Husain – A muslim ! So What?

PRESS NOTE OF SANSKAR BHARATI ON CONTROVERSIAL PAINTINGS OF M.F. HUSAIN

Freedom of Expression:

Sanskar Bharati believes in the freedom of expression for creative persons and is determined to uphold the same at any cost. At the same time artists should be responsible of their social responsibilities. While availing of the freedom of creativity, it becomes their duty to ensure that they do not hurt the feelings of any section of society. In the recent controversy on the paintings of Hindu Goddesses like ‘Durga’, ‘Sarasvati’ and ‘Sita’ by Maqbool Fida Husain, Sanskar Bharati recognizes an artist’s right to creative freedom but condemns the misuse of that freedom by him to hurt the religious feelings of a very large section of our society.

Hindu Gods/Goddesses by Husain.

Durga:

Husain has violated all norms of decency and artistic finesse while painting Goddess Durga. She is in fact not shown astride, but in sexual union with a tiger. In many paintings, Husain has taken up the theme of sex between animals and women. He has done paintings on sex between a horse and a woman, and a bull and a woman. But he has done the most abominable act by extending this series to portraying Goddess Durga.

Rescuing Sita:

Never in the history of Indian art, Goddess Sita or Hanuman have been depicted in stark nakedness. Sita was never rescued by Hanuman. Here Husain not only violates the principles of traditional iconography, but invents a new theme to denigrate Sita, the Goddess worshipped by millions of Hindus all over the world. Hanuman’s tail as a phallic symbol crosses all limits of decency, which have been used in his Durga painting also.

Vishnu:

Lord Vishnu is mostly painted with four hands holding ‘Shankh’, ‘Padma’, ‘Gada’ and ‘Chakra’. But hands of Vishnu that hold these attributes have been amputated in Husain’s portrayal. His legs have also been cut off. Maimed, mutilated and exhausted Vishnu reclines on his spouse Lakshmi and ‘Vahan – Garuda’. Should cutting of hands and legs of Vishnu be regarded as creative freedom or deliberate affront to Hindu sensibility?

Sarasvati:

Sarasvati is regarded as Goddess of Knowledge, art and wisdom by all Hindus. They worship her as the one ‘wrapped in white & pure garment’ (Ya Shubhra Vastravruta). Showing this ‘Goddess in white’, as nude not only violates the iconographic tradition of thousands of years, but also outrages the Hindu psyche and sensibility.

Lakshmi:

Lakshmi is also stark naked, perched on the head of Lord Ganesh, a posture highlighting unmasked sexuality.

Hanuman – V

The tilte of the painting is Hanuman – V.  It is done in water colour on paper. It shows a three faced Hanuman, and a nude couple (male & female). The identity of the woman is not in doubt. The erect genital of Hanuman is bent in the direction of the female. The obscenity is too obvious. Would it not injure the feelings of Hindus?

Hanuman – 13

It is one of the most obnoxious paintings. In sheer obscenity, it surpasses Husain’s all other works. It shows stark naked Sita with not a thread on her body, sitting on the thigh of an equally naked Ravana, while a naked Hanuman is attacking the latter.

George Washington and Arjun on the Chariot:

Lord Krishna driving the chariot of Arjun in the Mahabharata is a theme depicted in all genre of visual arts, that adorn the walls of most Hindu homes. But Lord Krishna stands replaced in Husain’s painting called ‘George Washington and Arjun on the Chariot’. Why has Husain done so? In his eyes, Lord Krishna is no God and stands denigrated and reduced to the level of a mere human being – George Washington. Or, this painting is meant as a flattery to American sentiments, identifying him with an Indian God? Either way, it would amuse no Hindu.

Non-Hindu Subjects by Husain

Fatima – Prophet Mohammed’s Daughter:

Husain’s Fatima is the embodiment of serenity and grace. Clothed properly with a book in her hand, she is swathed in blue light. Why did Husain not take the same artistic liberty with Fatima’s painting which he has taken in drawing the images of Sita, Lakshmi, Durga and Sarasvati? Is it because of the fear of Fatwas of Muslim clergy? Has he not misused the tolerance and catholicity of Hindus, and pushed them to retaliate?

Portraits of Husain’s Daughter and Mother:

Husain has painted his daughter and mother with all their clothes on and covered from head to toe, as should normally be done. He has not disrobed them as he had done with the paintings/sketches of Hindu Goddesses – Durga, Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Sita. Why has he not availed artistic licence in painting his mother and daughter?

Mother Teresa:

Husain’s ‘Mother Teresa’ is an outstanding piece of art. It brings out the compassion of Mother Teresa in relief, without unduly insulting her persona, as he had done with Hindu Goddesses.

The Dove of Peace:

Muslims believe that the number 786 symbolise’s Allah’s Grace. Husain paints the number along with a dove, symbolically making a statement that Allah grants peace, a very noble and commendable emotion. One wishes that Husain had painted the Gods and Goddesses of Hindu religion with the same emotion.

Deliberate and Maleovalent Act

Why Husain has painted Durga, Sita, Sarasvati, Lakshmi etc. in nude while he paints his step-mother ‘Shirin’, Prophet Mohammed’s daughter ‘Fatima’, and his own daughter covered with garments all over? What artistic and aesthetic value has Husain acheived by disrobing Hindu Goddesses? Can an artistic assertion of freedom be partisan and effected by religious affiliations?

He has painted a panel depicting Einstein, Gandhi, Mao Tse Tung and Hitler, in which only Hitler is naked. It seems that Husain paints only those characters nude, against whom he feels hatred and repugnance. Does this explain his painting Hindu Goddesses in the nude and obscene?

Has it something to do with his being an admirer of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the separatist Muslim communalist who Partitioned India and created Pakistan? It is not surprising that Husain’s biographer, Dhyaneshwar Nadkarni observed that – – – ” three paintings, ‘Muharram’, ‘Maulvi’ and ‘Duldul Horse’ indicate the profound religious grooming that has been part of Husain since his youth. He has inculcated his religious streak both as an individual and as an artist”.

Khajuraho and Konark Sculptures:

This is true that sculptures at Konark and Khajuraho are erotica, depicting the man-woman relationship in generic terms. These sculptures nowhere represent a God or Goddess generally or specifically. But Maqbool Fida Husain has made specific Goddesses as the subject of his obscene paintings.

Husain – A muslim ! So What?

The fact that Husain is a Muslim is irrelevant. Had the artist been a Hindu, he too would have been similarly condemned for hurting the feelings of a section of the society. Art does not discriminate between man and man on the basis of one’s religion.

Nudity and Nakedness:

Nudity and nakedness have a very thin dividing line. It is the same fine line that distinguishes an erotic piece of art from the obscene. Violating this dividing line, Husain has hurt the feelings of millions of people by his naked and obscene depictions.

Call for Peaceful Satyagraha:

Husain has deliberately and intentionally hurt the religious sensibilities of millions of people by his naked and obscene depiction of their Goddesses. He is guilty of creating a wedge and disharmony between Hindus and Muslims. He has not only hurt Hindus, but also Muslims who are working for communal harmony. He deserves to be condemned in the strongestterms.

Sanskar Bharati does not approve acts of vandalism committed by some misguided people recently to protest against Husain’s controversial works. Instead, it calls people to registar thier protets through peaceful means.

They should persuade people to socially ostracise him, boycott his painting exhibitions, not to purchase or hang his works and picket peacefully and offer Satyagraha to get all his paintings removed from the offices and galleries where they are on display. People should not take the law into their hands. Let the law take its own course.

D.P. Sinha, I.A.S. (retd) for, Sanskar Bharati

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