Francois Gautier arrived in Kashmir in the late 1990s and watched the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus unfold firsthand. That experience shaped a French journalist who would spend the next two decades defending a people he came to regard as among the most tolerant and persistently persecuted in human history — and who would champion a politician most of his Western peers wanted nothing to do with.
This book is Gautier's frank assessment of Narendra Modi's decade in power. He stands by his 2002 decision to defend Modi against charges of engineering the Godhra riots, a stance that cost him professionally among French journalists and diplomats. He credits Modi's anti-corruption record, work ethic, and commitment to India's welfare. But the book is not a tribute: Gautier identifies specific trends he believes could undermine India's rise — among them what he sees as an increasingly autocratic leadership style, insufficient decentralisation of power, and a failure to nurture the next generation of BJP leadership.
The argument is personal, pointed, and grounded in Gautier's own reporting. For readers who want neither hagiography nor hit piece, but one committed observer's honest reckoning with a consequential leader at a critical juncture, this is a rare account.
ABOUT THE BOOK: Dear friends, I am proud to share with you my latest book. Since the time I started covering Kashmir in the late 90's and I saw first-hand the ethnic cleansing of the Hindus of Kashmir, I have been - and I remain - FIRST AND FOREMOST- a defender of Hindus. They are a wonderful people that have been cruelly persecuted throughout the centuries - and yet kept their faith, tolerance and knowledge: "Who am I, why am born again and again, what is Dharma, what is Karma, why does God, He or She, manifest throughout the ages, using different names and Scriptures... Therefore this book is dedicated to ALL the Hindus on this Planet. I have also stood-up for Narendra Modi since 2002, when he was unfairly accused of having engineered the Godhra riots . I am probably the only western journalist who supported him since then - and it costs me, as many of my western journalist peers ( & French diplomats) shunned me and labelled me as a 'right wing Hindu lover and islamophobe'. I nevertheless continue to be a fan of Mr Modi: he is the BEST Prime Minister India ever had, he has done wonderful deeds in 10 years and there is nobody in sight that can match his hard work and devotion to Mother India. Thus he NEEDS to be re-elected for a third term. Yet, I am bit worried about certain trends that are emerging, which may not be noticed by all, but could increase in the next five years and harm Bharat's emergence not only as a superpower, but also, as Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo and so many saints emphasized, as the spiritual leader of the world. As a journalist who always stood for truth, I have to state them. And this is also what this book is about Namaste Franois Gautier
.webp)
-(1)_compressed-(1)_page-0001.jpg)
.webp)
