By Sandhya Jain
In its second secular overture to Hindu opinion after the CPM MP, Brinda Karat publicly targeted Ayurveda and yoga guru, Swami Ramdev, the Maharashtra coalition has booked the controversial artist, M.F. Husain, for hurting the sentiments of the people. The NCP action comes in the wake of pressure from activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, who managed to get Maharashtra Governor S.M. Krishna to back out of a function on February 2, 2006, where he was slated to be chief guest, in which Husain was to be honoured for his oeuvre. Though the organisers hastily dis-invited the artist in a bid to salvage the function, the Governor refused to change his mind, resulting in its cancellation.
Now, in the wake of pressure from the Hindus over Husain'scontinued offensive against Hindu goddesses, an art gallery in Mumbai has withdrawn a picture depicting a nude Bharat Mata. The picture was put up for auction for victims of the Kashmir earthquake. The auction organiser and the Hindu-baiter Nafisa Ali said the controversy was because the Shiv Sena had no other issues, the gallery owner said that devoted Hindus had expressed anguish over the picture. Husain later apologised and claimed that he had withdrawn the picture himself.
NCP has realised that it may be politically remunerative to honour the Hindu sentiments on issues that can excite and mobilise people. Maharashtra deputy chief minister and home minister R.R. Patil ordered that a case should be registered against the painter. The BJP state unit president, Nitin Gadkari has supported the demand for Husain'sarrest.
There are a number of lessons to be learnt from these two episodes. The first is that if the Hindus take the trouble to raise their voices against all deliberate insults to the community, they will be heard. What is more, the political class will act with greater alacrity against issues of cultural assault against the Hindus. This was noticed in the case of the widespread and spontaneous public anger when the popular Swami Ramdev was targetted by the CPM; the Party was forced to beat a retreat as politicians across party lines did not dare incur the wrath of the majority of their constituents by siding with the communists.
Muslims must condemn Husain
The second is the sheer hypocrisy of so-called secular Muslim intellectuals, who routinely gang up against the Hindu community on a number of issues, but do not dare or care to speak up against Husain'sdeliberate act of religious disrespect to the Hindus. Yet in a refreshing contrast, believing Muslims like actor Farooq Sheikh and AIMPLB member Kamal Faruqi condemned the nude Saraswati saying that Saraswati was never depicted nude and that the picture shocked even Muslims, so it certainly offended Hindu sentiments. Sheikh said artists have no license to trample over people'ssentiments in the name of creativity. They were reacting to worldwide Muslim anger over the blasphemous cartoons of Prophet Mohammad, published in several European newspapers, at a programme on NDTV. It is to be hoped that their attitude will have a salutary effect upon Husain'sproclivity to repeatedly show Hindu goddesses in demeaning postures.
Indeed, orthodox and sensitive Muslims should come forward and negotiate the thin line between tolerance and dissent on the issue of portraiture by fellow Muslims. Islam, like Judaism, forbids portraiture, and Muslims do not make portraits of the Prophet or Allah at all. This is theoretically true of Christianity as well, and Christians do not draw portraits of God, the Father, or the Holy Spirit. However, in order to extend its appeal among the people, Christianity compromised early in its innings, and idols of Christ and his mother, Mary, are an established part of Christian reliquary. The Jews tolerated some amount of Christian depiction of their Prophets.
Some Indian writers have claimed that in previous centuries when Islam had powerful empires, Turk rulers patronized art forms regarding the Prophet that would be considered blasphemous today. I have no personal knowledge on this score, but it is true that the Mughal Emperors encouraged portraits of themselves and their royal consorts. In the contemporary world, Muslim despots like Saddam Hussain have revelled in erecting huge statues of themselves, while Muslims keep photographs of popular leaders like Yasser Arafat, Osama bin Laden, Ayatollah Khomeini and so on. To that extent, Islam has compromised on the issue of drawing the human likeness.
In this context, Muslims must decide what is tolerable and what is unacceptable, to themselves and to others. They have called upon Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to condemn the caricatures of Prophet Mohammad in some European countries, and to recall the envoy to Denmark. Now they must make up for a two-decade long silence on the offensive portraitures by co-religionist M.F. Husain. Former MP, Prafull Goradia has meticulously documented (Anti Hindus, Contemporary Targett, 2003) how Husain always paints figures from monotheistic traditions with respect (e.g. Mother Teresa) and almost always singles out the Hindus for demeaning portraitures of Durga, Saraswati and Sita. Secular Muslim intellectuals are far too bigoted to care for the Hindu sensitivities, but sensible and pious Muslims are beginning to understand and empathize with the Hindu sense of outrage. They must make themselves heard. There is no such thing as the freedom to offend.
BJP demands Husain'sarrest
M.F. Husain'sdepiction of Hindu deities in the nude is an ?insult to the nation?, the BJP said and demanded the painter be immediately arrested and prosecuted for creating ?disaffection? among the communities.
?Being a good Muslim, Husain should know the worldwide reaction over caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in a Danish newspaper. He too should refrain from repeatedly hurting the sentiments of the Hindus,? said the BJP General Secretary, Vinay Katiyar.
Accusing Husain of insulting the Hindus and the nation by portraying deities and Bharat Mata in the nude, Katiyar demanded the painter be immediately arrested and prosecuted.
?He has created disaffection among religious communities and therefore should be put behind the bars and prosecuted.
Otherwise, we will be forced to protest in our own way,? he added.
Husain, however, apologised for his controversial depiction of Bharat Mata after protests by the Hindu organisations.
Though the painting was sold it was withdrawn from an auction that was going to be held in Delhi.
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