A protest demonstration was staged in front of Christie'sin New York City on March 30th where paintings of Mr. M.F. Husain were to be auctioned. The protesters represented Sanatan Sanstha, Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, Indian American Intellectuals Forum and some other organisations. The protesters distributed flyers to prospective buyers of paintings and requested them not to encourage Mr. Husain because he was an evil incarnate who derived sadistic pleasure by vilifying Hindu faith.
They further said that Mr. Husain is a notoriously obnoxious person who has made it his hobby to slander Hindu Gods and Goddesses by painting them in nude. Recently he had made a nude portrait of Bharat Mata for which he was widely condemned. He has insulted Indian womanhood several times. He is a fugitive from justice. Instinctively, he is endowed with a fiendish mind which impels him to indulge in despicable activities calculated to cause pain and anguish to Hindu people. His grotesque and insidious attempts have created communal tension in India and deeply hurt Hindu sentiments. Under the guise of ?Art?, Mr. Husain has offended the feelings of one billion Hindus. He has mistaken Hindus? tolerance for their weaknesses. That is the reason he has been deliberately and maliciously demonising Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
One of the protesters said that he came to know about the auction only one day before. Had he known it earlier he would have organised a very forceful protest.
One person on anonymity said that Mr. Husain is a Muslim by faith. In that case, what on earth prompts him to choose only Hindu Gods and Goddesses for such disgraceful and ridiculous portrayal. Why does he not attempt to paint once the portrait of Prophet Mohammad and his family, and see what happens to him.
Hundreds of people have already sent their protests to Christies and Sothebys by e-mails to gale.berninghausen@sothebys.com, robin.dean@sothebys.com, and hweihe@christies.com.
In this connection, it should also be noted that last month Mr. Husain was to be honoured by Maharashtra Governor S.M. Krishna. Sanatan Sanstha organised an e-mail campaign against Mr. Husain'spainting which was signed by 28,000 people and resulted in the cancellation of the function in honour of Mr. Husain.
Recently, a local court in Meerut prima facie found him guilty of tampering with the religious sentiments of the Hindu community and asked police to register a case against him.
