The controversial artist is the one who touches exceptions and portrays the theme in its natural way. This has also been a social perception towards art maestros of modern civilization. The Picasso of India was also the only MF Husain of India, his paintings being best blends of cubism and Indian styles. It is now seven years since his passing on June 9, 2011.

On his death anniversary, we recount some unheard court moments on his most objectionable ‘Naked Painting,’ branded by Hindutva fundamentalists as ‘Bharat Mata,’ that resulted into the most cited ruling on the expression of art which included the right to paint in Article 19 of the Indian Constitution as it is the painter’s method to express his opinion and to entertain the fundamental right given by founding fathers of nation, in addition to segregating ‘Nudity’ from the ‘Obscenity.’

Earlier in the case of Sakal Papers (P) Ltd. v. Union of India, Mudholkar, J. said:
This Court must be ever vigilant in guarding perhaps the most precious of all the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution, The reason for this is obvious. The freedom of speech and expression of opinion is of paramount importance under a democratic Constitution which envisages changes in the composition of legislatures and governments and must be preserved.

Court orders as suchto protect the fundamental rights of Indian citizens have for sure enriched our democracy and made it a vibrant one. But developments on such peripheries are observed when exceptions are exempted and law-abiding citizens are strained by the rigid social cult. For instance, in 2007, the infamous ‘Obscenity row’ thrilled Vadodara resulting in charges on artist Srilamanthula Chandramohan for drawing nude paintings of Jesus and Durga. Chandramohan, a final year postgraduate student at Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU Baroda was also denied his degree against the right of artistic expression.

This was one chapter on legal suits against an artist and followed by many such prejudices in his career, a humiliated MF Husain was forced to knock the door of Delhi High Court at the age of 92, three years before he died in exile.

In the landmark judgement of Delhi High Court in the favour of maestro Husain, delivered on May 8, 2008, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul read the order by quoting Picasso:
Art is never chaste. It ought to be forbidden to ignorant innocents, never allowed into contact with those not sufficiently prepared. Yes, art is dangerous. Where it is chaste, it is not art.

The judgement further read:
•Art, to every artist, is a vehicle for personal expression. An aesthetic work of art has the vigour to connect to an individual sensory, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. With a 5000-year-old culture, Indian Art has been rich in its tapestry of ancient heritage right from the medieval times to the contemporary art adorned today with each painting having a story to narrate.

•Ancient Indian art has been never devoid of eroticism where sex worship and graphical representation of the union between man and woman has been a recurring feature.1 The sculpture on the earliest temples of ‘Mithuna’ image or the erotic couple in Bhubeneshwar, Konarak and Puri in Orissa (150-1250 AD); Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh (900-1050 AD); Limbojimata temple at Delmel, Mehsana (10th Century AD); Kupgallu Hill, Bellary, Madras; and Nilkantha temple at Sunak near Baroda to name a few. These and many other figures are taken as cult figures in which rituals related to Kanya and Kumari worship for progeny gained deep roots in early century A.D. Even the very concept of ‘Lingam’ of the God Shiva resting in the centre of the Yoni, is in a way representative of the act of creation, the union of Prakriti and Purusha. The ultimate essence of a work of ancient Indian erotic art has been religious in character and can be enunciated as a state of heightened delight or ananda, the kind of bliss that can be experienced only by the spirit.

Justice Kaul agreed that the art is coming of an age and India having embraced different eras and civilizations gives her a colour of mystery and transformation into her glorious past adapting various cultures and art forms. The murals and miniatures from the Mughal period also depicted mating couples and it has been the beauty of our land.

Art and authority have never had a difficult relationship until recently. In fact, art and artists used to be patronized by various kings and the elite class.  Unfortunately, the works of many artists today who have tried to play around with nudity have come faced severe scrutiny and rejection. Justice Kaul also in his 2016 judgement on Prof. Murugan noted that drawing a conclusion by handpicking things to suit personal objectives of hypersensitivity is the injustice to the heart of the theme with which an artist sketches the nuances. The aim of the judiciary has been to arrive at a decision that would protect the “quality of life” without making “closed mind” a principal feature of an open society or an unwilling recipient of information the arbiter to veto or restrict freedom of speech and expression.
Shashi Tharoor also welcomed the verdict, he noted:
The landmark judgement on a number of petitions submitted by the great Indian painter Maqbool Fida (MF) Husain, not only ensures that justice has been done to an authentic national icon, but contains observations that are both refreshing and true about the role of art in our society which I hope will guide our national discourse on this vexed subject in the future.

The judgement not only provided justice to MF Husain but also set a legal line in defence of art to fall under 292 of Indian Penal Code(IPC,) 1860 which will keep benefitting artists against socio-political vendettas. The court order remarkably differentiates how nudity can’t be obscene, it reads:

•MF Husain’s creativity in the painting is evident from the manner in which he by way of a tear and ruffled, unkempt, open hair of the woman tried to portray the sad and the dispirited face of our nation who seems to have suffered a great deal of anguish and agony. A woman’s sorrow has been described by the way the woman is lying with her eyes closed, with one arm raised on her face and a tear dropping from the eye. The object of painting the woman in nude is also part of the same expression and is obviously not to stimulate the viewer’s prurience but instead to shake up the very conscious of the viewer and to invoke in him, empathy for India and abhorrence for the culprits. The person who may view the painting is likely to react in tears, silence or analogous to the same but no way near the feelings of lust. There can be many interpretations of the painting. One of the interpretations to it can be to show the disconsolate India which is entangled in various problems like corruption, criminalisation, the crisis of leadership, unemployment, poverty, overpopulation, low standard of living, fading values and ethics etc. The other can be that Bharat Mata is perhaps just used as a metaphor for being so bereft because of the earthquake which occurred around the time when this painting was made. Other than this, the bold use of colour and the depiction of the great range of Himalayas by way of the hair flowing of the women restore the artistic touch in the painting.

•An attempt to understand the said painting from the artist’perspective would show how the painter by way of an abstract expression has tried to elucidate the concept of a nation in the form of a distressed woman. No doubt, the concept of a nation has had a long association with the idea of motherhood but just because the artist has expressed it in nude does not make the painting obscene per se thereby satisfying the test that nudity or sex alone cannot be said to be obscene. If the painting is looked as a whole, it would reveal that the revulsion referred to by learned Counsel for the respondents of patriotic nationals would not arise for the reason that except the fact that it is in nude, there is nothing which can be considered as pinching to the eye. As a matter of fact, the aesthetic touch to the painting dwarfs the so-called obscenity in the form of nudity and renders it so picayune and insignificant that the nudity in the painting can easily be overlooked.

It has been a decade since this judgement came into inception but its vocalism can still be felt on an artist’s paintbrush who feels protected by law to serve his duty to his brethren and his nation at his best. In a large democracy like ours, it is impossible to fill everyone’s cup with sheer satisfaction, so there is a law to protect everyone’s right to opine within large boundaries of constitutional righteousness. But there are few who come forward to practise their rights without any fear. Undeniably, MF Husain was one of them. The significant judgment is regularly cited in the favour of artists and their artistic expressions and it can be credited to MF Husain whose horses like Alice Munro’s Clara have covered meadows, trenches and hidden catacombs and have raised an invincible cadre of jockeys who ride on these horses to bring justice and beauty towards art practices.

Edward Hopper once said, “Great art is the outward expression of an inner life in the artist.” Husain was a liberated soul who not only understood the ultimate sense of art but also the essence of human rights. He was charismatic and an immortal artist. Such artists have prolific voices that never go silent. They echo and generate ripples for generations to come.

“I only give expression to the instincts from my soul. They can put me in a jungle, still, I can create”

The post Recounting MF Husain’s court ordeals on his death anniversary appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: Live Law

It has been a decade since the landmark judgement on MF Husain row was delivered squashing the brutality of Section 292 of Indian Penal Code(IPC), 1860 and it all differentiated between ‘vulgarity’ and ‘obscenity’ and what art actually stands for- a fluid reflection of society.

Justice Kaul’s judgement upheld the constitutional values in the strict regard of freedom of speech which our constitution guarantees to citizens of our nation. Justice Kaul agreed that art is a coming of age and each form of expression in arts, from naturalism to abstract expressionism derives its strength from the artist’s emotional pursuits to his perceptual reality.

The judgement and justice for MF Husain
The sculpture on the earliest temples of ‘Mithuna’ image or the erotic couple in Bhubneshwar, Konark and Puri in Orissa(150-1250 AD); Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh (1000 AD); Limbojimata temple at Delmel, Mehsana(10^th Century AD); Kupgallu Hill, Bellary, Madras; and Nilkanth Temple at Sunak near Baroda- these are some of many cult figures in which rituals related to Kanya and Kumari worship for progeny garnered deep connections in early century AD. Judgement delivered didn’t forget to mention the very concept of ‘Lingam’ of the God Shiva resting in the centre of Yoni, is a representation of the act of creation, the unity of Prakriti and Purusa. Judgement says, the ultimate essence of a work of ancient Indian erotic art has been religious in character and can be enunciated as a state of heightened delight or ananda, the kind of bliss experienced by the spirit.

Justice Kaul discussed in his order how paintbrush, a powerful tool of expression, could be perceived by some to have crossed the ‘Lakshman Rekha’ or the line of fire but what actually has to be determined is that art shouldn’t be plunged into the category of forbidden defined by ‘obscene’, ‘vulgar’, ‘depraving’, ‘prurient’ and ‘immoral.’

The said objectionable painting by MF Husain was advertised under the title of ‘Bharat Mata’ with which accomplished painter had no involvement. The ruling in the favour of Husain, for sure, upheld the artistic freedom within the parameters of Article 19 of Constitution of India and also brought the significance of this aspect on the contours of precedents where Indian as well as international courts faced with similar situations discussed and enunciated the law in relation to obscenity.

Protecting the agency of the writer and reader
In the famous 2016 judgment on controversial Tamil author Perumal Murugan, who was facing charges for the vocalism he practised in his book ‘Madhorubagan’ which loosely translates into English as ‘One Part Woman,’ Justice Kaul stated, “The choice to read is always with the reader. If you don’t like a book, throw it away. There is no compulsion to read a book. Literary tastes may vary- what is right and acceptable to one may not be so to others. Yet, the right to write is unhindered.” This lucid judgement followed Bombay High Court’s insight on controversial Udta Punjab case and on a parallel line correlated the judgement on the cinematography work with books as well as paintings to allow the further publication of Prof. Murugan’s literary piece.

The above mentioned judgements discuss  a wider societal canvas counting a multi-cultural society where religious beliefs are sacred to various segments also at the same time allow the atheists to practise their rights with a minimal element of responsibility while satisfying the touchstone of our Constitution. There is no doubt that religion is a major influence in our country but the founding fathers’ guarantees to ensure a free society is the very essence of India which must be kept intact.

Prof. Murugan set out what he perceived to be the function of a writer in his affidavit:
“The function of a writer is to question the social values and subject them to critical examination. He must not mechanically accept anything. The society which frames the rules also provides for exceptions. It is natural for a writer to focus his writing on the exceptions. When the society insists on the rules, the writer will highlight the exceptions. That is how it is possible to perceive things from the side of the victims. Otherwise, the case of the victim and marginalised will go unheard.”

The statement highlights the contemporary practice of favouritism by state and society to underscore voices of artists, writers, actors and activists. An author writes, a painter paints and a sculptor expresses through his murals but judging an art on any arbitrary parameter is not restricted to obscenity, it has to be well examined and digested a whole. A piece of art is not a statute liable for instantaneous justification but something to be assessed completely before coming to a conclusion. Justice Kaul’s judgements on artistic lines reinstated the faith of every practitioner of constitutional rights of expression in Indian judiciary. 

The Fundamental Right To Privacy
The cascade of human rights activism started in 2008 with his judgement on MF Husain didn’t stop even after a decade. After being elevated to Supreme Court in 2017, it was an august day in the month of August when Justice Kaul led bench ruled a pathbreaking judgement on Privacy being a fundamental right. Bench agreed that the privacy is a fundamental factor which is intrinsic to human life, establishes liberty and allows sacrosanct process of thought and so falls under Article 21 of the Constitution. Justice Kaul believes that privacy is an inherent light. It is thus not given, but already exists. It is about respecting an individual and it is undesirable to ignore a person’s wishes without a compelling reason to do so.

The right to privacy ensures the protection of one’s individuality, personality and dignity. However, no light is unstoppable and so it is with privacy but it will only arise by constraining the case against national integrity and security. This also opened a chain of argumentations on Aadhar profiling on which Justice Kaul ruled that the union must ensure zero discrimination based on religion, ethnicity and caste by such personal data profiling and there must be strong regulations on free movement of such data on accords of Regulation(European Union) 2016/679.

‘Uber’ knows our whereabouts and the places we frequently visit. ‘Facebook’ knows who we are friends with. ‘Alibaba’ knows our shopping habits and ‘Airbnb’ knows where we are travelling to. But what about the protection of our information we share with these companies? It becomes a mandatory duty now to ensure that data breach doesn’t happen. Thus, there is an unprecedented need for regulation regarding the extent to which such data can be stored, processed and used by non-state actors, and the judgement on privacy even rules that there is also a need for protection of such information from the State and the State must work on these minimal grounds.

Poetic Justice
It is quite interesting to note a fun fact for which Justice Kaul is admired in addition to his judgments, and that is his poetic and imaginative sense which is reflected in his judgements. The famous 2008 judgement delivered by Justice Kaul on the obscenity row of MF Husain reads Pablo Picasso’s quote on art-“Art is never chaste. It ought to be forbidden to ignorant innocents, never allowed into contact with those not sufficiently prepared. Yes, art is dangerous. Where it is chaste, it is not art.” Justice Kaul, in Prof. Murugan’s case order, didn’t forget to remember famous French author Voltaire. Order opens with the quote by Voltaire-“I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” This was celebrated as an epic defence which stole the show and sent a vibrant message across India from the aisles of law rooms.

The constitutional agreement of all democracies refers to a spirit. The spirit serves justice to all and is a living entity. The beauty of the spirit lies in its practice, it has multidimensional presence which at times echoes the dignity of statehood. The spirit embodied as Magna Carta was felt in France, America and India in their struggling years and transformed each passing day for better. The founding fathers of our vibrant democracy drafted the Indian Constitution and gave a grand throne to transformed Magna Carta in Part III of our constitution. It then became an unavoidable duty for citizens to enforce the legal bindings to sustain the constitutional essence and peace keepers so emerged were our honourable judges. The interference in legal proceedings in a big democracy like ours is probable but those who protect the basic rights of their brethren against all odds are undeniably heroes without cape. And I will do huge injustice to me if I don’t count Honourable Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul among one of those few heroes.

[The Author is a research scholar at Department of Physics, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda and serves as an Editor to Academia.edu, WikiProjects]

This opinion was also published in The Quint.
 

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The goons claimed the attack was their retaliation against Husain’s painting of a Hindu goddess. Not one member of the BJP had then raised their voice against this wanton destruction of art. But now that Doshi has been conferred what is often regarded as the highest honour in the world of architecture, Prime Minister Modi himself tweeted a congratulatory message saying:
 

 
The Politics of Architecture in India
Interestingly, the BJP has never shown any interest in encouraging artists, designers and architects. It was in fact, India’s first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the man the BJP loves to blame for all Indian failures, who encouraged international maestros like Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, Anant Raje, Charles and Ray Eames etc. to come to India and enrich India with the Bauhaus and industrial design achievements of Europe. It was because of this that Ahmedabad had become the hub of modern architecture, art, design and science during the lifetime of Nehru and his friends like Vikram Sarabhai and Homi Bhabha. It was Indira Gandhi who took interest in the construction of the eponymous Nehru Pavilion and Hall of Nations at Pragati Maidan.
 
The BJP however was in power when the iconic Hall of Nations was demolished by the Indian Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) in a clandestine overnight operation in April 2017, even as a case against its demolition was still pending before the Delhi High Court. The Hall of Nations was the world’s first and largest-span space-frame structure built in reinforced concrete. It was inaugurated in 1972 to commemorate twenty-five years of Indian independence. It stood alongside four other Halls of Industries, all of which were demolished in the demolition drive. The iconic buildings were designed by another highly respected architect, Raj Rewal who called the demolition ‘an act of outrage’ given how the next hearing in the case was just three days away. The ITPO is the Ministry of Commerce’s trade promotion body. In fact, it was the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by PM Modi that approved the redevelopment plan for Pragati Maidan in January 2017.
 
Doshi’s Architecture and Signature Style
Doshi’s approach to architecture involved ways to merge rustic Indian life with modern infrastructure keeping in mind local climate and culture. He believed in designing spaces based on human interaction. This is best reflected in his design for Aranya Nagar, a low income neighbourhood near Indore, where it is evident that a lot of thought has gone into creating a home that has at its heart the people who live in it. His architecture shows respect for its inhabitants and their traditional way of life. Infact, Aranya Nagar’s architectural planning and design won Doshi the Aga Khan award. Doshi’s work also involves heritage conservation and an emphasis on eco-friendly techniques. He is an urbanist and focuses on created structures best suited to the needs of the people who use them, all the while ensuring innovation and maintaining aesthetics sense.

 
Early life and career
Doshi was born in Pune in 1927. He dropped out of Mumbai’s JJ School of Art and headed to London where he worked as a draftsman while completing his Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) exams. After meeting Le Corbusier Doshi moved to his Paris atelier where he worked for many years before moving back to India to work on Le Corbusier’s projects in Chandigarh and Ahmedabad.
 
During his long career Doshi has designed over 100 buildings but he is best known for some of India’s most iconic ones like the Husain-Doshi Gufa Art Gallery in Ahmedabad, the Center for Planning and Technology (CEPT) University building in Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Aranya Nagar Low Income Housing area in Indore, Diamond Bourse, Tagore Memorial Hall in Ahmedabad and the eco-friendly IFFCO Township in Kalol. In fact, the design for Aranya Nagar won him the prestigious Aga Khan award.

 
Awards and recognition
The French Gold Medal, Padma Shree, Chicago Architecture Award, G. B. Mhatre Award and the Madhav Achwal Award bestowed by the Indian Institute of Architects, Great Master’s Award, Golden Architect Award, and awards from various countries including South Africa, Mexico, Bulgaria, and early in his career a Graham Foundation Fellowship. The 90 year old is the oldest winner of the USD 1,00,000 Pritzker prize.

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उनकी मनभावन आत्मकथा में मध्य प्रदेश के इंदौर की सार्वजनिक संस्कृति की दुर्लभ झांकी मिलती है, जिसमे एम.एफ. हुसेन की रामलीला में भागीदारी का रमणीय वर्णन है.

सबरंग इंडिया को हुसेन की ये उत्कृष्ट गाथा एवं रेखाचित्र फोटोग्राफर राम रहमान द्वारा प्राप्त हुए हैं.
 

एम. एफ़.हुसेन की कहानी अपनी ज़ुबानी:  रामलीला

अक्तूबर का महीना है, मालवी गेहूँ खेतों में खड़ा है। धूप अच्छी लगने लगी है। शाम ढले दादा लड़के की गर्दन में ब्लू मफ़लर लपेट दिया करते और वह दौड़ता हुआ मोहल्ले की रामलीला देखने पहुँच जाता। यह कोई नाटक कम्पनी नहीं, जहाँ टिकट लेना पड़े।

एक प्राइमरी स्कूल का अहाता। इमली के पेड़ तले माँगी हुई चंद लालटेनें और धोबन से ली हुई साड़ियों का 'बैकड्राप'। ज्यों ही बेलन से थाली बजी, खेल शुरू हुआ। वह पानवाले शंकर का भाई, स्कूल के ड्रिल मास्टर की निकर पहने हनुमान बन जाता, सिर्फ़ चेहरे पर धूल मले। हाँ, रावणजी तो वह मोटा मिटठू लगे जो आटा पीसने की चक्की पर बैठें है। केकई कौन बना लड़का उसे पहचान न सका। एक तो औरत बने ऊपर से कलुए मुँह पर राख मल कर नख़रे करे। कासिम मियाँ इंदौर छावनी के शादी ब्याह के बैंड मास्टर लेकिन रामलीला के लिए ढोल और बाँसुरी का सुर मिलाते हैं।

वह रामलीला से लौटती भीड़ में घिरा लड़का चलते चलते अपने आप को इस खेल के किसी एक पात्र में ढूँढना चाहता है। घर पहुँचने में जान बुझ कर देर करता है ताकि जितने पात्र हैं, अपने ख़्याली स्टेज पर थोड़े थोड़े अदा कर ले। मगर आज वही रामलीला जब दिल्ली के जगमगाते स्टेज पर देखता है तो घर लौटते वक्त उसे शंकर पानवाले का भाई, चक्कीवाला मोटा मिटठू और कासिम बैंड मास्टर याद आते हैं।

इंदौर की रामलीला से डाक्टर राम मनोहर लोहिया होते हुए वह लड़का कैसे बाल्मीकि और तुलसीदास तक पहुँचता है। यह ज़माना है, पाँचवी दशक के आख़िरी हिस्से का। हैदराबाद के रईस पन्नालाल पित्ती का राजभवन के पड़ोस में आलीशान मोती भवन, इनके बेटे बदरीविशाल भवन के ऊपरी हिस्से में गावतकियों के बीच विराजमान। दोपहर के भोजन का समय, डाक्टर राम मनोहर लोहियाजी के आगमन का वक्त। गावतकियों के चारों तरफ़ खादी-धारी, बन्डियों पर समाजवादी फीते लगाए, अदब से खड़े हैं। वह लड़का बदरीविशाल के कलमदान से एक कलम निकाल कर इस मंज़र को कलमबंद करता है। डाक्टर लोहिया का स्केच उनके झुँझलाए खड़े बालों से शुरू होकर, मिची मिची शरारती आँखें ढूंढता हुआ नथनों से बहुत नीचे होठों पर आ रुका। लोहियाजी की बाँछे खिल गईं, ज्योंही लड़के और उसके स्केच को देखा। लड़के को ज़ोर से बग़ल में भींच लिया और वह भींच बरसों ढीली नहीं पड़ी।

एक शाम लोहियाजी को वह लड़का जामा मस्जिद के करीम होटल ले गया क्योंकि उन्हें मुग़लई खाना, शीरमाल, वगैरह बहुत पसंद थी। लोहियाजी को जवाहरलाल नेहरू का एक पोर्ट्रेट याद आया जो लड़के ने नेहरूजी के घर जाकर किया था। लोहियाजी ने क़ोरमे की प्लेट को चम्मच से हल्के हल्के खनखनाते हुए लड़के की तरफ़ देखा और बोले – "यह तुम्हें क्या सूझी कि नेहरू का पोर्ट्रेट बनाने बैठ गए। हाँ, एक पोर्ट्रेट जो 'इलस्ट्रेटड विकली' में छपा है वह इसलिए ठीक लगा कि उसमें नेहरू डूबता दिखाई देता है, जैसे पानी गले तक चढ़ गया हो। "

"लोहियाजी", लड़के ने मुस्कुराते हुए जवाब दिया। "माडर्न आर्ट का यही तो एक मज़ेदार पेचीदा पहलू है कि देखने वाला अपनी मर्ज़ी और मिज़ाज में तस्वीर को ढालने का हक़ रखता है, जबकि फ़ोटोग्राफ़ी की स्थिरता में कल्पना की ज़्यादा गुंजाइश नही। एक लिहाज़ से माडर्न आर्ट का मिज़ाज अमीराना नहीं बल्कि डेमोक्रेटिक है। जैसे कि देखने में, व्यक्तित्व शहाना हो, लकीरों का तनाव खुद्दारी का ऐलान करता हो, रंगो की शोख़ी स्वाभिमान से सम्पूर्ण हो।"
लोहियाजी ने लड़के की पीठ थपकी जैसे शाबाशी दी हो और विषय बदलते हुए पूछा – "यह जो तुम बिरला और टाटा के ड्रॉइंगरूम में लटकने वाली तस्वीरों में घिरे हो, ज़रा बाहर निकलो। रामायण को पेन्ट करो। इस देश की सदियों पुरानी दिलचस्प कहानी है। गाँव गाँव गूँजता गीत है, संगीत है और फिर इन तस्वीरों को गाँव गाँव ले जाओ। शहर के बन्द कमरे जिन्हें आर्ट गैलरी कहा जाता है, लोग वहाँ सिर्फ पतलून की जेबों में हाथ डाले खड़े रहते हैं। गाँव वालों की तरह तस्वीरों के रंग में घुल मिल कर नाचने गाने नहीं लगते। "

लोहियाजी की यह बात लड़के को तीर की तरह चुभी और चुभन बरसों रही। आख़िर लोहियाजी की मौत के फ़ौरन बाद उनकी याद में रंग भरे और कलम लेकर बदरीविशाल के मोती भवन को तक़रीबन डेढ़ सौ 'रामायण' पेन्टिंग से भर दिया। दस साल लगे कोई दाम नहीं माँगा, सिर्फ़ लोहियाजी की ज़बान से निकले शब्दों का मान रखा।

This 27 minute film made by the Film’s Division by director, Santi P. Chowdhury in 1976, A Painter of Our Time-Hussain, has, towards the end the iconic painter’s rendering of the Lohia Ramayan mela at the end

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I feel very sad that my Hinduism which opened the world for me is sought to be imprisoned by narrow minds and taken in the very direction I was fortunate to leave behind.

Two, any person who does anything with the intention of inflaming sentiments, creating ill-will and hatred or instigating violence between different individuals or communities should be held guilty of a crime against society and punished under due process of law. None should be permitted to take the law into their own hands.
 
If the charge against Husain is blasphemy, let the Heavens decide. If the charge is that of a crime against society, let the courts, not the Shiv Sena and the Bajrang Dal, judge. But why has a case been registered against Husain, but none against Thackeray, the editor of Saamna and Dopahar ka Saamna, for its writings instigating hatred and violence.
 
Lastly, this may sound sacrilegious to votaries of Hindutva, but as an Indian Muslim, I protest in the name of Hinduism too. I, unfortunately, do not know much about Hindu philosophy and religion, but the little that I got to learn from some Hindu friends and teachers in the early 70s proved crucial to my moksha from the rigid Islam that I was brought up with.
 
This is purely a biographical statement with no intent to compare the relative merits of two major world religions. Today, I feel very sad that my Hinduism which opened the world for me is sought to be imprisoned by narrow minds and taken in the very direction I was fortunate to leave behind. 

(This is archived from Communalism Combat, November 1996)

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Is it because in its imagery, raw and sensual nudity-female, male, female and male, female and female, male and male – strips the human stage of its hitherto well-entrenched and iniquitous vision generated through the centuries by an essentially male gaze?
                                                                   
For the morally outraged protectors of Ma Saraswati's honour, the issue has never been the indignities heaped on real-life women. Will the rabid rabble-rousers be content after they have ceremoniously clothed their beloved Mata? What if the build-up to this holy act whips up mass hysteria against the community that the offending painter comes from? Wasn't that the original political purpose of this charade anyway?
 
Having tasted blood, will they continue to thirst for more? In the name of worship and the (dis)robing of a female divine form, crude hatreds against “the outsider” are clearly being fanned.
 
Yet again, a Mother Goddess will be ceremoniously returned to her demure pedestal, her place of honour. Not in her mischievous and manifold avatars of Parvati, Durga and Shakti that reflect more potent images of womanhood but demure one moment, kitsch screen “goddesses” making powerful pelvic thrusts in Hindi films, the next.
 
Back in place, the stage would be set again for the next act in the real-life dramas against Indian women. Protected and robed, revered and worshipped as Mother Goddesses, this unique manifestation of female divinity has perpetuated a cruel duality: revere them in your fantasies as the Divine Mother, but do as you will with those in your midst.
 
Once Mata Saraswati has been ceremoniously robed again, this consensual, civilizational raison d’etre of Hindu society will be allowed to continue uninterrupted.
 
Leave me in the nude, Ma Saraswati, would say in response to past and modern day wimps, but do not make me naked. Do not rape me. Let my raw, beautiful, human form remind you that I am more than a mere goddess. I am a woman. Treat me as you would a woman.

If nudity were the issue, Ma Saraswati, the goddess of learning, would demand more of it – male nudity and female nudity – and less nakedness. This is because nudity, a natural state of being is not the product of violence.
 
No wonder then that for the modern day wimp – who watches hundreds of women being publicly disrobed and for whom the masterfully executed, eight-minute-long rape scenes in recent Bollywood productions (that get slicker and slicker, cloaking more and more violence), provide a weekly fix, this covering-up of Ma Saraswati is of crucial importance. He does not want to be reminded that behind Ma Saraswati there is a real-life woman.
 
In devoutly encasing his Mother Goddess and relegating her to a pedestal, he clears the field once again for his fun and games. He can walk again with a swagger, straddle and leash his images of woman with crudity and violence, not feel unmanned, less of a man confronted by visions of her nudity. And continue to do as he will with women.
 
But what if there was a shake up, with one of Draupadi’s daughters, not Ma Saraswati at the helm, who were to command a laying down of arms and a luxurious spreading out in the nude, female and male body sprawled alike, alone or side by side?
 
Remember the image that caused Maharashtra’s minister of culture, Pramod Navalkar's ire not so long ago – Madhu Sapre and Milind Soman not in divine but in human, nude form, using this beautiful image, regretfully, merely to sell shoes? No, that again would be too much for him to take. It would be turning the wimp’s world upside down.
 
(This is archived from Communalism Combat, November 1996)
 

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I hate to say it but it must be said. I believe this misguided, motivated mischievous and malicious attack on M.F. Husain has very little to do with his art and a lot more to do with his name. It also seems like a diversionary tactic to take everybody’s minds of uncomfortable issues like the Kini case and the Sarpotdar imbroglio.
 
The Sistine chapel shows the creation of man in graphic, vivid detail. Horror of horrors, god’s genitals are on view. Yes, god’s…
 
Millions of visitors stare in wonderment at Michelangelo’s masterpiece. Nobody plays the slightest heed to the exposed genitals, even though everybody looks.
(October 9, 1996)
 
AJAY SAHNI
The Pioneer
 
This is because despite his beard and his name and his possible protestations, Husain cannot claim the sanctuary of Islam for his own. By painting the gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon, Husain proclaimed himself a Kafir; in saying that he has often been inspired by these gods and goddesses, that he admires them, he confounds his kufr…
 
Incidentally, I think that Husain is just a skilled charlatan who has created a lucrative career for himself through a series of high profile gimmicks. It doesn’t matter. His freedom to do so is rooted in a tradition and culture that predates India’s ‘secular democratic’ constitution by 2000 years.
(October 19, 1996)
 
(This is archived from Communalism Combat, November 1996)
 

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Even Nani Palkhiwala has turned senile. He says the artist has full freedom of expression. I ask him: if Husain were, one day, to depict him mother, wife or daughter naked, would his blood boil or not?…
 
Let me remind all those persons who have descended to the streets in defence of Husain, of one thing: the fingers of the long-bearded traitor who has painted our Goddess Mother Saraswati, those fingers have also drawn his own mother, Shireen. We have published that painting. But the image of his mother is not naked.
 
Husain has painted his mother with her head covered demurely in a sari, the image of a woman accorded all proper respect. Why did Hussein not paint his mother naked? Is our much-revered Mother Goddess less worthy of his respect than his mother?
 
I ask the touts of Husain, who in the name of freedom of expression defend such calumny this question. If they do not have an answer let them go home and demand one from their mothers and sisters. If they praise Husain in front of their mothers and sisters they will be slapped by them…
 
The same Husain who after professing his love for Madhuri Dixit can paint a revolting picture… Husain is truly a sexually perverted artist. Whoever denies this is either foolish or mad or perverted himself. To defend Husain is to legitimise the crude and disrespectful in art. This will have to be understood by today’s artists.
 
Whatever Husain has done, he has wilfully done. He has to receive punishment for this, within the law or outside it. If he has so much faith in his art why did he run away to London? He is aware of his crime. He thinks that he will be able to return when the anger of Hindus has cooled down.
 
But Hindus, do not forget Husain’s crime! He has not to be forgiven at any cost. When he returns to Mumbai he must be taken to Hutatma Chowk and publicly flogged until he himself becomes a piece of modern art. The same fingers that painted our Mother naked will have to be cut off.
 
If Muslims are true followers of Islam, they must join their Hindu brethren in this Dharmayudh. There is also a word for the top echelons of the Mumbai police: if they genuinely want to sooth the simmering anger of Hindus, they must proceed to London and arrest and bring back Husain. Or else, these police officials will expose themselves as traitors. They must not forget that they are also Hindus.
 
Why did their blood not boil? And if it did why is there a delay in registering a case against Husain? We are not asking Husain? We are not asking that the police take action against Husain by violating the law. But while remaining within the law, surely the police could prevent Husain having a gay time in London.”
 
(This is archived from Communalism Combat, November 1996)
 
 
 
 

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