FACT (Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism) is a non-profit Trust which was started in 2005 by François Gautier, an OCI. Being a French author and journalist, who has been covering India and South Asia for the last 35 years, all throughout his reporting years, he noticed that most western correspondents were projecting the problems, warts, and shortcomings of India & never its positive sides.

Hence when he got a journalism prize (Natchiketa Award of excellence in journalism) from Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he used the prize money to mount a series of conferences & exhibitions highlighting the magnificence of India and the threats to its sovereignty.

The Vision:

The vision of FACT is simple, present Indian History as it happened - not as it has been written by the British and blindly taken up as it was in 1947. Highlight Human Rights abuses in South Asia and promote Indian culture. FACT is a non-commercial trust, which is striving to preserve India’s cultural inheritance which is being eroded today, has also made one of its tasks to revive the art of 17th-century miniature painting.

Our exhibitions over the years:

The first FACT exhibition dealt with the ethnic cleansing of the Kashmiri Hindus, four hundred thousand of them have become refugees in their own country. After this exhibition was shown successfully in Delhi’s Habitat Centre, Mumbai, and Bangalore, it was displayed in Poland, Germany, Israel, England, Holland in 2007. Furthermore, it was brought to the US Congress in July 2008, leading to a bipartisan resolution on the Human Rights of the Kashmiri Pandits in the US Congress.

Another exhibition on the persecution of Hindus, Christians, and Buddhists in Bangladesh was inaugurated in Mumbai on 18th November 2006 by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. A path-breaking project on “Aurangzeb as he was according to his own firmans“ was then shown in Delhi’s Habitat Centre and was inaugurated by L.K. Advani and Dr. Karan Sigh.

This was followed by numerous other exhibitions, on Maharana Pratap, Ahilyabai, Dara Shikoh, etc (see timeline attached), which are now permanently housed in the Shivaji Maharaj Museum of Indian History, Pune. These exhibitions have been

curated by Prof. V.S. Bhatnagar, former Professor, Department of History, University of Rajasthan, and former Fellow, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla.

The exhibitions, separately titled “Aurangzeb, as he was according to Mughal records” and “Dara Shikoh, the forgotten Prince of Islam”, is based on Akhbarats, original edicts in Persian issued by Aurangzeb, preserved at the Bikaner Museum, Rajasthan, and other Historical texts. The Shivaji Maharaj exhibition was inaugurated in Mumbai in 2008 by Sri Sri Sri Ravi Shankar & Shri Narendra Modi, then CM Gujarat.

The Museum, whose address is: Shivaji Museum of Indian History, Shinde Road, Ahead of Marathwada College, Wadgaon, Pune 47, is 12 minutes from the airport. Today we have 14 Pavilions, each with a unique permanent exhibition, a Bharat Mata temple dedicated to Shivaji Maharaj, a library, and a video room. The Museum is open from 9 to 6 PM and entrance is free.

We need your support for our one of a kind future museum:

FACT would like to build a world-class museum on the lines of what is done in the West, where Indian youth will learn about their history, the good and bad, with an overall impression that Indian history is glorious, ancient, and sacred.
The future Museum will cost appr. 15 crore rupees.
This Museum of 100,000 square feet, will house 70 exhibitions and state-of-the-art research and archives facilities. It is scheduled to open in 2021.
Our architect, Sheetal Harpale of Pune, has designed a wonderful building in the shape of a swastika, and it will be on par with any Museum in the world.

Thus we appeal to your generosity, this is a unique project, but extremely difficult, as history has remained a taboo subject in India, though it has been distorted first by the British and then by Marxist historians for their own purpose.

Your support will help us present the history as it happened to future generations, a small contribution can make a huge change. Please consider contributing and sharing with your peers, help us present the correct history to future generations.

Note: FACT (Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism) is a registered trust, which has FCRA, as well as Indian, US & UK tax exemption.

About François Gautier and Namrita Gautier:

François Gautier was born in Paris. In the early eighties, he began freelancing in India for different publications and finally ended up being the correspondent in South Asia, for Figaro, one of France’s leading newspapers for which he worked exclusively for ten years. He also started writing regular columns for Indian newspapers, first in Blitz Bombay, then in the Hindustan Times, later came the ‘Ferengi’s column” in the Indian Express, then the “French Connection” column in the Pioneer, as well as regular contributions for Rediff., New Indian Express, Dainik Jagran, etc.

François has written several books: A History of India as it Happened (Har Anand, New Delhi, 2013), Apprendre à Souffler (Hachette, 2016), Une Nouvelle Histoire de l’Inde (Belfond, Paris, 2017). In Defence of a Billion Hindus (Har Anand 2018), A biography of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Hay House 2018) Les Mots du Dernier Dalai Lama (Flammarion, Paris 2019), Encyclopédie de l’Ayurveda (Flammarion, Paris, 2021)

Namrita Gautier, born in Delhi in 1967, is a textile designer and lives in Auroville-Pondichery.

Message from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

“In the 17th century, when the oldest and the most tolerant civilization was threatened, a light emerged in Maharashtra in the form of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was the right combination of perfection in politics and the epitome of spiritual values. Tolerance, broad vision, and good governance were his gift to the people of India. Once again today, India is in such a place where it needs leaders like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, with a commitment to its people and a long-term vision for the country. On this occasion, I congratulate Francois and Namrita Gautier for rekindling the spirit of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. This museum that Francois has established with so much effort will inspire generations to come. Among the many good works that Francois has to his credit, from showcasing the sacrifice of Sikh Gurus to Ahilya-bai's less known adventures and now establishing a museum to commemorate the invaluable contributions of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is indeed a great achievement. May Francois's hard work and sincere efforts be rewarded in the form of good honest citizens and inspire good governance in our country.”