Francois Gautier: On Hinduism, Islam, and Indian Secularism

Francois Gautier believes that Islam cannot be integrated in India because Islam is antithetical to the naturalistic, polytheistic, spiritual, peaceful, subtle, and many-sided culture that Hinduism represents. He says that Indian secularism is dangerous and foolish because it exhorts the Hindus to defend a foreign religion (Islam) whose practitioners invaded their country, killed millions of Hindus, and tried to wrest the Indian Subcontinent from them.

Here’s an excerpt from Gautier’s book A New History of India (Page 73): 

“But ultimately, it is a miracle that Hinduism survived the onslaught of Muslim savagery; it shows how deep was her faith, how profound her karma, how deeply ingrained her soul in the hearts of her faithfuls. We do not want to point a finger at Muslim atrocities, yet they should not be denied and their mistakes should not be repeated today. But the real question is: Can Islam ever accept Hinduism? We shall turn towards the Sage, the yogi, who fought for India's independence, accepting the Gita's message of karma of violence when necessary, yet had a broad vision that softened his words: "You can live with a religion whose principle is toleration. But how is it possible to live peacefully with a religion whose principle is ‘I will not tolerate you?’ How are you going to have unity with these people?… The Hindu is ready to tolerate; he is open to new ideas and his culture and has got a wonderful capacity for assimilation, but always provided India's central truth is recognised…” (Sri Aurobindo India's Rebirth; 161,173)

“Or behold this, written in September 1909: "Every action for instance which may be objectionable to a number of Mahomedans, is now liable to be forbidden because it is likely to lead to a breach of peace. And one is dimly beginning to wonder whether worship in Hindu temples may be forbidden on that valid ground.” (India's Rebirth; p. 55). How prophetic! Sri Aurobindo could not have foreseen that so many Muslim countries would ban Rushdie's book and that Hindu processions would often be forbidden in cities, for fear of offending the Muslims. Sri Aurobindo felt that sooner or later Hindus would have to assert again the greatness of Hinduism.”