Let me tell you friends, because I spend a lot of time in Delhi and have met most politicians: your MP’s, Ministers, high bureaucrats, Supreme Court judges, army generals, live in in a system setup by 50 years of Indian National Congress rule – that is in the lap of luxury: in palatial bungalows, surrounded by an army of servants, drivers, secretaries, security persons. It is extremely thus difficult to reach through to them, even if you have genuine work. The Parliament or Lok Sabha, is a totally non Vastu building with no natural light, no windows, no air and most of the time like a fish market, a parody of democracy (I know I spent a lot of time there)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes from humble origins and all his life cared for the people of India, regardless of their caste, religion or social status. But even he is a victim of the system he fought so hard: his Race Course residence is a fortress of immense luxury (I have been there few times to interview other PM’s) and the fact that he is a targeted man and also because of Covid, he has been cut off from the people he loves so much. He is also surrounded by an army of high bureaucrats, who speak polished English, read the New York times, but have no clue about the deep reality of rural India.

In my humble opinion, Delhi is the problem, Delhi is the enemy, a capital made by the British for the British, far away and cut off from the rest of India. As long as Delhi remains the capital the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be in shackles because it has to function in a syste made by the Indian National Congress for the Congress. If the capital would be shifted to Central India, say Bhopal, Indore, Pune, or Ujain, it would break the backbone of the bureaucracy which is stifling all the good reforms of the PM and is also a product of Nehruvianism, of the Media and the Diplomatic corps, who would look like fools in a Delhi empty of power

Leaders like #MaharanaPratap showed us the way: he sacrificied luxury and comfort for the sake of his people and to fight the enemy – that is the Moghols that your history books glorify today.

I chose to build the Shivaji Maharaj of Indian History in Pune, because it is central to India and also the home of the great Shivaji Maharaj, another Indian hero who fought Aurangzeb and lived too in precarious conditions, fighting guerrilla wars in the forests of central and south India. Support us: we are a sewa project, depending entirely on donations to continue building this Museum, which has met so many threats in his ten years existence, and is still facing so many hurdles. You can send me a mail at fgautier@rediffmail.com if you wish to help

Namaaste

francois gautier