Protest NY Times justifying Deities’ nude paintings by Hussain

Vaishakh Krushna Dashami

All Hindus should protest against NY Times for justifying M F Hussain’s Hindu Deities’ nude paintings.

On Sunday May 3rd in the New York Times Review, Mr Naresh Fernandes, editor of Time out Mumbai, implied that it is perfectly OK for anyone to ‘paint Hindu deities in the nude’. This was in reference to MF Hussain.

Click here to see article by Mr Fernandes

An alert Hindu Sriram wrote the following note to the NY Times as well as to Mr Fernandes. He has not received any reply.We urge you also to write letters to New York Times and Mr Fernandes. See his mail  below.

E-mail of Mr Fernandes: [email protected].

NY Times E-mail: [email protected]

E-mail written by Shri. Sriram, a devout Hindu to NY Times

Dear Editor:

I am writing to express my outrage over a comment by Mr Naresh Fernandes in his article entitled ‘Selling Democracy and tea in India’ on page 11 of The Week in Review section of the Sunday New York Times, May 3rd. I subscribe to the Sunday New York TImes.

With absolutely stunning insensitivity he complains that the painter MF Husain lives in exile ‘for daring to paint Hindu deities in the nude’.

Mr Fernandes seems to imply that it is the absolute right of anyone to insult the devotion of Hindus by creating scurrilous images of their deities. This disrespect and lack of any decent consideration to the oldest organized religion, with nearly a billion followers, is appalling. Is this really what he thinks? Does the august New York Times agree with or condone these views?

I do not know how religious Mr Fernandes is. From his name it appears he is a catholic. Let me ask how Christians worldwide would feel about equivalent nude paitings of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, Abraham or Joseph. While not of the Christian faith I have great respect for Jesus Christ and I would be appalled. Similarly, a globally published newspaper like the New York Times should have the sensitivity not to publish such objectionable material.

As for Mr Husain, his  arrogant insult to Hindus and Hinduism is all the more egregious since his Islamic faith forbids any depiction of their deity. Muslims have threatened and caused death and destruction whenever any such images are created. Remember the furore over the Danish cartoons a year or so ago?

Mr Fernandes, and the New York Times, owe an apology and explanation to Hindus worldwide for this comment.

Sincerely
Sriram

Also See

1. Protest against anti-Hindu painter Hussain
2. Protest against defamation of Hindu Deities & Icons