Fida Husain Apologizes

 Ajoy Roy 

Published on May 03, 2009

 

 
The celebrated Indian Artist veteran Moqbul Fida Husain once again apologized for painting a picture. This time he was alleged for insulting �Bharatmata� when he painted a naked woman spinning thread with a charka. The painting was supposed to at auction in a Delhi art gallery. On the naked body of the woman some names of states were depicted.
 
The painting infuriated the Hindu fundamentalists. The Visa Hindu parisat (VHP) and Hindu Janajagruti Samity (HJS) immediately identified the painting as the picture of �Bharatmata� (Mother India). The two associations brought charges against the artist that he deliberately insulted the mythical concept of Bharatmata that was once symbol of Great India during the swadeshi movement. In nationalist papers many a times picture of Mother India with spinning Charka appeared in national dailies in the past. Finding the similarity between the symbol of Bharatata and the painting of naked woman of Fida Husain HJS brought it to the notice of the police. The police in its turn made an inquiry immediately. Sensing public resentment fanned by the VHP and HJS, the celebrated artist withdrew the painting from the auction. He also apologized. The officials of the two societies also appealed to the Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam and PM Manmohan Singh to take appropriate action against the artist, charging for � antinational and perverse attitude of the artist�. The HJS arranged demonstration against the artist. One gentleman, a friend of mine and a man of great understanding only mildly commented that Fida should think twice before he touches the sensitive issue if he cannot stick to it. �Why he always choose Hindu gods or goddesses for his subjects, why couldn�t he do with Bibi Fatema or Amena, daughter and mother of the great Prophet, my friend commented?
 
Poet Nazul had the courage to paint Ma Amena as Jasoda, mother of Krishna, but in a positive sense.       
 
This is secular India. The intellectuals and secularists did not stand in support of the artist. The freedom of artist has been sacrificed at the altar of fundamentalism. Fundamentalism has no religious boundary, be it Islam, Santa or Christianity. A few years back Gazagamini famed Fida Husain invited resentment and bitter criticism when he painted an image of Sarasawti Devi in nude.
 
The curator of the Appaao Gallery said that she had been receiving threating phone calls, some in abusing languages, to withhold the painting from the auction.  
 
Litt�rateur Sunil Gangapadhyay was charged with hurting sentiments of Hindus by a retired police officer when the writer once uttered that during his puberty he felt sexually excited seeing Devi's naked body. I did not follow the case proceedings, might be it was dropped or dismissed.
 
I thought west Bengal people are more tolerant � Parashuram wrote many satirical short stories with different Hindu devatas. But Hindu readers too k the stories in a had insulted their gods. Even to day a TV serial named �Dhyat Terika� which caricaturized many icons of Hindu goads. The audience accepted it as pure fan. This should be the spirit. Can we say same thing about rest of India?
 
 
(Source �Anandabazar, Statesman, 8. 02. 06).


Prof. Ajoy K. Roy, is a reputed scientist and human rights activist from Bangladesh, He sent this article from Kolkata.