Hindutva Ideologue Gautier's Unnecessary Provocation
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
6 October
2023
“The lesson (from history) is that Hindus
should fight. Even today, Hinduism is under attack everywhere in the world,
whether it is Pakistan or Afghanistan, whether it is conversions by Christian
missionaries, which is a really big problem in India now, especially in the
South and even in Punjab, or whether it is the westernisation of India, which
is happening through cable TV”.
Gautier
told PTI in an interview
This is
today's (October 5) news. At the moment, Hindus are already on a rampage. Will
not Gautier's unnecessary instigation aggravate the matter and further lionise
Hindus? Agreed, Hindus were not so aggressive in the past as Muslims and
Christians were right from the beginning. But, when this Frenchman is an
observer of what's happening in India at the moment, provoking the aggressors
is totally uncalled for.
Readers
might be aware that this French gentleman is based in India for the past
several decades, Gautier has served as the South-Asia correspondent of Journal
de Genève, a Geneva-based newspaper, and Le Figaro of France.
He has
established the Foundation for Advancement of Cultural Ties (FACT) which
organises various exhibitions and the Pune Museum on the Maratha King Shivaji.
Indians
must never forget that a westerner's (precisely, a white man's) narrative is
often prejudiced and loaded. Gautier's promotion of Shivaji is a political move
as the Maratha king has been projected as the saviour of Hindus and an 'enemy'
of the Mughals and Muslims. This is a recent political interpretation of a king
who was unprejudiced. Gautier is adding fuel to fire and egging Hindus on to
challenge Muslims. He's goading Hindus to atone for what they (Hindus) couldn't
do when Muslims and Christians invaded and ruled. This is a dangerous gameplan.
Sane Hindus should be able to see through his nefarious and sinister
designs.
Gautier's
credentials as a historian are dubious. He's considered to be an amateur
'historian' and a biased scribe. The man has an ulterior motive and a hidden
agenda. Such people must never be trusted.
In this
regard, educated Indians must remember that Eliot and Dawson's (two white men)
book 'The History of India as Told by its Own Historians' contributed to
creating all false narratives and a fertile ground for lies and bad-blood. This
book is full of questionable 'revelations.' Both the Englishmen were
uncharitable towards the Muslim rule. Eaton states that Elliot saw the British
rule as much superior in contrast to the Muslim rule and "was anything but
sympathetic" to the Muhammadan period of Indian history. Shouldn't we
learn from history? George Santayana rightly observed, " Those who fail to
learn from history are doomed to repeat it. " We're witnessing that.
------
A
regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative
religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the
world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/current-affairs/unnecessary-uncalled-provocation/d/130832
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism