HVK Archives: The case against Husain
The case against Husain - The Pioneer
Arjun Bhagat
()
15 October 1996
Title : The case against Husain
Author : Arjun Bhagat
Publication : The Pioneer
Date : October 15, 1996
M F Husain has been painting (literally) the country red
by depicting Goddess Saraswati without any garbs. So let
us talk about artistic expression and its "limitless"
horizons also referred too as poetic or artistic licence.
The debate on Husain's depiction of the goddess Saraswati
has become skewed and out of perspective. But if the so
called rightist parties have blown the issue out of
proportion by ransacking and burning Husain's paintings
in the Ahmedabad 'based Heretiz Art Gallery, so have the
tribe of "intellectuals", "artists", "writers", "column-
ists" et al that now comprise of the Husain defence team.
,They have effectively hi-jacked the Husain controversy
and given it the outlook of a sinister conspiracy even
while they brush aside any view that contends that the
artists has hurt a people's sensibilities.
Seema Mustafa in the Asian Age writes, "The rabble rouser
following his master's instruction at Mumbai is not
interested (in the rational of the painting). He has got
a Muslim to beat a minority with, and that is all that
really matters. That is all that this hue and cry is
really about. It is to focus in on minorities as being
not just anti-national and anti-Hindu, that is mundane
when compared with this deliberate attack on the religion
itself..." Why must every issue and argument centre
around secularism being threatened in India? The fabric
of Indian society is not so fragile as some lead us to
believe; that a simple controversy of an artist and his
work will make the edifice of India's constitutional
framework crumble.
Artistic licence is said to be the unwritten right of
artists to express their creativity in any form they
please, after all art is what the artist does. But does
that give them the right to trample over other peoples
sensibilities? And when they do why can't the topic be
discussed and debated? Why should all arguments and
views not conforming to the wishes of the politically
correct lobby be scuttled as non-secular propaganda
threatening the entire secular edifice of the country?
Unfortunately even Husain takes up the same line of
argument in his apology letter as we shall see later.
Soon after the controversy arose Husain issued a spirited
statement brushing aside claims that his Theorama series
were .,obscene" and "distasteful" and "capable of hurting
religious sentiments ", and vowed to continue painting
what he liked. But on October 12 Husain turned turtle
and faxed his apology to newspaper offices in India.
Husain's apology is veiled in the same scare mongering
facade that many of his supporters are susceptible too, "
India's democracy is threatened" etc. After all even
words are expression of art. Husain states, "If any of
my works have hurt the sentiments of some people, it is
not all deliberate and intentional. It is not that I
love art less, I love human beings more and therefore, I
want to say this clearly: All the paintings convey great
respect to the subject and I have done it with faith and
conviction. My language of painting is highly poetic and
deep rooted in the composite culture of our great coun-
try."
However if we are to believe the words of Shoba De,
India's self proclaimed diva of sexuality, Husain's
intention was deliberate and veered towards hurting
sensibilities, perhaps even hoping (and succeeding) to
get to mileage out it; I do not know Husain, but De
"knows" him quite well, so we'll take her word for it;
"Mr Husain does not require my services as his defence
council ... knowing him, chances are he is enjoying
himself while, this report is being riled, in anticipa-
tion of the hammer coming down at the Sotheby's auction
being conducted in London, even as a motley group of
voluble demonstrators cry themselves hoarse outside his
Mumbai residence..."
But let us continue with Husain's apology letter, "I am
very grateful to my friends and artistic colleagues for
speaking out in my favour..." Well and good, but Husain
really out does himself as he continues "..and for sake
of sanity at this difficult hour, when the whole basis of
Indian democracy and cultural freedom is under threat
from a small minority who are determined to turn the
clock back and not forward as the majority of common
sensical people want..."
Husain would have us believe that at stake is Indian
democracy and its cultural freedom and his apology is
directed to restore the "sanity at this difficult hour."
India has passed through many trials and tribulations.
Have we forgotten the emergency years?; the years that
tore apart Punjab, the demolition of Babri Masjid, sepa-
ratist movements in Kashmir, Nagaland, Assam?; the list
is exhaustive.
An issue such as Husain's controversial painting does not
even come close to threatening India's democracy. The
nation has weathered far greater challenges. If a
"minority of people" as the artist points are protesting
against his paintings or senselessly destroying art, does
that amount to the collapse of India? And if Husain is
truly worried about the threat to cultural freedom he
should be in India defending his work and not faxing
apologies from London. In a nut shell Husain's apology
has all the ingredients of a politicians defensive salvo;
embracing extraneous explanations to qualify his predica-
ment and wriggle out of an uncomfortable situation.
Reacting to Husain's apology, writer Kuldeep Kumar writes
in The Pioneer "That an artist of Husain's stature and
accomplishments felt compelled to apologise in the face
of daily demonstrations in front of his residence and
destruction of his canvases is a testimony to the fact
that space for democratic discourse in shrinking fast."
Let us for a moment delve into the argument put forth by
Mustafa, Kumar, De that the Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena etc,
are making a political issue out of Husain's innocent
artistic impression of a naked Saraswati, the Hindu
Goddess of learning to divide Hindu's and Muslims. These
are the same people who never fail to remind us of how
fragile India's secular democracy is and anything can
spark a fire. In this light should Husain not be held
responsible for going too far with his artistic impres-
sion? For adding fuel to fire? Are we to believe that
an artist with the maturity of Husain would not have
forseen the reaction that he is now getting from certain
quarters?
Whatever be the accomplishment, however great the artists
stature, it does not give him the right for thoughtless
actions. Artists of Husain's stature cannot be above
responsibilities, they have a special duty. For it is
their work that gets noticed. Millions of Indians -
Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs hold religious beliefs close to
their heart - they do not have to be told by others that
their gods have been depicted in an offensive and a
distasteful manner.
They know what amounts to religious desecration - the
tearing down of Babri Masjid, or operation Blue Star on
the Golden temple, or in this case the lewd depiction of
Saraswati by M F Husain. All of them are in the same
league. It would be difficult to make the tribe of
intellectuals see the view point of the common man or
women in India. After all for them the question of how
someone's sensibilities can be hurt by "just a painting"
remains a riddle.
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