shah, Sony withdrew the album cover.

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From: I e <stand-in@juno.com>

Well, guys...

After you read this one below, you realize the Hindu organizations had plans to block Univeral's gate entrance
if their demands weren't met and that they got some endorsements from leaders in their homeland representing
their U.S. counterpart offshoot organizations.

We too, need endorsements from representatives in the Academy of Television Arts, Writer's Guild of America,
big name writers, producers, execs who aren't afraid to join us in this Freedom of Expression issue. That's another
avenue to explore. These celebrity figureheads can then be used in the segment interviews with 20/20 or any other
tv news program that tackles the issue.

See, my plan?

Stand-in
Lisa Tsering
ltsering@aol.com
Staff Reporter, India-West
933 MacArthur Blvd.
San Leandro, CA 94577
Tel: (510) 383-1146

"Xena" vs. Hindus, Round Two
By Lisa Tsering From India-West Mar. 19, 1999

An estimated 150 protesters were turned away from Universal Studios in North Hollywood, Calif., Mar. 15, as they rallied todemand an apology from the producers of "Xena: Warrior Princess." The protesters, representing over 70 Hindu organizations worldwide, say the television show offended Hindus by portraying Krishna as a fictional character in a recent episode.

Security guards blocked them from entering the studio grounds, and the protesters were told that the show's producers were unavailable. "They ignored us," Tusta Krishnadas, of the World Vaishnava Association, told India-West. "This is an outrage. Itsmacks of both racism and religious discrimination." According to Leah Krantzler, the show's publicist, Eric Gruen-demann and other producers were in New Zealand, where the show is shot - meeting with a Hindu delegation there. "We want to be respectful and responsive," she said.

The WVA and around 100 Hindu groups worldwide are demanding three things from the show's producing and distribution entities Renaissance Pictures, Universal Studios and Studios USA: first, a public apology "to the hundreds of millions of Hindus all over the world whom they have offended"; second, that they "agree to pull the shows and not air them, either as reruns or as first-runs in markets where they have not yet aired"; and third, that none of the "Xena" or (its partner show) "Hercules" storylines will in future fictionalize Krishna, Rama, or Vedic literature.

The show's publicists stand by their statement of Feb. 24, which states, "...Every effort was made to ensure that all references to the Hindu religion were treated with the greatest respect." Dr. Ravi Palat, an expert in Indian studies at Auckland University, okayed both the script and the finished show, saying he found nothing offensive in its treatment of Krishna (I-W, Mar. 5). D.R. SarDesai, a professor of Indian history at the University of California at Los Angeles, disagrees. "Palat has taken this too lightly," he told India-West. "The episode in question very clearly misrepresents Krishna and Hanuman," he wrote in a Mar. 11 letter to the show's producers.

The protesters, including representatives of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Overseas Friends of the BJP (India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party) and American Hindus Against Defamation, claim that "The Way," a recent episode of the show, depicts Krishna as a fictional character.

It was the second round of protests by the group, which said it had been "snubbed" by "Xena's" producers. In the days preceding the airing of "The Way," Krishnadas and others had asked producers to halt the broadcast of the episode.

However, the show went on as scheduled (except in some Canadian cities, where morning showtimes were cancelled for violent content). On the afternoon of Mar. 15, the protesters left a box ofIndian sweets for the producers, along with a three-inch thicknotebook filled with copies of letters, faxes and emails from concerned Hindus. Protesters claim to have amassed nearly 1,000 letters from concerned Hindu viewers. One letter obtained by India-West, addressed from Bal-krish-na U. Naik, joint secretary (external affairs) of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in New Delhi to the show's producers, calls the show "outrageous." "We, the Hindus in India, consisting of 83% of its 1,000 million population, are deeply hurt with the content of your program depicting Hindu religion and gods contemptuously," says the letter. Naik could not be reached for confirmation by press time. "Xena: Warrior Princess," television's highest-rated syndicated drama, is seen in more than 60 countries. Viewers in India watch the show on Star World TV (the show is not licensed to India, however, so this is an unauthorized broadcast).

If the producers don't accede within the next week and a half, protesters intend to launch an even greater campaign, which could range from blocking the Universal Studios gates to a boycott of Universal Studios and a boycott of the sponsors of the "Xena" series.

Local groups are still deciding on a course of action, said Pratap More, general secretary of the southern California chapter of the VHP and a member of AHAD. "Yesterday was a delegation only," he told India-West. "Next time, there will be a proper demonstration, with placards."

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From: I e <stand-in@juno.com>
Hindus vs. "Xena": Round Three
>From India-West, Mar. 30, 1999
By Lisa Tsering India-West Staff Reporter

In what is now round three in the ongoing dispute between over 100 Hindu organizations and the producers of "Xena: Warrior Princess," around 250 protesters gathered at the Universal Studios theme park in North Hollywood, Calif., March 28.

It was the group's third phase of protests against the popular syndicated television show in response to a recent episode,
called "The Way," which some Hindus claim portrayed Lord Krishna as a fictional character. Despite protesters' claims to
the contrary, "Xena" producers are taking them seriously, said a source close to the show.

"We're not ignoring people. We're actually working on this problem," the source told India-West Mar. 30. " 'Xena' producers are keenly aware of the concerns expressed by Hindus in the recent meeting held in New Zealand and through the letters received in the U.S. regarding the recent episode titled 'The Way.' They are taking these concerns very seriously and are in discussion."

Decrying "Universal's religious bigotry against Hinduism," World Vaishnava Association spokesman Tusta Krishnadas led six busloads and several carloads of people to the entrance of the theme park on a crowded Sunday. Dressed in traditional Indian garb, shouting "Stop Xena!" and carrying signs reading "Xena Show Insults Hindu Americans" and "Krishna is Real," they handed out flyers and paraded down Universal CityWalk, a Hollywood-themed shopping and restaurant center. Protesters are demanding a public apology and the promise that "The Way" will be pulled from the show's repeat schedule. The economic impact of such a move hadn't yet been determined, said a show spokesperson.
Krishnadas described the March 28 protest as colorful and peaceful, and it was Eliot Sekuler, Universal Studios theme park spokesman, who estimated the crowd at 250. One protester, Satpal Jandial, suffered a heart attack and was taken to hospital where he remains in intensive care, said Krishnadas.

The Hindu protesters are threatening to lead a worldwide boycott of the show and its sponsors; currently, "Xena" is seen in more than 60 countries, including India. Since the first airing of "The Way" in late February, protesters from around the world have sent thousands of emails, faxes and letters to the show's producersdemanding that the episode be pulled off the air, in phase one of the protest. In addition to the WVA and American Hindus Against Defamation, more than 100 Hindu groups worldwide - including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad; the Hindu Swayam-sevak Sangh; Overseas Friends of BJP (India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party); the New Zealand, British, Australian and Ukranian centers of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, and many more - have joined the protest.

This is the group's largest, and best-organized, gathering yet; an estimated 150 protesters were turned away from the Universal Studios offices Mar. 15 after a similar protest. Although Universal Television is the show's international distributor, "Xena" is produced by StudiosUSA in the U.S. and by Renaissance Pictures in New Zealand, where the show is shot.

Although members of the show's New Zealand production team met with Hindu protesters there over a week ago, no solution has been reached, nor has an official statement been made beyond a Feb. 24 release by publicists assuring that "Every effort was made to ensure that all references to the Hindu religion were treated with the greatest respect."

The controversy surrounding "Xena" seems to be part of a larger cycle of organized protest against the perceived defamation of the Hindu religion; two weeks ago, Vanity Fair photographer Dave LaChapelle issued a public apology after he ruffled feathers with an irreverent, Hindu-esque photo of comedian Mike Myers in the magazine's April issue (I-W, March 26).

Hindu protesters won't rest until they receive a similar apology from the "Xena" producers; in fact, the movement is "picking up momentum," said Krishnadas.

Chanting mantras and singing bhajans, the parading Hindus were met with smiles, with a couple of exceptions: "Get out of my country! Go back to India!" shouted one woman (marchers shouted back, 'This is our country! We live here!') while another man flashed the protesters a single digit. "He flipped us off," Krishnadas told India-West. "He
must have had too many beers. We ignored him."

Lisa Tsering
ltsering@aol.com

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From: I e <stand-in@juno.com>
Statement by "Xena" Producers, Round 4
By Lisa Tsering

Renaissance Pictures issued the following statement April 2: To reaffirm our previous statement, when we set out last year
to make the episode of "Xena: Warrior Princess" titled "The Way," we certainly had no intention of offending anyone. We even went so far as to hire an academic expert on Indian studies who is Hindu to make sure the script would accomplish our good intentions of honoring and not offending anyone.

However, it has become evident to us that the advice we received is not in line with Hindu beliefs. We are genuinely sorry that we have offended members of the Hindu community and have no plans to produce any future episodes involving Hindu deities or personas.

Because production constraints make it impossible to change "The Way" now, we will pull the episode from worldwide syndication. If we later decide to air it again, we would first contact Sunil Aghi, founder and president of the Indo-Americans Political Foundation, to discuss the specific alterations that would need to be made.

Lisa Tsering
ltsering@aol.com

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___________________________________________________________________

From: I e <stand-in@juno.com>

"Bottom line the show is off!"

--Prithvi Raj Singh, President of
Federation of Hindu Associations


How's that commercial go? "Clap on! Clap off!" Or, is it: "Show off! Show on!" I say this fight ain't over
and that the judges may change their decision.

Despite the fact that this article may have been posted before I re-post it to complete these set of posts of the
entire story of the Xena episode controversy as told by Lisa Tsering, writer for India-West.

Stand-in

Lisa Tsering
ltsering@aol.com

"Xena" producers pull "The Way" from repeat schedule, Round 5
By Lisa Tsering
India-West Staff Reporter
April 9, 1999 issue

The producers of the television series, "Xena: Warrior Princess," issued a public apology April 2 and announced that
they were pulling the episode "The Way" from their domestic and international repeat schedules, in response to recent
protests by over 100 Hindu organizations claiming that the show portrayed Lord Krishna as a fictional character (I-W, Apr. 2).

"No TV episode is worth this. It's better to remove the offensive material," the show's executive producer, Robert Tapert, told India-West in an exclusive telephone interview from his office in Los Angeles.

"Xena" is produced by Renaissance Pictures in New Zealand, where the show is filmed, and by Studios USA in Los Angeles. The press release, sent by Renaissance Pictures to Daily Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and other entertainmentindustry publications in addition to Indian American media outlets, reads, "... We are genuinely sorry that we have offendedmembers of the Hindu community and have no plans to produce any future episodes involving Hindu deities or personas. Because production constraints make it impossible to change 'The Way' now, we will pull the episode from worldwide syndication. If we later decide to air it again, we would first contact Sunil Aghi, founder and president of the Indo-Americans PoliticalFoundation, to discuss the specific alterations that would needto be made." Aghi, founder and president of the Indo-Americans Political Foundation, worked with Studios USA Group president Bob Fleming and vice president of media relations, Jim Benson, tocraft the release.

The decision was made by Tapert and his co-executive producer R.J. Stewart (who scripted the episode), under the guidance and request of Studios USA, said Tapert. The protest was launched in late February by Tusta Krishnadas, spokesman for the Mathura-based World Vaishnava Association, and Pratap More of American Hindus Against Defamation. Aghi, whose connections into mainstream politics and entertainment reach from the WhiteHouse to executives at Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios in Los Angeles, told India-West that he was first introduced to the story by Avdhesh Agarwal, Vijay Telkikar of the American Hindu Federation, Gopal Chaturvedi, vice president of the American Hindu Federation, and Chander Mittal, chairman ofIAPF. "We know the community's problems, and we saw that (Krishnadas and More) weren't going anywhere," said Chaturvedi. "Sunil had the contacts, so we asked him."
Aghi spent two hours with Fleming and Benson last week watching "The Way" and explaining that if the episode were
aired again, it would spark further protest as well as a "boycottof the sponsors, the studios and the TV stations," he said. "In India, people would have boycotted all the American made products just because of this show."

Yet, despite their seeming victory, Hindu protesters are not satisfied by the announcement, saying that they only heard about it through the media and had not been contacted personally with an apology - and that they had not had their organizations mentioned by name in the press release. "They should have apologized to us directly," Krishnadas told India-West. "It's like an apology whispered in a closet ... they're still snubbing us."

Pratap More, on behalf of AHAD and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, agreed. "They should go to religious authorities, not politicians," he said. The WVA and AHAD had also requested a joint press conference with the show's producers, who declined the request. But despite his differences of opinion with the show's producers, Krishnadas considers the protest a success. "The victory belongs to Lord Krishna, Hanumanji, their devotees, and everybody who holds the Hindu literature sacred," he said.

Telkikar was pleased with the announcement and praised Studios USA and Renaissance Pictures for their action. "I feel it was an act of great understanding on their part," he said. "We should appreciate their gesture."

His sentiment was echoed by Prithvi Raj Singh, president of the Federation of Hindu Associations. "We sincerely express ourhearty hanks to your offices, for resolving this matter, and to Hindu individuals and organizations who worked in the earnest honesty to convey the message of their concerns," Singh wrote in a letter to Benson that was faxed to India-West.
Added Mittal, "It appears the WVA and the AHAD are not interested in an apology; they're more interested in getting their names in the papers." Krishnadas countered that it was Aghi who was trying to get publicity. "It's very unfortunate that Aghi haschosen to spotlight his organization rather than the millions ofpeople and Hindu associations around the world who brought (the studio) to their decision."

Harish Dhruv, speaking on behalf of the Hindu Swayam Sevak Sangh, said politicians had no right to "meddle in Hindu issues." "The studios need to deal with us ... Sunil Aghi does not represent us," he said. "The apology should go to the organization who is leading the fight." According to Aghi, however, executives atRenaissance and Studios USA did not want to deal directly with any religious organizations as they were afraid of opening a floodgate of protest. "They would only deal with me," he told India-West. "What can I do?" If he hadn't gotten involved in the negotiations, "the outcome would not have been achieved." Although Aghi said he is trying to remain a neutral voice on behalf of the Indo-American community, he expressed frustration that Hindu activists hadn't been satisfied with the April 2 announcement. "I'm a political activist," he said. "Not a religious activist ... I wouldhope to not get involved in religious issues in future."

Mittal added, "(The IAPF) will never again become involved in religious activities." The Indo-Americans Political Foundation is a group of Americans of Indian origin who work to lobby government agencies to be more responsive to the needs of the Indiancommunity; to support political candidates who share their convictions and aspirations; and to educate Indo-Americans on the U.S. political process. The group has raised $600,000 in the last two years, Aghi said. Aghi also founded Thank You America, a group which distributes food and blankets to Southern Calfornia homeless.

"Xena: Warrior Princess" is seen in more than 60 countries worldwide, including India. The show is television's highest rated first-run syndicated drama. Although the press release mentioned that the episode would be pulled from worldwide syndication, the decision applies to the U.S. rerun schedule as well, said a spokesman, adding that it wasn't yet determined if the episode would be available for purchase on video at a later date.
The decision to pull the show from its domestic repeat and international syndication schedule will cost Studios USA a "considerable" sum, said an industry source who wished to remain anonymous. "This is going to have a chilling effect in Hollywood," since producers would now be afraid to portray Hindus in any context, he said. It's not the first time Western media depictions of Indianreligious themes have drawn fire. Recently, Dave La Chapelle, a photographerfor Vanity Fair magazine, issued a public apology after his irreverent photos of comedian Mike Myers offended some Hindus, as didMadonna's appearance at last year's MTV Awards in a tilak and a see-through tee-shirt; and protests led Sony Music to withdraw anAerosmith album cover which protesters said denigrated Krishna. Before "The Way" was broadcast in late February, the show's producers consulted with Dr. Ravi Palat, an expert in Indian studies at Auckland University in New Zealand. "I found (the controversy) strange, because there are hundreds of movies made every year which portray
Hindu deities as fictional characters," he said (I-W, Mar. 5). "There is awhole variety of texts which are played around with, because there is no definitive version. Every movie or story about the gods, then, is in a sense fictional."

Protesters argued that Palat, a Hindu, wasn't the right man for the job. "He's an ivory tower scholar who believes the scriptures are fictional. He doesn't have his finger on the pulse of practicing, believing Hindus worldwide," said Krishnadas. Tapert admitted that the whole controversy wasn't handled as gracefully as it could have been. "It's so out of control," he said. "We would have changed the episode in a heartbeat if we'd known this would happen," he said, adding that "TheWay" was one of his favorite episodes in "Xena's" four-year historybecause "it was actually the first time we showed our hero praying." He was so enamored of the Hanuman character, in fact, that he was considering making it a recurring one on the show. Tapert, who is also executive producer of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys," served as executive producer of the action films Hard Target and Timecop, starring Jean Claude Van Damme, and The Quick and the Dead, starring Leonardo Di-Caprio, Sharon Stone and Gene Hackman. He admitted that although he loves working in television,
the whole experience has soured him and that he's considering leaving TV to return to feature films. Tapert described the controversy as "a giant misunderstanding."

In a public statement issued April 5, Tapert said "Renaissance Pictures and its business partners are not insensitive to the concerns of Hindus worldwide. The earnest and understandable efforts of some Hindus to convey their distress over the depiction of Krishna in the Xena episode, 'The Way,' were blurred by the intolerant attitudes in which the issue was initially couched,"referring to Krishnadas' pre-broadcast allegation that the episode glorified a homosexual relationship between its two main characters.

After viewing the episode, Krishnadas retracted his remarks about homosexual content. "We've got the main things we asked for, and we are very happy about that," said Krishnadas. "However, ... we obviously haven't changed their hearts and attitudes. It is clear that they still have no respect for the Hindus they offended." "People should accept the apology," said Aghi. "We've lost sight of the real concern," said Prithvi Raj Singh. "Bottom line, the show is off!"

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From: "Catherine M. Wilson" <cmwilson@wildestdreams.org>

Lisa Tsering has a whole series of articles about the protest on
her web page. She might actually be a good person to write to
about the counter protest.

I have her page linked from my Protest Censorship page:
http://www.tsoft.com/~cmwilson/ListOfArticles.html

Her email is:
ltsering@aol.com

Kit

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