Pervez Merwanji

IN THE NAME OF GOD focuses on the campaign waged by the militant Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to destroy a 16th century mosque in Ayodhya said to have been built by Babar, the first Mughal Emperor of India. The VHP claim the mosque was built at the birthsite of the Hindu god Ram after Babar razed an existing Ram temple. They are determined to build a new temple to Ram on the same site. This controversial issue led to religious riots which have cost thousands their lives, culminating in the mosque’s destruction by the Hindus in December of 1992. The resulting religious violence left over 5,000 dead and thousands homeless. The repercussions reverberate to this day in the sub-continent. Filmed prior to the mosque’s demolition, IN THE NAME OF GOD examines the motivations which would ultimately lead to the drastic actions of the Hindu militants, as well as the efforts of secular Indians of all creeds to combat the religious intolerance and hatred that seized India.

There is something comical and pathetic about Percy, an awkward young man of 28, living alone with his aged mother in an old house tucked away in the Parsi colony in Bombay -- a very middle-class setting. Though Banubai, Percy's mother, utterly dominates Percy's life, she does so with love and kindness. Percy holds a clerical position in a small Unani pharmacy, famous for its sexual restoratives. It is only at his place of work, where he wields some power, that Percy displays a measure of authority and self-assurance. One day, Percy discovers a fraud in the office accounts, as a consequence of which one of the junior employees is sacked. This event has far-reaching consequences in the lives of Percy and Banubai. Percy's peace is soon to be shattered.