On weekends there was no standing room around the Falun Dafa booth. People were drawn by the Health Benefits Survey of Falun Dafa and many young people wanted to know if they could give up their addiction to smoking and drinking and were keen to learn the exercises.

Some people who previously purchased the books and learned the exercises said they benefited immensely but slacked off due to family issues. They promised to read the books and said they were enthused to do the exercises regularly after meeting and talking to practitioners. Practitioners invited them to their homes for any follow up help.

Some elderly people who purchased the books said they now have a better understanding of Falun Dafa since the translation in the local language is well executed and they feel like reading again. They also said that they were amazed how their aches and pains were reduced after doing the exercises a little and were convinced that Zhuan Falun had amazing power.

Many people said they learned from online browsing about the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China and the illegal trade of organs through China’s organ harvesting of Falun Dafa practitioners. They expressed shock that something so brutal was going on in this day and age. They were given links to websites which provide more information regarding the persecution and also petitions they could sign.

The Communist regime in West Bengal lasted for 34 years and ended around 15 years ago, so many older people said they could relate to the persecution of Falun Dafa in China. One man said, “We have seen for over 30 years in West Bengal under the Communist rule how people were exploited and so many people were killed.”

Another man said he detested China’s aggression and said he would lend his support to any cause to stop that. He also purchased Zhuan Falun in English.

Other visitors said they had seen Falun Dafa practitioners in Germany and France and Hong Kong. Simon from Germany who works in Kolkata said he saw Falun Dafa practitioners in Berlin but never asked about it. He said the exercise video played at the booth attracted him and he purchased the Falun Dafa books. When he learned the First Falun Dafa exercise he said he could feel the energy.

When people saw that the books were translated into the local language Bengali they gladly purchased them. A local Falun Dafa enthusiast said in no other Book Fair in India has one witnessed sale of Dafa Books in such large numbers. Often when packing up for the day, people would come and buy the books as if they did not want to miss out on something so precious.

Many people who purchased the Books came back to buy a set to gift it to their relatives. Practitioners would usually teach those who purchased the Books the first exercise. Most of them said they could feel the energy and a sense of lightness and wanted to follow up on the exercises later. They were very happy to learn about the Free online webinars and were given the link.

Members of the Police and Security Force kept coming back in groups, purchased the books and asked for exercise demonstration DVDs. They said they could not participate since they were in uniform. However, they wanted to organise exercise demonstrations at their stations and were happy to learn about the online webinars.

All practitioners who participated in the Kolkata Book Fair felt that it was a great opportunity to reach out to so many people and tell them about Falun Dafa. Local practitioners organised follow up sessions to teach the exercises face to face as well as through online webinars. They look forward to participating again next year and plan and organise in a better way to reach out to more people.

Background: What is Falun Dafa and Why is the CCP Persecuting It?

Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide.

Millions of people who have embraced the teachings, which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and learned the five gentle exercises, have experienced uplifted health and well-being.

Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the CCP’s atheistic ideology and on July 20, 1999, issued an order to ban the practice.

Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 22 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. More have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.

There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply the organ transplant industry.

Under Jiang’s personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organisation with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.