By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Maqbool Fida Husain still fears returning to his native country. Husain, 93, is the most renowned painter in India, though subject to self-imposed exile due to the “controversial” nature of his work. Most notably, he paints Hindu goddesses and in a few of his works, they are nude. This has caused anger on behalf of Hindu nationalists who attacked galleries exhibiting his work, vandalized his work and even offered an $11 million reward for his death. In response to violent threats, Husain removed himself from India and has lived in Dubai for the past two years.
There are three of Husain’s works which have caused most of the backlash from right-wing Hindus. Two are pencil drawings. One depicts Durga, the mother goddess. The other is of Saraswati, the goddess of the arts. Both portray the goddesses faceless and nude. The third, named Mother India, is a painting of a female nude, kneeling on the ground creating the shape of India. Husain believes that nudity is symbolic of purity.
In September 2008, the Supreme Court of India dismissed all charges against Husain. He was accused of obscenity, which under Indian laws, is a criminal offense. However, the Court ruled that Husain’s paintings were not obscene, in fact, nudity was common in Indian iconography. With the Court ruling, Husain looks forward to returning to India stating, “This is not a victory for me only, but one for the Indian contemporary art movement.”
Freedom of expression is one concept that has caused heated debate between democratic ideals and religious and ethnic diversity. Analysts state that most often controversy erupts as a result of politics. For example, last March, Taslima Nasreen, was forced to leave West Bengal after a Muslim political party denounced her novel. Another instance is that of political psychologist, Ashis Nandy. Nandy wrote an article criticizing the victory of Hindu nationalists in state election. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party controls the western state of Gujarat, where Nandy was subsequently charged with “promoting enmity between different groups.”
The government has responded to threats and violence by banning the works of art and literature.
For more information, please see:
BBC News – Indian Painter Cleared By Court – 9 September 2008
New York Times – An Artist in Exile Tests India’s Democratic Ideals – 9 November 2008
TIME – Maqbool Fida Husain – 13 August 2007
