Indo -American News READ US ONLINE at www.indoamerican-news.com | Published weekly from Houston, TX Circulation Verifed by A reprint from theissue dated Friday, August 14 2009 | Vol. 28, No. 33 To reorder reprints contact | [email protected] READ US ONLINE at www.indoamerican-news.com 7457 Harwin Dr, Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036 • PH: 713 789 6397 • Fax: 713 789 6399 • indoamericannews@yaho o.com Francois Gautier: Custodian of India’s Historical Heritage By K alyani Giri HOUSTON: Eminent journal- ist and author Francois Gautier is passionate about India. His love affair with that country be- gan in the ‘70s, when as a young student, he left his native France and meandered across Europe and arrived in India. So capti- vated was he by India’s arresting liveliness and the warmth and kindness of the people, that years later in the early ‘80s he returned to India and made it his home. During the last three decades, he has been a high-profile ambassa- dor to India through the power of his pen. “It is a wonderful privilege to be born Indian,” said Gautier to a multigenerational gathering at the Arya Samaj of Greater Hous- ton on August 10. “I’m a west- erner but I feel it is a privilege to live in India.” The renowned writer is current- ly visiting several cities within the US to raise funds through his visionary foundation FACT- India for the creation of an In- dian history museum in Pune, in the state of Maharashtra in India. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maha- raj Museum of Indian History, named for the Indian military leader Shivaji (1627 – 1680), will cost an estimated US$40 million. Gautier is eager to begin work as soon as he returns to India and is confident that this fundraising tour will bring in the much-need- ed initial $100, 000 to jumpstart the project. A wall within the museum will bear the names of donors supporting the museum project. The museum will be built on land donated by a pri- vate trust. Gautier believes that with the help of commissioned historians hired by the museum, visitors will be privy to accurate chronicles of India’s great his- tory. For Gautier, the epiphany came upon him when he started research on a book he was writ- ing. He found that history books carried outdated theories such as the Aryan invasion that have since found to be fictional. Earlier in the day, he chatted informally with Indo American News sharing his thoughts and vision for the museum. “India has been largely ma- ligned by distorted information and misrepresentation. No re- cords or schoolbooks have a cor- rect account of the Hindu Kush genocide, where millions were slaughtered. Exactly how many were killed isn’t known but that was India’s holocaust. Yet every- Francois Gautier was in Houston to raise funds through his visionary foundation FACT-India. Photo: Krishna Giri one knows about the Jewish Holocaust,” said Gautier. “In- dia’s history, falsely propagated by the British, Christian missionaries, and western media, has made me realize that we need to show Hindu civilization in its correct and true context. For the sake of our children and the generations to come, and the world!” The first exhibit to be set up will honor the life and times of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. India’s rich cultural heritage will be por- trayed through the Vedas. The museum will document and exhibit the various invasions from Al- exander the Great to the Arabs, the Goa Inquisition, the Hindu holocaust, the ongoing massacre of thousands of Kashmiri Hindus by Muslim terrorists, the perse- cution of the Syrian Christians, Buddhism’s rise and decline, In- dia past and current. Highlighted too, will be India’s glorious con- tribution of yoga and Ayurveda to the world community. “The museum will be there for our children, for them to know that regardless of the fact that the British broke the backbone of our agricultural system and caused the deaths of millions of Indians from famine, and despite the Muslim onslaught, India prevailed and remains prosper- ous,” added Gautier, a practic- ing Hindu who was spiritually influenced by the writings of Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950). He has since joined forces with spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who supports him in his quest for the truth about India’s past. Gautier estimated that it would take sev- eral years till completion of the museum. “I’m thinking about 10 to 15 years. Once people realize how important this project is, and how essential, the funds will pour in,” confided Gautier. Speaking softly in a lilting Indo-French accent, his mes- sages however were undoubt- edly strong as he condemned the slaughter and maniacal “eth- nic cleansing” of Hindus in the Kashmir valley by the Muslims, an area Gautier covered as a po- litical journalist from 1987 to the late ‘90s. “There were over a million Hindus living peacefully in Kashmir. Today there are a mere hundreds. The Kashmiri Pandits moved me with their despair, but nobody else seemed to give a damn. Indian media abroad and in India were only covering the Muslim angle,” said Gautier. Through FACT-India, an orga- nization he founded in 2003 to draw attention to human rights abuses in South Asia, Gautier documented the genocide in Kashmir in a video called Ter- ror Unleashed – An Exhibition on Kashmir, and presented it to the US Congress in the desper- Gautier met with local youth at the Arya Samaj and urged them to remember their cultural heritage. Photo: Rajesh Thatte ate hope that Washington would intervene and help resolve the issue. “Several House Representa- tives saw it and lauded the video but nothing was really done about it,” said Gautier. “US presidents think that by pouring money into Pakistan, it will curb terrorism. That won’t work.” Gautier said that the dissent among Hindu community lead- ers has led to disunity. “If there’s fighting among ourselves, how do we present a united front to the world? After all this time that Indians have been in the US and enjoy great prosperity, they still do not have a voice that is heard. Yet other communities work together and in that unity, they find a voice. Indian organizations need to share a common agenda and work towards that.” He confided that it is “tragic” that the children of Indian immi- grants adopt the American way of life and are lost to India. “They’re hostile to spirituality. And it’s mostly the fault of the parents who either don’t care, or don’t instill cultural pride in their children. Families are frag- mented, values lost. Instead of pushing children to visit the tem- ple, engage them in other spiri- tual activities like the classical arts and yoga. It will bring them closer to their cultural roots,” said Gautier. “It’s such a pity that India is so poor at sports, as that could have helped make them proud of India.” At a private meeting with local youth at the Arya Samaj, Gautier urged young people to be proud of their cultural heritage. “It is a privilege and a respon- sibility to have Indian roots and there is no contradiction here – you hail from the lineage of the Vedas. People are moving forward and coming to Hindu- ism for spiritual answers,” said Gautier. All donations to FACT-India/ Francois Gautier ’ s proposed Mu- seum of Indian History should be mailed to FACT India, 6832 Win- drock Rd, Dallas, TX 75252 Donations can also be made online via credit card on the website: www.fact-india.com
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Indo -American NewsREAD US ONLINE at www.indoamerican-news.com | Published weekly from Houston, TX
Circulation Verifed by
A reprint from the issue dated Friday, August 14 2009 |Vol. 28, No. 33 To reorder reprints contact | [email protected]
READ US ONLINE at www.indoamerican-news.com
7457 Harwin Dr, Suite 262, Houston, TX 77036 • PH: 713 789 6397 • Fax: 713 789 6399 • [email protected]
Francois Gautier: Custodian of India’s Historical Heritage
By K alyani Giri
HOUSTON: Eminent journal-ist and author Francois Gautier is passionate about India. Hislove affair with that country be-gan in the ‘70s, when as a youngstudent, he left his native Franceand meandered across Europeand arrived in India. So capti-vated was he by India’s arrestingliveliness and the warmth andkindness of the people, that yearslater in the early ‘80s he returnedto India and made it his home.During the last three decades, hehas been a high-profile ambassa-dor to India through the power of his pen.
“It is a wonderful privilege to be born Indian,” said Gautier toa multigenerational gathering atthe Arya Samaj of Greater Hous-ton on August 10. “I’m a west-erner but I feel it is a privilege tolive in India.”
The renowned writer is current-ly visiting several cities withinthe US to raise funds throughhis visionary foundation FACT-India for the creation of an In-dian history museum in Pune, inthe state of Maharashtra in India.The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maha-raj Museum of Indian History,named for the Indian militaryleader Shivaji (1627 – 1680), will
cost an estimated US$40 million.Gautier is eager to begin work assoon as he returns to India andis confident that this fundraisingtour will bring in the much-need-ed initial $100, 000 to jumpstartthe project. A wall within themuseum will bear the names of donors supporting the museum project. The museum will be built on land donated by a pri-vate trust. Gautier believes thatwith the help of commissionedhistorians hired by the museum,visitors will be privy to accuratechronicles of India’s great his-tory. For Gautier, the epiphanycame upon him when he startedresearch on a book he was writ-ing. He found that history bookscarried outdated theories suchas the Aryan invasion that havesince found to be fictional.
Earlier in the day, he chattedinformally with Indo American News sharing his thoughts andvision for the museum.
“India has been largely ma-ligned by distorted informationand misrepresentation. No re-cords or schoolbooks have a cor-rect account of the Hindu Kushgenocide, where millions wereslaughtered. Exactly how manywere killed isn’t known but thatwas India’s holocaust. Yet every-
Francois Gautier was in Houston to raise funds through his visionaryfoundation FACT-India. Photo: Krishna Giri
one knows about theJewish Holocaust,”said Gautier. “In-dia’s history, falsely propagated by theBritish, Christianmissionaries, andwestern media, hasmade me realize thatwe need to showHindu civilizationin its correct andtrue context. For thesake of our childrenand the generationsto come, and theworld!”
The first exhibitto be set up willhonor the life andtimes of ChhatrapatiShivaji Maharaj.India’s rich culturalheritage will be por-trayed through theVedas. The museumwill document andexhibit the variousinvasions from Al-
exander the Great to the Arabs,the Goa Inquisition, the Hinduholocaust, the ongoing massacreof thousands of Kashmiri Hindus by Muslim terrorists, the perse-cution of the Syrian Christians,Buddhism’s rise and decline, In-dia past and current. Highlightedtoo, will be India’s glorious con-tribution of yoga and Ayurvedato the world community.
“The museum will be there for our children, for them to knowthat regardless of the fact thatthe British broke the backboneof our agricultural system andcaused the deaths of millions of Indians from famine, and despitethe Muslim onslaught, India prevailed and remains prosper-ous,” added Gautier, a practic-ing Hindu who was spirituallyinfluenced by the writings of SriAurobindo (1872-1950). He hassince joined forces with spiritualleader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, whosupports him in his quest for thetruth about India’s past. Gautier estimated that it would take sev-eral years till completion of themuseum.
“I’m thinking about 10 to 15years. Once people realize howimportant this project is, and howessential, the funds will pour in,”
confided Gautier.Speaking softly in a lilting
Indo-French accent, his mes-sages however were undoubt-edly strong as he condemnedthe slaughter and maniacal “eth-nic cleansing” of Hindus in theKashmir valley by the Muslims,an area Gautier covered as a po-litical journalist from 1987 to thelate ‘90s.
“There were over a millionHindus living peacefully inKashmir. Today there are a merehundreds. The Kashmiri Panditsmoved me with their despair, butnobody else seemed to give adamn. Indian media abroad andin India were only covering theMuslim angle,” said Gautier.
Through FACT-India, an orga-nization he founded in 2003 todraw attention to human rightsabuses in South Asia, Gautier documented the genocide inKashmir in a video called Ter-ror Unleashed – An Exhibitionon Kashmir, and presented it tothe US Congress in the desper-
Gautier met with local youth at the Arya Samaj and urged them to
remember their cultural heritage. Photo: Rajesh Thatte
ate hope that Washington wouldintervene and help resolve theissue.
“Several House Representa-tives saw it and lauded the video but nothing was really done aboutit,” said Gautier. “US presidentsthink that by pouring money intoPakistan, it will curb terrorism.That won’t work.”
Gautier said that the dissentamong Hindu community lead-ers has led to disunity.
“If there’s fighting amongourselves, how do we present aunited front to the world? After all this time that Indians have been in the US and enjoy great
prosperity, they still do not havea voice that is heard. Yet other communities work together andin that unity, they find a voice.Indian organizations need toshare a common agenda andwork towards that.”
He confided that it is “tragic”that the children of Indian immi-grants adopt the American wayof life and are lost to India.
“They’re hostile to spirituality.And it’s mostly the fault of the parents who either don’t care,or don’t instill cultural pride intheir children. Families are frag-mented, values lost. Instead of pushing children to visit the tem- ple, engage them in other spiri-tual activities like the classicalarts and yoga. It will bring themcloser to their cultural roots,”said Gautier. “It’s such a pity thatIndia is so poor at sports, as thatcould have helped make them proud of India.”
At a private meeting with localyouth at the Arya Samaj, Gautier urged young people to be proud
of their cultural heritage.“It is a privilege and a respon-
sibility to have Indian roots andthere is no contradiction here – you hail from the lineage of the Vedas. People are movingforward and coming to Hindu-ism for spiritual answers,” saidGautier. All donations to FACT-India/
Francois Gautier’s proposed Mu- seum of Indian History should bemailed to FACT India, 6832 Win-drock Rd, Dallas, TX 75252 Donations can also be made
online via credit card on thewebsite: www.fact-india.com
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