Gear up to stop Husain’s Asia House Exhibition in Britain!

To, Awaaz-South Asia Watch, Dear Sir, Sub: Request to refrain from urging re-opening of exhibition of M.F Husain at Asia House, London.

This is in response to your request to Asia House, London to re-open the exhibition of the work of renowned Indian artist, MF Husain.

We would like to inform you of the worldwide protests campaign, spearheaded by our organization in alliance with Sanatan.org, against M. F. Husain for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus through his paintings. Mr. Husain has drawn paintings of Hindu Deities depicting them in lewd, compromising positions and is also under Indian Government scrutiny for treason for depicting the Indian Motherland (Bharatmata) as a nude woman.

You can see M. F. Husain’s various denigrating paintings of Hindu Deities and revered symbols at. http://www.sanatan.org/hussaincampaign/painting.php Here you will find that over 28,000 people around the world have registered their protest against M. F. Husain, demanding a stop to all public display and auction of his works. Since the inception of this worldwide protest campaign in November 2005, you may have read in the news that India is witnessing intense agitations against M. F. Husain. Agitations that include over 1250 formal police complaints, 7 court cases, burning of Husain effigies, citywide strikes, Rasta bunds (road blocking). At times, the inaction and passivity of the Indian media and government forced the agitations to take a violent turn, as we can see with the attack on the Husain-Doshi art gallery, mob destruction of public property in some cities and public announcements of rewards for maiming or killing M. F. Husain.

• The honourable courts of India have already summoned and issued warrants against Mr. Husain in various cities like Indore, Delhi, etc. since mid-March 2006, for hurting religious sentiments and creating communal disharmony..
• A Judicial First Class Magistrate in Pandharpur (M. F. Husain’s birthplace) had issued a warrant against M. F. Husain, asking him to appear in court on 22nd May 2006, in a case against Husain as well as India Today magazine for hurting religious sentiments of Hindus.
• Recently, the Mumbai High Court has asked M.F Husain to file his affidavit by the 12th of June and appear in court in a criminal case filed against him for hurting religious sentiments of Hindus through his nude and vulgar paintings of Hindu deities..
• In April 2004, the Delhi High Court has found Husain guilty of hurting of religious sentiments (http://www.sanatan.org/hussaincampaign/Hussain_Case_Result.) The court has said that ‘ to draw Durga and Draupadi in total nudity is to outrage religious feelings of Hindus by insulting their religion and their religious feelings and asked him whether he would venture and try his hand at his own or other religion and see how sensitive religious sentiments and beliefs are. Such acts promote enmity in different groups on grounds of religion and are prejudicial to maintenance of harmony. Husain could not be prosecuted then only on the technical grounds of lack of sanctions required under the sections..
• Most recent (05th May 2006) the Union Home Ministry of India has alerted the police chiefs of Delhi and Mumbai to M.F Husain’s �objectionable� paintings and asked them to take �appropriate action�. (http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1690978,0008.htm), His latest painting is under scrutiny by the UPA government. And bureaucrats are also unwilling to give a go-ahead to any public exhibition of this artwork. http://www.ibnlive.com/news/husain-painting-faces-controversy-again/9574-8.html.
• Husain has also invited the displeasure of Muslim religious leaders in India for his denigrating paintings, which are considered as essentially against Islamic principles. Mr Hazi Yakub Quereshi a Muslim minister from Uttar Pradesh (India) who has declared prize sum of Rs 51 crores of Indian rupees to the person who would slay the cartoonist of the Prophet’s cartoons, has advised Hindus to teach M.F Husain a lesson..
• In Madhya Pradesh, former Congress leader Akhtar Baig offered nearly 20,000 Euros to the person who would chop off Husain’s hands..
• At the auction in New York on 30th March-2006 by Christies.com, there were protest demonstrations by Hindus in front of Christies at Rockefeller Plaza, for including Husain’s paintings (http://www.ibnlive.com/article.php?id=7585�ion_id=8#).. In that regard, we received this response from Ruth Bennett, Acting Public Affairs Officer of the US State Government: ‘Thank you for alerting us to your concerns over the auction of paintings by artist M. F. Husain in New York. I appreciate that his work is controversial and has angered many.’ Ms. Bennett advised us to make our views known to perpetrating auction houses.
  If there is anything that the recent worldwide violence over Prophet Mohammed’s caricatures has taught us, it is that religious sentiments are the most sacred of all to those who follow any religion. Denigrating them as the likes of Husain and the Danish cartoonists have done, or disregarding them as the likes of the Danish press and nation has done, leads to communal disharmony, if not widespread violence. That is why, the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan in view of the recent crisis over caricatures of Prophet Mohammad has advocated increased emphasis on freedoms of worship and speech to counter the phenomenon. On 13th April 2006 at the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Istanbul he also affirmed the importance of basic freedoms as well as the need for sensitivity towards other cultures and adding that, "We must stress that rights carry with them an inherent responsibility, and should not be used to degrade, humiliate or insult any group or individual.�.

In this context, M. F. Husain has abused his freedom of expression. Allowing his paintings on display would be as good as disregarding religious sentiments, thus abetting the perpetration of communal disharmony and violence. From this it will become clear to you that through his works, M. F. Husain has deliberately and repeatedly denigrated Hindu symbols of faith, hurting the sentiments of Hindus worldwide. Should he then be allowed to enjoy elite status and fortune, when even the Indian courts are holding him guilty for hurting Hindus’ religious sentiments?

Hence, we urge you to follow in the footsteps of the esteemed Bombay Art Gallery that cancelled the Lifetime Achievement (Roopdhar) felicitation of M. F. Husain at the hands of the Maharashtra Governor, in response to the protests of Hindus. Withdrawing the requests of reopening the exhibition of M. F. Husain in light of the above will go a long way in setting yourself as an institute that upholds secularism. It would also help prevent ill will and agitations of Hindus against not only Husain, but also your esteemed institution, that call itself secular network committed to challenging all forms of religious hatred and intolerance We look forward to your prompt reply and action in this regard.

Sincerely, Dr Manoj Solanki.

HINDU JANAJAGRUTI SAMITI Reg No: 1540/1-634, 12-11-2002, Ponda Goa B G-3, Ground floor, Marvil Apartments, Phase II St. Cruz, Ponda, Goa. 403401 INDIA Tel.: (0832) 2312665 Mobile: 09326103278 email: [email protected]