Click to play videoNew Delhi: One of India’s most respected and well-known artists and a legend in his own lifetime M F Husain has been living away form India since March. There are a slew of court cases against him in four states, he has faced death threats and has received calls about his eyes being gouged out and his hands being cut off - all in response to his celebrated paintings of Hindu Gods and Goddesses in the nude.
However, a group of over hundred artists, intellectuals, musicians and filmmakers have written to the President of India saying that since Husain’s achievements are at par with Satyajit Ray and M S Subbalakshmi, he should be awarded the Bharat Ratna.
Husain himself has denied that he is in any kind of exile and says that those who are trying to create problems for him know nothing of either art or religion.
The question that was discussed on CNN-IBN's Face The Nation was: By sending away M F Husain from India, are politicians destroying artistic freedom?
On tha panel of experts were artist Krishna Khanna, former MP and author, Prafull Goradia and Counsel for M F Husain, Akhil Sibal.
An artist painting a naked Saraswati or a naked Bharat Mata is simply expressing his artistic freedom, so why should he be construed as anti-Hindu?
Former MP Praful Goradia who had once stated earlier that Hussain should be hanged rather than being awarded the Bharat Ratna said, “No. I have not said anything just yet about religions and nations. My serious objections to Mr Husain is that he has outraged the entire womanhood of the world by portraying an elephant and a woman copulating, and a horse and a woman copulating. He has also portrayed a lion and Goddess Durga and also a bull and Parvati. However, the Goddesses issue is a separate one. My basic point is that he has insulted and outraged half the world and that is the entire womanhood. He hasn’t painted a single man copulating with a single animal.”
When Salvador Dali did his paintings and Michael Angelo created David, they too must expressed the artistic vision.
“Nudity is something that I have not even remarked on. I am merely saying that it is highly outrageous,” said Goradia.
Are Husain’s paintings pornographic?
“They are not even pornographic, they are disgustingly outrageous to women,” Goradia said.
However, artist Krishna Khanna opposed the idea of Husain being hanged instead of being given the Bharat Ratna by saying, “I think that it is very excessive. I have known Husain since the early 50s. I have seen a lot of his work and in any of his earlier works I have not seen any vestige of any woman being outraged or them copulating with an animal. It is a question of the way he positions things the way he is positioned the Goddess and the lion for instance. He did that during Indira Gandhi’s time. The figure of the Goddess is mingled with the lion and it is not a copulative act. I think it is a prejudiced way of looking at it to say that they are copulative because they are not.”
The Indian Government has not been able to provide enough protection to Husain despite the death threats that he gets and also other threats.
“What I am really outraged at is that he is being threatened and the Government is doing nothing about it,” Khanna said.
So is artistic freedom really in danger?
“Tomorrow somebody might read something in my painting that I may not even have intended and I could be made culpable for that. I think that it was certainly not Husain’s intention to have hurt anybodys feelings. He had no such intentions and intentions matter a great deal,” said Khanna.
Is Husain evading the law?
Husain faces a number of charges in many states. Why is he not coming back to India and facing the charges?
Counsel for M F Husain, Akhil Sibal said, “If Husain was not facing the charges the Supreme Court wouldn’t have transferred cases from all the various courts to a court in Delhi. He has appeared to Supreme Court through Counsel. He is of course facing the charges. A man staying away from India for a few months should not be interpreted as being in exile.”
What kind of charges would he face if he comes back to India?
“The allegations and the charges that he is accused of today are of promoting enmity between religious groups of painting and depicting something that is obscene that a criminal law defines as something that evokes lust or tends to deprave a person and outraging religious feelings of any particular class of citizens. The promotion of enmity between different religious groups and outraging religious feelings of any particular group are offences that cannot be taken cognisance of by a court unless sanction is accorded by a state government or a central government. This is a safeguard that is in place because the executive must be allowed to decide whether ultimately it would help the situation, to grant sanction and prosecute a man,” said Sibal.
Does an artist have the freedom to paint whatever he wants to paint because it is his fundamental right to expression?
“All fundamental rights are circumscribed. There are restrictions that must be observed,” said Sibal.
Husain was just exercising his fundamental right by expressing his artistic freedom, should his democratic right be curtailed just because his paintings are not liked?
“It is not right for an artist to paint someone without permission and outrage the person’s dignity. It is unjustifiable to have Sita to be masturbating on Hanuman’s tail. The subject of his paintings are Goddesses and deities,” said Goradia.
“These are perverse interpretations and the problem is in the eye of the beholder. The Supreme Court once famously said that the morally healthy should not be dictated to by the morally depraved and unhealthy,” said Sibal.
Do artists lack a sense of responsibility?
Art appreciation after all, is a subjective thing. What could be pornographic for one could be artistic for the other. So how could an artist respect the feelings of others while at the same time giving vent to his inspiration?
“First there is a misconception of the cartoon that was referred to earlier about prophet Muhammad being equated to the paintings of Husain. A cartoon by its very nature is a criticism and it actually becomes critical of a certain person or situation while a painting is not. There is a fundamental difference between a cartoon and a painting. An artist is not an irresponsible idiot and certainly not if he is of Husain’s lineage as he is painting for such a long time. Husain has painted some very great paintings,” said Khanna.
“A question certainly arises with the cartoon as to whether there was a deliberate intention to offend,” said Sibal.
“When we live in a society we have to certainly respect the norms to a certain extent and be careful. It doesn’t mean that the threshold is extremely high. According to the Supreme Court obscenity must be judged by the standards of an average morally healthy human being,” said Sibal.
Hussain being a Muslim painting Hindu Goddesses is upsetting some Hindus, so is he deliberately courting controversy?
“When it comes to painting he acts communal. He paints his own daughter, Lady Fatima and even Mother Teresa fully dressed. But when it comes to Hindu deities he paints them naked. Why is he making this distinction? If Mr Khanna is talking about cartoons, would he genuinely be able to paint prophet Mohammad?” said Goradia.
“I am not talking about prophet Mohammad but am talking about the history of Indian art. You just have to go through it and will you find out that many female deities have been painted naked. They should not be considered lewd and pornographic,” said Khanna.
Sibal concluded by saying, “The question that arises is that, 'is there something inconsistent with what Husain has painted?' and historians say that Indian culture, painting and literature is a tradition. Islam does not advocate idol worship and they have no deities whereas Hindu art and culture has a tradition of mixing nudity with religion. And nudity is not an anathema.”
The final verdict: M F Husain away from India: Are politicians destroying artistic freedom?
Yes- 41 per cent.
No- 59 per cent.
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