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We have a powerful exhibiion on Aurangzeb on the 3rd of March there. Could you announce it?I Here attached
Also a big show on Shivaji in Mumbai. If you could post it
Best
fr
Francois Gautier
Editor in Chief La Revue de l'Inde
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PRESS RELEASE
AURANGZEB AND HINDU RESISTANCE
Dear friends
My Foundation FACT is showing for the first time in Chennai a path breaking exhibit on Aurangzeb "as he was", according to Muslim original documents.
We have commissioned totally 40 original paintings and sketches from miniature painters in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Each original oil painting, representing one scene of Aurangzeb's bloody reign, commissioned by FACT will be signed and dated.
This is an exhibition on the reign of the Moghol Emperor, Aurangzeb, which shows Hinduism as a timeless cultural manifestation, capable of maintaining its unique character and spirit of tolerance amidst sustained onslaught.
There are an incredible number of farhans, original edicts of Aurangzeb hand-written in Persian, in India's museums, particularly in Rajasthan, such as the Bikaner archives. For the exhibition Aurangzeb’s own farhans, records and edicts, are the basis. Many of these Farmans are still available in their original forms in Government’s archives, such as the Bikaner Museum. Every exhibit is thus based on sound textual tradition, supported by recorded history.
Aurangzeb Exhibition is in Chennai from 3rd to 9th March at Lalit Kala Academy
Inauguration is at 5pm on 3rd March
Francois Gautier
Trustee FACT
41 Jorbagh, New Delhi 110003
Tel 98118828
For queries contact Anupama Ranganathan: 9841057563
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A HERO FOR MODERN INDIA : CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ
12th March, 4 PM, Ravindra Natya Mandir
Exhibition Opened by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
In the presence of Shri Uday Thackeray, Shri Narendra Modi & Gopinath Munde
This exhibition will show the unique place of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the history of India, at a time when Hindus were experiencing great oppression and humiliation : their temples were being broken, and they were being discriminated against in various forms, such as in the matter of charging custom duties, restrictions on their fairs and festivals, their dismissal from government posts, large-scale conversions as a part of openly declared policy of the Mughal State, imposition of the religious tax Jiziya for being a Hindu, and these discriminatory acts were going almost unchallenged though the Hindus formed more than 80% of the country.
Shivaji, who was endowed with talents of the highest order and a clear vision, was the only one who stood-up to the injustice. He had also an inspiring and endearing personality which spontaneously commanded respect, loyalty and the highest sacrifices from his devoted soldiery and peasants.
This exhibition is relevant today because Shivaji embodied all the qualities that politicians should possess today, but do not have: he was just, firm and stood for the weak; he was an honest and able administrator; he confronted the enemy and was not cowed into submission; he was devoted to Mother India who appeared to him as Bhavani; he was ruthless with his enemies, but spared women, children and his own people ; he would go to both Muslim and Hindu saints and endowed mosques as well as temples.
This wonderful exhibition on India’s eternal hero is brought to Mumbai by FACT, an organization, which is non-political, non-religious and non-affiliated to any group. Let the spirit of Shivaji float on India again and deliver her from her present enemies.
François Gautier
Tustee FACT
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Bana Singh : a hero of our times
Bana Singh was born on 6 January 1949 and now lives in R.S.Pura near Jammu. He joined Indian Army's Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry (JAK LI) on 6 January 1969 After training at the High Altitude Training School along with his battalion at Gulmarg, he was posted in Siachen in April 1987. Pakistan had already occupied a vantage point called Quaid Post named after Mohammad Ali Jinnah. This is the most important and highest post in the area. From the top of this post the entire Saltoro range is visible, including other posts like the Amar and Sonam which get food and other materials by Indian helicopters. On April 18, 1987, the Pakistan army at Quaid post began firing at the Indian troops. A Junior commissioned Officer and five soldiers were killed at Sonam. It became necessary to gain control over the post for the safety of the men and supporting helicopters. It was therefore decided to recapture Quaid Post.
On 26th June 1987, Bana Singh got the green light to lead his platoon up the 90° slope with iced walls, after two previous attempts failed with heavy casualties. This is how he remembers it: “Though it was day time, because of the heavy snowing we could not say if it was day or night. The Pakistanis must have been knowing that something was going on because our troops were firing at them from the base camp (to divert their attention). When we reached the top, there was a single bunker. We had been trained for such a fight. I threw a grenade inside and closed the door. At the end, a total of six Pakistanis were killed. We brought back their bodies which were later handed over to the Pakistanis authorities during a flag meeting in Kargil. Some must have escaped towards the Pakistani side, perhaps over the cliff. I think that I have bayoneted three or four persons, I don't remember now."
For this act of valor Bana Singh was awarded Param Vir Chakra.and was presented the Param Vir Chakra on January 26 1988.The Quaid Post was renamed as Bana Post after its liberation by Bana Singh. Today some twenty years after liberating Quiad Post and earning a PVC, Bana Singh is sad man, because of the indifferent attitude of the J&K government who pays him paltry Rs 166 per month whereas neighboring state of Panjab, HP and Haryana pay much higher amounts to PVC winners. (in Punjab a PVC winner gets Rs 12,500 every month, in Haryana it is Rs 10,400 and in Himachal Pradesh it is Rs 10,000).
How can a nation retain its independence if it does not reward its defenders suitably? Does it behove a great country like India to treat one of its greatest present day heroes, one of the three living PVC recipients, so shabbily? This is why we have decided to bestow our first Shivaji-FACT award of Courage to Captain Bana Singh and are trying to raise money to hand him over as well a substantial prize money.
the Shivaji-FACT award of Courage, which will be handed over by HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on 12th March 2008 in Mumbai on the occasion of the opening of the Shivaji exhibition (see below), “ A Hero for Modern India”.
François Gautier
SHIVAJI EXHIBITION
Venue P.L. Deshpande, Maharashtra Kala Academy, Prabhadevi, Mumbai
Date 12th March 2008.
Time: 4.30 pm.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
4.30 pm - Arrival of Chief Guests His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Chief Minister Gujarat Shri Narendra Modiji, Shri Uddhav Thackerayji, Shri Gopinath Mundeji
4.40pm – His Holiness chants a mantra at the venue
4.45pm – His Holiness and Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modiji, Shri Uddhav Thackerayji and Shri Gopinath Mundeji light the lamp in turns to inaugurate the exhibition
4.45 to 5.00pm - the Chief guests view the exhibition.
5.00pm - Chief guests proceed to auditorium
5.05pm - Vande Mataram
5.10pm – Francois Gautier gives the welcome address
5.15pm- Film 'Heros of Kargil' to be screened
5.20 pm- All the Chief guests are requested to sit on the stage.
5.25pm- Shri Gopinath Munde will address the audience.
5.35pm – Shri Uddhav Thackerayji will address the audience
5.55pm- Hon Chief Minister Gujarat Shri Narendra Modiji will address the audience. Topic " Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj- a Hero for Modern India"
6.10pm - His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji will address the audience
Session will end with a guided meditation by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji
12 comments:
truti, i like you and so i don't like to delete your posts. but i don't tolerate rants against hindu monks or institutions.
especially when you base your allegation on some malcontent. i have read that guy's bitching before: he was SO UNHAPPY HE HAD TO WASH DISHES after he paid a lousy 5000 rupees! gimme a break! it won't kill you to wash dishes. people pay all sorts of money to take courses in ashrams and they all wash dishes. what is so special about this fellow (who, alas, happens to be an IIT madras 1965 graduate)? i bet if it were m. teresa's conversion circus he was at, he'd be delighted to lick the floor clean.
also, i am gravely suspicious of NGOs in general. i suspect this fellow's NGO, like 99% of them, is a christist front for conversion of poor people (or alternatively, a communist front for infiltration). i suspect he's a convert christist and we all know their tactics.
Rajeev,
As we say in Tamizh, "Buddhiya kamchita pathiya!" Do you wonder why no NGO points fingers at Swami Dayananda Sarasvati, the RK Mission, or Bharat Sevashram Sangha? And this great Sri Sri wants to excommunicate Hindus? What a laugh! There are 100s of gurus, some god, some bad, some useless and some tricky. Mahesh Yogi was in the last category and George Harrison & Co quit his ashram in Hrishikesh after they found he was carrying on a liaison with one of his female disciples! OTOH you have someone like Jayendra Sarasvati or Srigeri Svamiji who walk barefoot and does not even have a pinch salt with their food, who are accessible to one and all. By calling Sri Sri a monk, you call into question the 1000s of sanyasis and gurus who do good job and really help people. SSRS is simply a 5-star guru. You have no idea who Bhamy Shenoy is although you know he is a fellow IIT-M grad, and yet you freely fling accusations against him, ignoring the farce that SSRS runs. If nothing Shetty is an IIT-M alum who decided to stay back in India and fight the system, instead of people like you and me who threw in the towel and decided to leave India. A person who stayed back in India or returned to India always has the right to criticise, not people like us who have taken the easy way out. SSRS is a prime example of the sham gurus that S.N.Balagangadhara criticises. These gurus are peddling recycled versions of dubious prescriptions of the sort peddled by the likes Scott Peck, Daniel Goleman, Eric Berne, Stephen Covey etc.
I agree with Rajeev on this one. It has become a fashion to trash hindu swamys. SSRS maybe a 5 star swamy. But he still has respect in my eyes. He is certainly not a fraud. Like mentioned in the Bhagad Gita, there is not just one path to GOD, but there actually are multiple paths to God. It is entirely possible that other hindu swamys that truti mentions are genuine. But in no way is it proper to heap insults on SSRS.
What’s wrong in being a five star guru? Who gets to decide how a guru lives? Certainly not truti. I do not know much about SSRSji but he has done so much good and reached out to millions of people and brought real changes in their lives. This is a fact and if that brings in billions in return so be it. Let him enjoy the fruits of his labor. Recently he invited the Maoists to become part of his organization and bring changes to their lives without violence. If that is not a great service to our nation I don’t know what is.
truti, you are wrong pretty much on all counts.
0. i believe AoL and sri sri have done a lot of good, in spreading the idea of yoga to many people. this is far more than what most others have done. for you to attack sri sri in unpleasant terms shows you are brainwashed. why don't you attack ratzy and his minions or the mullahs in the same terms? the hindu habit of criticizing our own constructively has to be put aside for the moment because the semitics will use our criticism for destruction; and the semites have the upper hand now. although not for long.
1. i have been to the AoL ashram in bangalore, and a number of other ashrams, and the idea of someone turning up his nose at washing dishes is appalling. it is a matter of a) egalitarianism, b) humility, c) respecting manual labor. for someone to cavil at that shows a mean and petty mind. this is strike one against that shenoy person.
2. i have met sri sri in a private audience with 2 others even though i am not an ashramite or an AoL member. i was invited there as a professional who had certain possibly good ideas. i found sri sri to be a good listener, and he had sound and sane comments. he is not one of those rasputin (or obama or dhinakaran or oral roberts) type charlatans who mesmerize or hypnotize. i speak first hand about sri sri and how he came across.
3. you shouldn't cast stones at my attack on this shenoy person, because you set the ball rolling by attacking sri sri just based on hearsay from shenoy, and your own prior prejudice. yet you abuse me for attacking shenoy, which was at least based on his own declarations and reasonable extrapolations therefrom. therefore you are displaying hypocrisy.
4. you are wrong about the virtues of those who stayed on in india and how those who left india should be guilty. this is meaningless liberal guilt, because most of those who left wouldn't have done anything for india if they stayed on. many of those who stayed in india didn't do so because of any great patriotic reason, it just happened. also, it is those who went abroad who realized what india means and what our culture means, and they are much more interested in keeping it alive. i am thinking in particular about friends of mine who have lived in india all along, and they are still enamored of the west and communism and other semitic ideas, including nehruvian stalinism and fascism, because they continue to be brainwashed by the media in india.
5. you are also completely wrong about shenoy's virtue, even by your own dubious definition of "virtue". he left india immediately on graduating, and was with conoco from 1966 to 1987. so much for staying on and contributing to india!
6. we all know what AoL has become: it is a serious movement. what is shenoy's movement? have you ever even heard of him until he started posting his stupid gripe all over the place? what exactly has he accomplished with his NGO? the guy is a bloody agent provocateur who went to the NGO conclave with a 'drain inspector's perspective, as one m k gandhi might have said. he had malice aforethought. when i heard of the NGO conclave, i did think it would attract some pond scum.
7. i just loved your comment on swami jayendra sarasvati. so we are in agreement that he is a good person (i once again have first-hand experience because i interviewed him once and found him to be a great person). yet, when this great soul was humiliated by the fascists of the aiadmk and the upa (tejo-vadham), did this shenoy (or you or anybody in any NGO) come to his defense? you claim that no NGO says anything bad about swami jayendra, but did any one of them support him? i rest my case.
almost all NGOs have christist heads (this is almost a requirement), and most of them are into conversion by other means.
i hate people who try to tear down hindu institutions with ill intent. i hate whiners. i especially hate brown sahibs who lived in america for a long time and who return and try to teach the bloody natives how to be civilized. and i am particularly livid when such people are taken seriously by others who should know better.
sorry, truti, you lost it on this one. i will hesitate to take you seriously in future.
I feel that we need to look at the bigger picture of the work that SSRS and his organizations are doing. With the type of following that he has, firstly, it shows that there is some substance to his teachings. From what I heard, at the art of living's silver jubilee celebrations there were some 2.5 million people who came from across the country and also from various parts of the world. surely the 2.5 million attendees are not coming to see the high class 5-star guru that truti talks about! Furthermore, the event was attended by numerous other enlightened seers from various religions... this shows the respect that SSRS commands!
One more thing... I have read mr shenoy's "article" and I was present at the ngo conference that is being spoken of. I personally found the entire program to be informative, interactive and useful. I stayed for all three days and so did the fellow from tata (mr nadkarni, if i'm not mistaken). mr shenoy says that the tata person left on the first day itself as did the person who was doing a session on AIDS (mr bp singhal). This is false - they were both there till the last day. maybe mr shenoy can shed some light on why he made such blatantly false claims.
Additionally, the article is not so much a negative comment on the ngo conference, but rather a personal attack on SSRS. I personally found SSRS extremely inspiring and the organization very helpful.
Anyway, SSRS has a lot of followers (name me any body on the planet for who 2.5 million people will come for)... And I think the majority of people around the world know the positive contribution that he has made at both the personal level of human lives and the collective level of society and development.
Yo Phoney "kapidhwaja"! Whats your point in using my name?
hey "original" kapidhwaja, didn't know about your name. just came over the blog and thought i'd post a comment. hope that's ok... and sorry for any misunderstanding.
Thanks "kapidhwaja". I have a request. Please use a different handle if you wish to continue posting here please. You are more than welcome to post sensible pro-Hindu stuff. But with a different handle. You could probably choose another historical character like "Kamsa", "Duryodhana"...etc.:-)
--The original KapiDhwaja
Aurangzeb Exhibition thretened by the Muslim Groups in Chennai
Update:
The two volunteers (female) from chennai were threatened by the state police and illegally taken into custody for 5 and half hours. Ofcourse they were later released after repeated appeals. The Additional commissioner of police Mr Murali IPS was the one acting like an agent of the miscreants and he threw down two precious paintings breaking them beyond repair (how is taking law into ones own hands justified). The right to freedom of expression I hope would not come into play here since Hindus are involved. The Exhibition as of now is indefinitely locked up and closed as is the gallery.
The Aurangzeb Exhibition in Chennai was thretened and asked to close down today by the Muslim leaders of the makkal urimai kalazam. They were having problems with the way Aurangzeb was portrayed in the exhibition. While the organisers FACT India is clear and we have nothing to do with the content which is sourced from the Original Akhbarat or Court documents of Moghul courts in the archives of Museums Deprartment, Govt of India.
Leaders of the Muslim group and Nawab of Arkat walked in yesterday 5th march 2008 and protested on the exhibition saying Aurangzeb was poorly depicted, and this would lead to clashes and riots. Their contention was while Aurangzeb has done lot of good things (reading quran and stitching his caps which by the way is depicted in the exhibition) nothing was said about that and only his misdeeds were portrayed. They alleged that Hindus would get angry and make disturbances so the Exhibition needs to be closed.
FACT India clarifies that it is not anybody' opinion that is depicted in the exhibition but only the History as it was from the Moghul court documents the Akhbarat.
FACT India has orgnised this exhibition to bring awareness on facts as they are. And Aurangzeb and his philosophy of "I kill if you dont agree" is the fundamentalism that the world is facing, it needs to be encountered tooth and nail. The Terrorism and the ideology behind it needs to be stopped. The exhibition has travelled to New Delhi, Bangalore and Pune and is currently showing at Lalit kala Academy Chennai. The exhibition is scheduled to be in chennai from 3rd to 9th march 2008.
The media was immediately there and Police intervened to secure the exhibition from miscreants.
What was surprising was the media never came when invited for the inauguration of the Exhibition time and again, it was never to be seen while everything was peacful but once they smelled the disturbance all of them were there.
This exhibition is cancelled now.
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE920080306222128&Page=9&Title=Chennai&Topic=0&
So much for freedom of expression.
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