gautier should know that he & his nation owe their survival to indians including many distinguished indian muslims. During world war 1, britain as india's colonial ruler forcibly recruited indians from villages to fight in Europe against Germans who had quickly occuppied Northern France and Belgium.Notable triumphs of indian army in first world war include battle of ypres in Belgium and at neuilly-chapelle in France.And many martyrs were muslims. The first indian to win the Victoria Cross was Khudadad Khan from Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP, now part of Pakistan) who was injured at ypres.So , it does not behove Gautier to sling mud at segments of the Indian people. But for Indians, the Germans would long ago have castrated his nation of sissies and flirts.
RE:frenchmen should be grateful to indians incuding indian muslims
by Kris iyer on Aug 02, 2008 08:50 PM Permalink
Krupakaran, I do not see Mr.Gautier "slinging mud at segments of the Indian people." Give some specific quotes from him where he is doing that. My understanding is that he is saying, in my words, "Read Indian history as it happened, do not suppress anything or add anything, understand the continuity of Indian culture, which features have been constant, which features are foundational, which features will help you to develop on your own. Should Indians really be copying the West? Why can't you turn to your own culture and history for solutions?"
I like that message. Perhaps, you are a Christian and dislike Hinduism or Hindu culture. Unfortunately, some Christians do. But Mr.Gautier is from a country that stood in the forefront of the age of Enlightenment. Voltaire and Rousseau were French intellecturals who shaped the whole of European and American thinking. He is no narrow-minded Christian. He is still one but admires the Hindu culture and history he sees, feels the pain of the "Hindu Holocaust", when, during six centuries from 10 to 15th centuries, up to 80 million Hindus were either massacred or taken as slaves over the "Hindu Khush" ("Hindu Killer") mountains into central asia. Mr.Gautier does not connect our muslims to any of this. But he says, the Congress Nehruvites, the Marxists and the Mullahs have stopped Indians from knowing the full facts of this chapter of Indian history.
RE:frenchmen should be grateful to indians incuding indian muslims
by krupakaran on Aug 07, 2008 05:24 PM Permalink
dear kris, in the para 10, after talking of bangalore and ahmedabad blasts, gautier says, GOI wants to "deflect the fact that most of the recent terror attacks have been perpetrated by Indian Muslims". This is highly incendiary and blames a community for what a few have done.Just as a few srilankan tamils and irish catholics are responsible for blasts over there.It is despicable for a foreigner to target a section of indians , more so when indian blood (both hindu & muslim)has been shed for his country.There are thousands of issues between india & pak or hindus & others but as an outsider , let him not badmouth any community. Germany has invaded france 6 times from 1815 to1941: in fact europeans have been cutting each others' throats for a thousand years. But today, they have the same currency and good luck to them.But no trouble-making in our backyard please. Especially when islamic fundamentalism was nurtured by western imperialism with osama in the cia payroll.
