Ongoing & Upcoming FACT Exhibitions

The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti in association with FACT, Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism are organising the following exhibitions at the following lo9cations Know more

Exhibition of documents concerning Aurangzeb’s genocide of Hindus
I am grateful to the Anonymous dear reader who brought this to my attention. This is an excellent article by Francois Gautier about the exhibition he is organizing about the genocidal activities of the Radical Islamic genocidal tyrant Aurangzeb. Says a blogger friend

Weblog of Dashmesh Pictures

Reproduced the Francois article on Aurangazeb

Thyere is this piece on The same subject on Boloji by V sundaram

INDIA HABITAT CENTER
Francis Gautier presents a traveling exhibition on the reign of the last Great Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb that shows Hinduism as a timeless cultural manifestation capable of maintaining its unique character and spirit for tolerance amidst sustained onslaught.

Date	Place	Time	Address	Contact No
21-24 Sept 2007	Margao, Goa	Full Day	Lingayat Hall, Pajifond, Margao	9890722314
21-23 Sept 2007	Nashik, Maharashtra	10am to 9pm	Limaye Hall, Tilak Road, Nashik	9422249329
21-24 Sept 2007	Mumbai, Maharashtra	5pm to 10pm	Abhyudaya Nagar Sarvajanik Ganesh Mandal, Kalachauki, Shahid Bhagat Singh Ground	9322047582
22-24 Sept 2007	Mumbai, Maharashtra	4pm to 9pm	Vijayanagar Society Hall, Sahar Road, Andheri (East)	9323950270

Date	Place*	No of Visitors	Set**	Inaugurated By	Notes
11-14 Sep 2007	Beed, Maharashtra	1400	A & B	Shri. Jaysingh Mama Chungade, Shivsena	1. Shri. Shivajirao Kulkarni sponsered 5000 handbills. 2. Smt. Jaju provided hall at very nominal rate.
8 Sep 2007	Bicholim Goa	250	A & B	Shri. Mohan Kelkar, North Goa District Chief, RSS	1. The manager of Sree Maruti Temple provided the temple hall free of charge for the exhibition. 2. Shri. Sakharam Pednekar and Shri. Rajesh Parab provided sound system.
8-10 Sep 2007	Dharangaon, Jalgaon, Maharashtra	2500	A & B	Shri. Mahesh Maharaj, Keertankar	1. Shri. Ranesh Mahajan provided hall free of cost. 2. Shri. Jeevanappa Bayas donated Rs. 2000 3. Shri. Mangaldas Bhatiya sponsered 5000 handbills.
7-9 Sep 2007	Mahalakshmi, Mumbai, Maharashtra	7500	A & B	Shri. Baburao Borade, a devotee of Goddess Sree Mahalakshmi	Foreigners visited the exhibition.
4 Sep 2007	Dadar, Mumbai, Maharashtra	1000	A & B	–	Shri. Prakash Phatak, President, Gokul Mitramandal co-operated for arranging the exhibition.
31 Aug-2 Sep 2007	Thane city, Thane, Maharashtra	1200	A & B	Pujya Eknath Maharaj Sadgir, Shri. Kelkar, MLA, BJP, Shri. Bhoir, Deputy mayor	In the inauguration function Police restricted to show the VCD prepared by FACT ‘… and the world remain silent’ to Hindu Dharmabhimanis.
25-27 Aug 2007	Vileparle, Mumbai, Maharashtra	1760	A & B	Shri. Vinayak Raut, Chief Secretary, Shivsena and Adv. Parag Alavani, BJP and others	1. Shri. Bapat, trustee, Sree Parleshwar Temple provided place of temple free of charge to arrange the exhibition. 2. Adv. Parag Alavani, ex-corporator, BJP provided nearby BJP office.
23-25 Aug 2007	Beed city, Beed Maharashtra	2600	A & B	Pujya Patankar Maharaj, Prof. Sunil Dhande, MLA, Shivsena, Shri. Dharurkar of daily Lokasha and others	1. Prof. Sunil Dhande, MLA, Shivsena, sponsored 19000 handbills and 1000 posters for the exhibition 2. Shivsena provided 5 banners for displaying exhibition details.
22-23 Aug 2007	Hatkangale, Kolhapur, Maharashtra	1200	A & B	Smt. Sunita Bachane, Sarpanch, Shri. Rajendra Patil, Deputy Taluka chief and press reporter of Daily ‘Samana’ and others	Shri. Abhinandan Solankure, activist Sree Shivapratishthan had taken maximum responsibility of the exhibition. He also provided the food to the activist working for the exhibition.
19-21 Aug 07	Kankavali, Sindhudurga, Maharashtra	2600	A & B	Shri. Parshuram Uparkar, MLA, Shivsena	Smt. Shivani Bhat, displaced from Kashmir and now taking education at Kankavali visited the exhibition and expressed her experiences in the Kashmir.
19-20 Aug 07	Pulachi Shiroli, Kolhapur, Maharashtra	2000	A & B	Pujya Vitthal Maharaj Patil, District Dharmacharya Sampark Pramukh, VHP	Youths from ‘Shivapratishthan’ organization and ‘Sampark Yuva Dal’ took part in arrangement of the exhibition.
19-20 Aug 07	Junnar, Pune, Maharashtra	2000	A & B	Pujya Atmaram Maharaj Tekale	1. Shri. Anil Joglekar of ‘Amarnath’ Local cable channel recorded the exhibition and immediately telecasted it. 2. RSS and Bajarang Dal activists present for whole day for providing security to the exhibition.
17-19 Aug 07	Bicholim, Goa	1072	A & B	Shri. Anand Mayekar, President, Brahmanand Tarunai organization	1. Shri. Sanjeev Kumar, LIC agent printed 10,000 handbills for the exhibition. 2. Shri. Suresh Hobale, RSS activist at Lambgaon participated in the arrangement of the exhibition.
15-19 Aug 07	Ghatkopar, Mumbai, Maharashtra	2500	A & B	Shri. Prakash Mehta, MLA, BJP, Adv. Liladhar Dake, Ex. Minister, Shivsena and P. Gaykar Maharaj	Shri. Dattaram Gujar, Section chief, Shivsena provided hall of a temple and some place of Shivsena Shakha
14 Aug 07	Indapur, Raigad, Maharashtra	500	A & B	Shri. Ramesh Shinde, Maharashtra state spokesperson, HJS	Shri.Chandrashekhar Deshmukh and Shri. Dattatreya Patil provided hall free of charge
13-16 Aug 07	Tasgaon, Sangali, Maharashtra	7000	A & B	Shri. Shrikant Chavhan, District chief, Sree Sampraday and Shri. Amol Shinde, Deputy mayor	Trustee of Virshaiv Mangal Karyalay provided hall in concessional rates.
12 Aug 07	Bastoda, Mapusa, Goa	250	A & B	Smt. Laalan Karapurkar, Deputy Sarpanch of Bastoda village	Smt. Laalan Karapurkar, Dy. Sarpanch of Bastoda village provided hall free of charge and also informed the villagers to attend the exhibition.
11-14 Aug 07	Belgaum city, Belgaum city, Karnataka	4000	A & B	Swami Satchitprakashananda Saraswati of Arsha Vidya Kendra	1. Shri. Narvekar, VHP provided place and printed 3000 handbills for publicity. 2. His holiness Acharya Dharmendraji visited the exhibition. 3. Shri. Abhay Patil, MLA visited the exhibition.
5-6 Aug 07	Shirpur, Dhule, Maharashtra	2300	A & B	Shri. Baban Choudhary, Deputy president, BJP	HJS, Shivsena, BJP and VHP had jointly organized this exhibition.
29 July 07	At 173 places in India	Average 250	A & B	–	HJS displayed FACT charts in Sanatan Sanstha’s Gurupournima programs.Members of HJS and seekers of Sanstha explained these charts to the curious. Likewise, during talk on the topic of ‘Rekindling and Protection of Dharma’ at the Gurupournima celebration, the speakers gave the audience information about the FACT exhibitions to be organised by the HJS at different places.
16-17 July 07	Shindkheda Dhule, Maharashtra	750	A & B	Shri. Hemnat Salunkhe, local leader, Shivasena
14-16 July 07	Nanded city, Nanded, Maharashtra	1000	A & B	Pujya Baba Balvindarsinghji, Naginaghat Gurudwar	Sanatan Sanstha, Yogvedant Samiti, Swa. Savarkar Pratishthan, Shivsena, Brahman Mahasangh took part to arrange the exhibition.
13-16 July 07	Savantwadi Sindhudurga, Maharashtra	1350	A & B	Dr. Trambak lele, RSS	1. Shri. Shivram Dalvi, MLA visited the exhibition. 2. Coverage by the ‘Sahara News’ and ‘Me Marathi’ channels
12-15 July 07	Prabhadevi, Mumbai, Maharashtra	25000	A & B	–	Many Hindus who wished to participate in the activities of the HJS, provided their contact details.
12-14 July 07	Dombivali, Thane, Maharashtra	2000	A & B	H.H. Sharaddada Vaishampayan	1. Shri. Umesh Nakhye, owner of Everest Hall provided the premises free of cost for 3 days. 2. HJS had organized a debate on the topic ‘Hindu genocide’. Local leaders of Shivsena, BJP and Dr. Sacchidanand Shevade, renowned kirtankar participated in the debate.
8-9 July 07	Vardha city, Vardha, Maharashtra	1200	A & B	Pujya Satish Maharaj, National Kirtankar	1. The Trustee of the Bajaj library provided the hall free of charge for the exhibition. 2. Owner of local cable channel advertised this program on his channel free of charge.
8 July 07	Khandala, Satara, Maharashtra	600	A & B	Adv. Balkrishna Pandit, RSS	1. Shri. Subhash Sawant, Principal of local college provided the chairs and table free of charge for the exhibition. 2. Activists of Dharmaveer Sambhaji Mitra Mandal, Shivshakti Gram Vikas Mandal, Krantisigh Ganeshotsaw Mandal printed the handbills required for the publicity of exhibition and distributed it.
5-7 July 07	Ahamadnagar city, Ahamadnagar, Maharashtra	6000	A & B	Shri. Anilbhaiya Rathod, MLA, Shivsena	Muslim organizations had given a representation to the District Collector opposing this exhibition. Noticing this, 10 activists of Shivprathisthan came forward to provide security for the exhibition.
1-2 July 07	Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur, Maharashtra	700	A & B	Pujya Bal Maharaj	Local Hindu organizations participated in the publicity and also helped to organize the exhibition.
29 June-1 July	Mapusa, Goa	2000	A	Shri. Narayan Rathawad, Senior reporter	Shri. Rane, ex- MLA, MGP (local party), Shri. Sheth-Tanavade, ex-MLA, BJP, Mrs. Bhobe, councilor of Mapusa MNC, Shri. Valavalkar, RSS, Shri. Buva, VHP and other eminent pro-Hindus visited exhibition.
29 June-1 July 07	Nagpur city, Nagpur, Maharashtra	700	A & B	Pujya Sadgurudas Maharaj	Dharmapeth Shikshan Sanstha provided the hall at nominal rates.
29 June-1 July 07	Amaravati city, Amaravati, Maharashtra	3000	A & B	Dr. Pradeep Shingote, City chief, Shivsena	1. Shri. Patane of ‘Chintamani Coaching Classes’ printed 10000 handbills of the exhibition free of charge. 2. RSS activists explained this issue in their program and also distributed handbills.
29-30 June 07	Chopda, Jalgaon, Maharashtra	5500	A & B	Pujya Narayan Swami, Rameshwartirth	Shri. Atul Sonavane, District chief of Shivsena immediately chalked out plans to organize such exhibitions in the 4 talukas of Dhule district.
26-29 June 07	Miraj, Sangli, Maharashtra	4000	A & B	H.H. Poyekar Maharaj	‘Khare Mandir Vachnalay’ provided hall at nominal rates.
24-June 07	Solapur city, Solapur, Maharashtra	1000	A		It was organized in the Solapur Dharmajagruti Sabha.
22-24 June 07	Rajarampuri, Kolhapur, Maharashtra	700	A	Shri. Sambhaji Jadhav, Speaker, Standing committee	1. Shri. Sunil Bhaik, junior engineer of MNC made available tables free of charge 2. Shri. Rajshekhar Baggi, owner, Shubhraj enterprises give Generator free of charge for 4 days.
21-24 June 07	Dhule city, Dhule, Maharashtra	5500	A	Shri. Hiraman Gavali, Regional Chief, Hindu Ekta Andolan	1. Shri. Kantilal Jain, President ‘Jain Sadan’ organization provided the hall’s rooms free of charge. 2. Shri. Gavali expressed his desire to organize and fund such exhibitions during this year’s Ganesh festival.
20-22 June 07	Vita, Sangali, Maharashtra	1200	A	Pujya Ishwarbuwa Ramdasi and Adv.Vaibhavdada Patil, Mayor	Municipal corporation provided hall free of charge.
17-19 June 07	Mirajkar Tickti, Kolhapur, Maharashtra	2000	A	Pujya Vitthal Tathya Patil	Local Hindu organizations participated in the publicity and also helped to organize the exhibition.
13-14 June 07	Ponda, Goa	700	A	Pujya Pethe Aji, Sanatan Sanstha	1. Bajarang Dal’s local activists assured their help in organizing the exhibition at Madgaon.2. A teacher of the M.I.B.K. School promised to make efforts to organize the exhibition in her school.
9-June 07	Swarget, Pune, Maharashtra	1500	A		It was organized in the Pune Dharmajagruti Sabha.
3-5 June 07	Mangalore city, Mangalore, Karnataka	500	A & B	Shri.Hanumant Kamat, Spokesperson, Mangalore Nagarik Hitarakshana Vedike	Shri. Kuldeep Pandit, Kashmiri refugee expressed his thoughts.
1-3 June 07	Sahakarnagar, Pune, Maharashtra	600	A	Himani Savarkar, President, Svatantranveer Savarkar Prathisthan	Shri. Mandar Bedekar, one of the speakers during the exhibition himself distributed 200 handbills.
29-31 May 07	Sadashiv Peth, Pune, Maharashtra	1000	A	Adv. Amarsingh Jadhavrav, Editor, ‘Dainik Rashtratej’	Shri. Date Mandavwale provided cloth partition free of cost and Shri. Bamane provided hall at concessional rates.
27 May 07	Panvel Raigad, Maharashtra	2000	A	–	The exhibition was organised in the HJS Dharmasabha.
22-24 May 07	Kothrud, Pune, Maharashtra	700	A	Vedmurti Shri. Moreshwar Ghaisas, the chief trustee, Ved-bhavan	–
22-27 May 07	Pandharpur city, Pandharpur, Maharashtra	500	A	Shri. Sambhaji Shinde, taluka president, Shivsena.	Savarkarpremi Mandal and Savarkar Muktadwar has given invitation for exhibition and provided hall for it.
22-24 May 07	Bangalore city, Bangalore, Karnataka	1000	A & B	Sree Chidroopananda Saraswathi, Arsha Vidhya Peetha	The event was widely covered by the media.
20 May 07	Thane city, Thane, Maharashtra	2000	A	–	The exhibition was organised in the HJS Dharmasabha.
19-20 May 07	Sinhagad road, Pune, Maharashtra	1500	A	Capt. Dwarakanath Deshpande, Retd. Military Officer	Chitamani Mangal Center provided chairs and tables free of charge. The ‘Mandap’ was made available at concessional rates.
16-18 May 07	Udupi city, Udupi Karanataka	1500	A & B	His Holiness Sri Sri Sri Vidhyavallabha Prasanna Shripada, Sree Kaniyuru Mutt, Udupi.	Shri. Sunil Kumar, MLA, BJP declared that he will organise this exhibition in his constituency. The entire program was compered by Shri. Vasudev Bhat of Hindu Yuva Sena.
16 May 07	Bhor, Pune, Maharashtra	2000	A	H. Sadashiv Deshmukh, Datta Sampraday	‘G.P. Library’ management committee provided the library premises free for the exhibition.
15 May 07	Velha, Pune, Maharashtra	250	A	Shri. Nanaso Sabane, Velha taluka president, BJP	Torana student hostel provided hall free of charge.
11-12 May 07	Shiraval, Satara, Maharashtra	1300	A	H.B.P. Bhanudas Ghare Maharaj	Shri. Shekhar Gadevar of Nanded requested HJS to organize this exhibition in Nanded.
21-29 April 07	Hosanagar, Shimoga, Karnataka	30000	A & B	H.H. Sree Raghveshwar Bharati Swamiji, Ramchandrapur Math	It was arranged in Vishwa Gau Sammelan
20 April 07	Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra	2000	A	–	The exhibition was organised in the HJS Dharmasabha.
15-17 April 07	Pandharpur city, Pandharpur, Maharashtra	850	A & B	Shri. Dvaipayan Varkhedkar, Senior journalist	Shri. Radhesham, owner of Lakshaman bag ‘math’ provided the place free of charge. Owner of Adithya Mandap contractor gave concession in Mandap rates.
4-6 April 07	Akkalkot, Solapur, Maharashtra	1000	A & B	–	–
1-2 April 07	Kurduwadi, Solapur, Maharashtra	400	A & B	–	–
25-29 March 07	Barshi, Solapur, Maharashtra	3000	A & B	–	–
17-23 March 07	Solapur city, Solapur, Maharashtra	2000	A & B	Pujya Chavan Maharaj, Shri. Purushottam Barde, District chief, Shivsena	Adv. Kiran Kanale provided place free of charge for the exhibition.
20-25 Feb 07	Satara city, Satara, Maharashtra	20000	A & B	–	300 Kirtankars and Pravachankars visited the exhibition. Some Hindu organizations leaders, prominent pro-Hindus also visited.
10-11 Feb 07	Panvel, Raigad, Maharashtra	3000	A & B	Shri. Sreedhar Bodhe, Sub-divisional Magistrate,	Panvel media press club had jointly organized this exhibition with HJS.
1-2 Feb 07	Aurangabad	300	A & B	–	–

Al qaeda declares war on Mushraf

There is this feeling of vindication in the peace activists after Alqaeda declared war on Mushraf their mentor at some time in the past, in it sixth and latest video after the 9/11 anniversary. But we as peace activists and opposing and standing up against terror cant let pakistan suffer, if we do we obviously put at stake peace in the world. It is a lesson for those who want to make quick fame or short cut to the jannath.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has declared war on Pakistani President Pervez
Musharraf and his army in its latest message, to be released by the network’s
media arm.
In another video released by Al-Qaeda’s media arm, Al-Sahab, Bin
Laden’s deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri also warned that Musharraf would be “punished”
over the killing of the Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi.
The storming
of the Red Mosque in Islamabad in July “demonstrated Musharraf’s insistence on
continuing his loyalty, submissiveness and aid to America against the Muslims
… and makes armed rebellion against him and removing him obligatory,” bin
Laden said in the message.

Terrorism through the seas

Earlier, terrorists would either come in from Pakistan via land through Kashmir or from Nepal into the border districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. They would also come into West Bengal or the North East from Bangladesh.

However, now two arrested LeT terrorists have revealed the new preference for the sea route, saying that most terror outfits use it as it is a much safer option.

According to sources in the Intelligence Bureau, terrorists start on boats from Karachi in Pakistan. From there the boat reaches Jafna in Sri Lanka, where the terrorists get their supply of arms and ammunition.
Here, they are also given a makeover so that they can blend in with local fishermen. Once the makeover is done, these terrorists head for one of the many beaches in Chennai.

US Senators support the cause of Hindus in Bangladesh

An exhibition of photos and panels vividly describing the atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh caught the attention of influential Congressmen and key policymakers in the Bush administration.

The two-day exhibition titled “Asru” was held at the Rayburn House Office Building at the US Capitol from July 30. The exhibits of 28 panels, which graphically chronicled the deteriorating condition of Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh over the past several decades, were put together by the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) and Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism (FACT). “It is time that the world should know what is happening with the Hindu minorities in Bangladesh,” said Amalendu Chatterjee, HRCBM director. The population of Hindus in this Muslim-majority country, he pointed out, has dropped from as high as 37 per cent in 1940s to a mere 11 per cent now. “It is all because of the atrocities perpetrated on the Hindus by the ruling class all these years,” he said.

In organising an exhibition on the plight of Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh for the first time in the history of the Capitol, the efforts of HRCBM and FACT did cut ice among the Congressmen and key policymakers who took time out of their busy schedule to take a look at what was on display. “All the representatives and their staffers reiterated the need to protect the rights of minorities and to deal with Islamic groups in a resolute manner,” said Utsav Chakrabarti, designer of the exhibition and a member of FACT. The exhibition received bipartisan support from Congressional leaders and was attended by concerned citizens, political analysts and human rights representatives.

Moved by the graphic description of the condition of Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh, powerful Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA) wrote in the visitors’ book kept at the exhibition: “The international community must take an action against these genocidal acts now before this culture is extinguished and the minorities forcibly killed, converted or exiled in the face of an underground jehad.” Royce who spent more than an hour at the exhibition hall visiting each and every panel expressed optimism that due to this effort by HRCBM and FACT, members of Congress will be educated “as to the extreme challenge and persecution faced by Hindus, Buddhists and Christians due to the threat posed by Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh.” Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), who sponsored the event at the Capitol said after visiting the exhibition:

“I was proud to be the Congressional sponsor of this important exhibition on human rights in Bangladesh. I believe it helped bring much-needed attention to the plight of minorities in Bangladesh who have suffered from increasing attacks over the past few years.” Influential Joseph Crowley (D-NY), founder and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Bangladesh and member of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, said the exhibition “serves as an important reminder to the international community that we must remain vigilant in preventing violence, suffering and loss around the world.” He expressed his willingness to continue working with his colleagues in Congress to help all of the people of Bangladesh to ensure that their religious and ethnic backgrounds are respected.

The event also had presentations by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Bangladesh, Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH), and Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-NC). Toni Van Pelt expressed dismay at the apathy of the human rights groups towards Hindu rape and molestation victims, while urging the media to take the cause of Hindus in Bangladesh by reporting such incidents. Shahriar Kabir urged for global pressure on government in Bangladesh to take a stringent action against Jamaat-e-Islami for its role in continuing atrocities against minorities. He also reiterated the need to repeal the Vested Interest Property Act which allows the Government of Bangladesh to confiscate properties of non-resident Hindus and others it deems as an enemy of the State.

Samaresh Baidya narrated his first-hand experience facing the wrath of fundamentalist Islamists. He underlined the need for the journalist community to expose the reality of religious intolerance and persecution. Dwijen Bhattachariya, from the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, and Professor at Columbia University, felt that Bangladesh is quickly turning into a Taliban-like state with potential for becoming a breeding ground for the next generation of jehadi terrorists.

Rosalind Costa, a social worker from Bangladesh, narrated her experience rescuing women in rural areas. She described the case of two minor rape victims, Rita Rani Das and Purnima Shil, who were gang-raped by jehadis and forcibly converted to Islam. “Our goal was to create awareness and activism in order to alleviate the plight of Hindus and other religious minorities in that region. And we have achieved it,” said Chatterjee, adding that encouraged by the response, the organisers have now decided to take this exhibition to other parts of the country as well, with Houston being its next destination.

Rs 200 crore museum to come up in city (pune)

Pune is being honoured again, because of its rich culture and convenient location. The city has been chosen to house a Rs 200 crore project on Indian history. Called the India Memory Foundation (IMF), it will showcase both India over the centuries including Vedic knowledge and the India of tomorrow. Behind the effort is a Frenchman, journalist Francois Gautier, who will raise the funds from private donors.

The project is located on an acre of land near Lohegaon airport and will be ready in the next two years.

THE PROJECT, WHICH IS ALSO TO COVER THE INDIA OF TOMORROW, WILL BE HOUSED ON AN ACRE OF LAND NEAR LOHEGAON AIRPORT

There will be a phase-wise construction, starting with a painting exhibition on Chhatrapati Shivaji that will be ready by 2008. “My aim is to take a frank look at India’s history over the centuries. Not too much is spoken about Vedic history, astrology and maths. I want to highlight those aspects. Also, we want to show how India has been envisioned by Aurobindo, Lokmanya Tilak, Swami Vivekanand and others. Hence, the focus will be on the India of tomorrow,” says Gautier, who has initiated the museum through his organisation, Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism (FACT).

There will be special sections on China and Tibet in reference to India’s cultural, social, political and social changes that will be a crucial part of this interactive museum.

Seven projects for the IMF are underway — an exhibit on the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits which was a much-lauded effort, an exhibition on the persecution of Christians, Buddhists, Amadya Muslims and Hindu minorities in Bangladesh, a painting exhibition on Aurangzeb based on Mughal records and documents and another one on the birth of Sikhism. Most importantly, an exhibition on Shivaji and two films — one on the 1947 Partition holocaust and the other on the poor condition of Brahmins and other upper castes — are in the production stage and will be ready by early next year. “We plan to have 30 such projects over the next five years,” says Gautier, who will be bringing the Aurangzeb exhibition to Pune in the second week of October. The museum complex will be designed by architect Dharmesh Jadeja using environmentally friendly material like mud bricks, stones and solar energy, that are common in Auroville where Gautier resides. The project is headed by a prestigious Board of Directors comprising Indian Archaeological Society chairman S P Gupta, Indian Council of Philosophical Research chairman Dr Kireet Joshi, Lal Bahadur Shastri Museum director Professor A K Dass and others.

And Pune has been chosen after much deliberation. “Chhatrapati Shivaji grew up here. The city has a rich cultural heritage. But most importantly, it’s centrally located and can be easily accessible from any part of the country,” adds Gautier.

Each of the exhibitions has one researcher. Being essentially travelling exhibitions, they’ll be making the rounds in Indian cities and abroad, before they find a permanent place at the IMF. “I’m even thinking of doing an exhibition on Dara Shikoh, Aurangzeb’s brother,” says Gautier, who is also obtaining research assistance from eminent Pune-based historians like Dr Babasaheb Purandare and Gajanan Mehendale.

Rs.200 cr: museum in pune, Indian History museum

Pune is being honoured again, because of its rich culture and convenient location. The city has been chosen to house a Rs 200 crore project on Indian history. Called the India Memory Foundation (IMF), it will showcase both India over the centuries including Vedic knowledge and the India of tomorrow. Behind the effort is a Frenchman, journalist Francois Gautier, who will raise the funds from private donors.

The project is located on an acre of land near Lohegaon airport and will be ready in the next two years.

There will be a phase-wise construction, starting with a painting exhibition on Chhatrapati Shivaji that will be ready by 2008. “My aim is to take a frank look at India’s history over the centuries. Not too much is spoken about Vedic history, astrology and maths. I want to highlight those aspects. Also, we want to show how India has been envisioned by Aurobindo, Lokmanya Tilak, Swami Vivekanand and others. Hence, the focus will be on the India of tomorrow,” says Gautier, who has initiated the museum through his organisation, Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism (FACT). There will be special sections on China and Tibet in reference to India’s cultural, social, political and social changes that will be a crucial part of this interactive museum.
Seven projects for the IMF are underway — an exhibit on the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits which was a much-lauded effort, an exhibition on the persecution of Christians, Buddhists, Amadya Muslims and Hindu minorities in Bangladesh, a painting exhibition on Aurangzeb based on Mughal records and documents and another one on the birth of Sikhism. Most importantly, an exhibition on Shivaji and two films — one on the 1947 Partition holocaust and the other on the poor condition of Brahmins and other upper castes — are in the production stage and will be ready by early next year. “We plan to have 30 such projects over the next five years,” says Gautier, who will be bringing the Aurangzeb exhibition to Pune in the second week of October.
The museum complex will be designed by architect Dharmesh Jadeja using environmentally friendly material like mud bricks, stones and solar energy, that are common in Auroville where Gautier resides. The project is headed by a prestigious Board of Directors comprising Indian Archaeological Society chairman S P Gupta, Indian Council of Philosophical Research chairman Dr Kireet Joshi, Lal Bahadur Shastri Museum director Professor A K Dass and others.
And Pune has been chosen after much deliberation. “Chhatrapati Shivaji grew up here. The city has a rich cultural heritage. But most importantly, it’s centrally located and can be easily accessible from any part of the country,” adds Gautier.
Each of the exhibitions has one researcher. Being essentially travelling exhibitions, they’ll be making the rounds in Indian cities and abroad, before they find a permanent place at the IMF. “I’m even thinking of doing an exhibition on Dara Shikoh, Aurangzeb’s brother,” says Gautier, who is also obtaining research assistance from eminent Pune-based historians like Dr Babasaheb Purandare and Gajanan Mehendale.

FACT EXHIBITION IN PUNE 9-14 Oct

FACT will be organising an exhibition in PUNE from 9-14 oct 2007

Inauguration of FACT Exhibition
“Aurangzeb as recorded in the Moghul court documents”
By His Holiness Sri Sri Ravishankar, Art of living and H H BAlagangadhara Swamy in Bangaluru.

FACT exhibition in Goa

FACT has anounced an exhibition from 21-24 Sep 2007, there will be an exhibition of FACT in Margao, Goa. The exhibition will be on the full day and the venue would be Lingayat Hall, Pajifond, Margao.

Please contact:
9890722314

Remembering 9/11

Its the 9/11 anniversary the other day and there were candles lit and soaked in tears…..

Victims of terrorism and their plight was not highlighted until 9/11 to what they deserved. Its the policy of FACT to campaign agianst any form of terror across the globe. We pray for the peace of the souls and for the well being of the living whose condition is more worse than the dead.

The number of American soldiers killed in Iraq alone exceeds the number of people killed in the 9/11 attacks, officially put at 2,973. The two figures have more in common than mere symbolism, beginning with the inhumanity, or rather the de-­humanity, the figures represent. I’m not referring to the obvious waste of the deaths themselves, to the barbarism of 9/11 or the vengeful barbarism since, but to the jag of dishonesty at the core of the first figure, and how that jag led to the second. That figure, 2,973, doesn’t include the nineteen hijackers. News accounts and blogs have over the years taken pride in noting the exclusion with those few words, not including…, as if it’s a point of honor to deny the nineteen so much as post-mortem identification as members of the human race. The exclusion signaled the desire to deny the hijackers and by extension the enemy they represented any claim on humanity, any sense that the enemy shares the slightest commonality with his victims, with us members of the human race, and more particularly us as members of western civilization.