What does M.F. Husain’s ‘renunciation’ of India mean?
Naked Sita on Hanuman's tail
For all those who are wondering why M.F. Husain “abandoned” India, here are a few thoughts (in words and pics) from an equally confused Indian.
According to Husain it was impossible for him to express his creativity in India. So what does this say about India’s claim as an open democratic society? Is Qatar more democratic than India?
Or is Indian society, followers of Hindu religion in particular, dogmatic and unable to distinguish personal expressions from religious traditions?
Durga in sexual union with Hanuman
According to Amartya Sen “The form as well as the interpretation and understanding of secularism in India can be linked to the history of the acceptance of heterodoxy.” Examples of the ‘Lokayata’ (skepticism and materialism) and Carvaka (atheism) philosophies find references in the Hindu religious texts. Is the reaction to Husain’s paintings a reversal of the tolerance of the plurality in India?
Naked Saraswati
To me the issue is not simply about Hindu sensitivities. Muslims protested the Danish cartoons, Hindus reacted to Husain’s depiction of Hindu gods; people of all religions have strongly fortified sensitivities.
Naked 'Bharatmata'
I continue to be perplexed by a different set of questions. Does Husain’s departure raise questions about laws and state of democracy in India or does it cause concern about the tolerance quotient in the land of diverse cultures? The democracy argument can be tricky. The democracy that allows Husain to express his creativity should also allow others to voice their protests. The epic of Ramayana, scared for many Hindus, also has reference to Javali, a skeptical pundit who skillfully defends his denunciation of religious practices in conversation with Rama.
So, democracy needs to take sides? Does Javali’s inclusion in Ramayana rationalize Husain’s personal depictions of Hindu gods?
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This MF Hussain story is all over Indian Media (at least for now). My initial reaction to it was good artist (though i had never followed his art) targeted for political mileage had to leave India.
But now after viewing his art (i will still call it an art despite me being hindu) I would say he had a good stint in India.
I would treat him as an average artist obsessed with nakedness and hindu gods (may be he is into Roman culture), he realized how he can sensationalize things in Hindu Majority India, got popular and then real popular and suddenly he was a great artist.
I am not sure if Leaving India for Qatar as later is more democratic is the argument Hussain is using (looks like media create this) !! If he is using then he is right, for rich man like him Qatar is surely more democratic.
However a good comparison of his art, freedom and Qatar’s democracy will come only if he does similar work on Islam. In above case Vatican is ready to embrace him with open arms !!
I dont know much about art and I dont particularly care of about Mr Hussain. What i do care about is freedom of speech and expression.
Lets take an example… I am Saraswati follower… i see or hear naked painting of Saraswati by an artist… what do i do then:
1) beat the shit out of him to make an example out of him so that nobody else dare do it again.
2) ignore it.
3) talk to that artist and tell him about Saraswati and tell him that hos work is inappropriate.
I would go with 3… appproach no. 1 would never yield any results… you can scare someone but then someone else will do the same…
the world would be such a poor place if everyone shared same beliefs and opinion… dont try to homogenize the world… understand and respect that everyone has a brain which works differently…