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Showing posts from October 7, 2007

FACT is they are at our door step Ajmer darga the latest

Now in the continuing terror, They reach the Ajmer Dargah the next could be your house. Cant we act on them... Act with awareness and caution with responsibility and duty. That is all it takes to ward off if not eliminate terror. If peace needs a chance they should never have one and it is we that should defend and decide how we act with responsibility. The fact that its the Sufi Shrine that is targeted reveals a lot of things .... The bomb was hidden inside a tiffin box and placed in the main courtyard called Aasthan-e-Noor, just outside the 750-year-old mausoleum of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, the Sufi shrine revered not only by Muslims in South Asia but people of all faiths. The latest was the Mecca Masjid blasts in Hyderabad, now conclusively blamed on the Bangladesh-based and ISI-linked Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami (HUJI), during packed Friday prayers and before that, the Malegaon blast on Shabb-e-Barat night, when Muslims gather to pay homage to their ancestors. (Times of India) We at

The making of a tyrant (The Indian Express)

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The making of a tyrant Aurangzeb dictated himself through his edicts. French journalist Francois Gautier depicts the shrewd Mughal emperor pictorially with an exhibition that started in Pune on Tuesday LAXMI BIRAJDAR W HEN Francois Gautier began writing books on India over a decade ago, he realised that a lot of rethinking would be required before extolling about one prominent historical figure - Aurangzeb. So, the French journalist embarked on a threeyear research on the Mughal emperor that resulted in an elaborate, 65-painting exhibition highlighting Aurangzeb's dark side. The exhibition was inaugu rated on October 9 at the Balgandharva Kala Dalan. "Aurangzeb was a pious Muslim, no doubt but he also poisoned his own father, emperor Shah Jahan and ordered the beheading of his elder brother, Dara Shikoh," points out Gautier. Presented by Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism (FACT), an organisation he started in 2003, the acrylic paintings show Aurangzeb according to hi

Parallel drawn between Aurangzeb and terrorism (The Times Of India)

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French writer Francois Gautier at the exhibition Parallel drawn between Aurangzeb and terrorism Display Based On Mughal Emperor’s Records And Orders TIMES NEWS NETWORK PUNE 10th Oct 2007 Pune: Relating the ruthless regime of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb to religious extremism in today’s world may seem non-realistic. But French writer-journalist Francois Gautier’s initiative to convene an exhibition titled “Aurangzeb as he was according to Moghol records” does manage to draw a parallel between then and now. “Aurangzeb is still alive in some people, which has resulted in incidents like 9/11 (World Trade Centre air crash), Akshardham and the recent Hyderabad bombings. People with fundamentalist faith like the Mughal emperor are planning such incidents,” he added. Gautier said that Aurangzeb was a pious Muslim, copied the Quran himself and stitched Muslim skullcaps. “He was a pious Muslim but this does not cover-up his terror acts. Many temples were brought down during his rule and mosques wer

French writer to curate exhibition on Shivaji

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French writer to curate exhibition on Shivaji Will Highlight Unknown Facts About Warrior King Anuradha Mane TNN 10th Oct 2007 PUNE Pune: Much has been said and written about Maratha warrior-king Chattrapati Shivaji, but considering the far-reaching reign of Shivaji and his life as a warrior, much is yet to meet the public eye. That’s what Delhi-based French writerjournalist Francois Gautier hopes to bring to Indians. In a yet-to-be titled exhibition on the warrior king, Gautier is getting together rare sketches, paintings and scriptures that depict the vision of Shivaji. “As a journalist, I have been covering India for 25 years now. Shivaji, of all historical icons, impresses me because of his nationmaking vision. He was an idealist and India really needs that spirit today,” said Gautier, who is currently the editor of French newspaper ‘La Revue L’Inde’. Explaining why the exhibition will start in Pune, Gautier states that Pune is where Shivaji grew up and where his legacy runs st

Art Exhibition - A visual representation of Aurangzeb’s reign

Link to the blogger Nalini S Malaviya SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2007 Art Exhibition - A visual representation of Aurangzeb’s reign (By Nalini S Malaviya) I met Francois Gautier earlier this week, when he was in Bangalore for the preview of the art exhibition he has organized. This exhibition of miniature paintings is based on original documents and firmans (edicts) from Aurangzeb’s reign preserved in museums in Rajasthan, mainly the Bikaner archives. The paintings depict scenes from this period in the Moghol miniature style of painting. A visual representation of facts and events based on historical records, the works offer valuable insights into a dark and turbulent period that marked the beginning of the fall of the Moghol Empire. Francois Gautier, a French journalist and writer residing in India for the last twenty years, is the man responsible for putting together the concept and the show. He reveals, “The documents and the paintings on display are based entirely on original archives, an

PRESS RELEASE BY FACT PUNE

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PRESS RELEASE BY FACT AURANGZEB AS HE WAS ACCORDING MOGHOL RECORDS 9th Oct -17th Oct- Kaal Dallan - Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir 18th Oct -26th Oct-Yeshwantrao Chavan Auditorium Kothrud 16th Nov-30th Nov- Yeshwantrao Chavan Auditorium, Kothrud

FACT Update

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Attention Readers An Intelligent Pune Initiative ` Why you should be proud to be Indians' A public lecture by Francois Gautier, noted French journalist, researcher and author Dr S B Mujumdar, stalwart educationist and founder of Symbiosis will preside over the function Date: October 8 Time : 6 p m Venue : Firodia auditorium at the Institution of Engineers , near College of Engineering Grounds, Shivajinagar, Pune-411005 About the author Francois Gautier, born in Paris in 1959, is a French journalist, political correspondent in South Asia for a decade for the Geneva-based `Journal de Geneve', then for `Le Figaro', France's largest daly for eight years. He is now the editor in chief of the Paris-based La Revue de l'Inde ( lesbelleslettres.com ) and the director of a book collection on India with the same publisher. François has written several books on India like `Arise O India ' (Har Anand) 1999, `A Western journalist on In