François Gautier 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. (François Gautier)

I was born in Paris in 1950. I had a strict upper-class Catholic education but I never really fitted in the system and revolted against it quite early.

François Gautier

The West remains obsessed by the caste system.

François Gautier

I started writing and photographing for different publications and finally ended up being the correspondent in South Asia, for the Geneva-based Journal de Geneve, which at one time used to be one of the best international newspapers in Europe.

François Gautier

I have an interest in spirituality, and it opens up so many different areas of Indian life.

François Gautier

I have no intention of going back to France, except for yearly visits to meet my family.

François Gautier

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.

François Gautier

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.

François Gautier

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.

François Gautier

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.

François Gautier

"Muslims are bullies and Hindus cowards," Mahatma Gandhi once said. He was right -- at least about Hindus. (François Gautier)

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.

François Gautier

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.

François Gautier

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.

François Gautier