François Gautier

François Gautier (born 26. July 1950) is a French political writer and journalist based in India, since 1971.

Quotes

• Being married to a "daughter of India" is a natural complement of my being in this country for 30 years. My roots are very much in this country, even though I remain a Westerner.
  • On his wife, as quoted in "There is an unconscious militant dislike of the Christian world towards Hindu India", Rediff (12 February 1999)

• "Muslims are bullies and Hindus cowards," Mahatma Gandhi once said. He was right -- at least about Hindus.
  • Quoted from "Are Hindus cowards?", Rediff (27 July 2000)

• When I first went there I discovered an entirely new approach of looking at life. It was as if I had sudden awakened from deep slumber.
  • On the ashram of Aurobindo, as quoted in "Content-wise, Indian fiction writers have little to offer", The Tribune (10 August 2003)

• At some point, after years or even centuries of submitting like sheep to slaughter, Hindus—whom the Mahatma once gently called cowards—erupt in uncontrolled fury. And it hurts badly. It happened in Gujarat. It happened in Jammu, then in Kandhamal, Mangalore, and Malegaon. It may happen again elsewhere.
  • Quoted from "The Hindu Rate Of Wrath", Outlook (10 November 2008)

• I have never hidden behind a pseudonym to say what I think. I have been one of the rare western journalists to defend Hindus. I have done it openly, in my own name, with dedication and courage and that has cost me a lot.
  • As quoted in "An Irritant Foreign Body", The Indian Express (8 April 2010)

• Finally, Westernisation through television and advertisements, is sweeping across India, and this may be the greatest danger, as westernisation has killed the souls of many Asian countries.
  • On westernisation, quoted from "Let all Hindus come together", The New Indian Express (17 June 2010)

• Sonia has achieved such terrifying power, a glance of her, a silence, just being there, is enough for her inner circle to act; she has subverted so much of the instruments of Indian democracy and she controls such huge amounts of unlisted money that sooner or later this 'karma' may come back to her under one form or the other.
  • On Sonia Gandhi, quoted from "Why is Sonia Gandhi so scared of Narendra Modi?", DNA India (6 May 2011)

• Indians today live in a country where mullahs can preach secession, while Hindu gurus revered by millions of Hindus are the target of ridicule, media attacks and police assaults.
  • Quoted from "This govt is taking the country down with it", DNA India (8 May 2012)

• I believe that the ancient knowledge that stands behind Hinduism is a truth the world needs: why life ? What happens after death? What is karma, what is dharma ? How the divine manifests himself or herself, at different times under different names, with different scriptures…. That knowledge which once roamed the world, from Mesopotamia to Greece, only survives today in India.
  • Quoted from "Why I Love To Hate Outlook", Outlook (17 November 2014)

• We also witnessed firsthand the basic hostility of Amnesty International to the plight of Kashmiri Pandits. Sunil Bakshi had repeatedly sent invitations to them three weeks before the exhibition. I personally called the head of Kashmir at Amnesty International several times as well as Ingrid Massage, the director, Asia & Pacific Program of Amnesty. First she told us they only reported on first hand facts, I replied these were photographs and statistics which nobody could dispute. Finally, after ten phone calls, she said she had too many files on her desk and that she had no time to come, although the exhibtion was a few blocks from her office. So much for Amnesty's sense of justice.
  • Who cares for the Pandits?, Rediff, July 30, 2004 [1]