When a Muslim paints nude Hindu
gods By Siddharth Srivastava
NEW DELHI - Fortunately, there have not
been virulent protests in India against the
publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed,
though close to 150 million Muslims reside in the
country. However, attention is being drawn to
Hindu fundamentalists taking umbrage at India's
top artist, M F Husain, who has been booked by
police for "hurting sentiments of people" with
paintings that depict nude gods.
The
tirade against Husain also puts into question the
often-held perception that Islam is the least
tolerant of all religions to any act
that is perceived as blasphemy. Fringe elements
exist everywhere, though it is also true that the
extent and intensity of protests by some of those
who follow Islam set the religion apart.
Last year,
Husain's painting The Last Supper sold
through an online purchase for US$2 million, the
highest ever by an Indian. He is more than 90 years
old, sprightly, very creative, known for quirks such
as walking barefoot and having an obsession for
Bollywood actresses, prominent among them being
Madhuri Dikshit, whom he has painted as well as
featured in a movie.
He is not new to
controversy and has invited the ire of right-wing
sections in the past because of his naked and
provocative paintings of various Hindu deities
(Durga, Sita, Draupadi, Saraswati), though such
depictions are very much part of Indian heritage,
whether at Khajuraho or the Konark Sun Temple.
The fact Husain is a Muslim
who chooses to depict Hindu gods the way he
wants has always angered Hindu extremists. This time
the fury is over a painting that
depicts Bharatmata ("Mother India") in the nude. The painting
is part of a series themed for "Mission Kashmir"
that are to be auctioned on the Internet to raise
funds for victims of the earthquake that struck
the state in October. Other prominent artists such
as Anjolie Ela Menon and Sanjay Bhattacharya are
also participating.
The
opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which subscribes
to Hindu majority rule, has severely
criticized Husain, with party general secretary Vinay
Katiyar demanding the arrest of the painter.
Extremist Hindu organizations have been more
aggressive. "Being a good Muslim, Husain should know
the worldwide reaction over caricatures of the
Prophet Mohammed in European newspapers," a former
Bajrang Dal (right-wing Hindu outfit) chief said. "He,
too, should refrain from repeatedly hurting the
sentiments of Hindus."
A case has been
registered against Husain in Mumbai and Thane by
radical Hindu organizations - the Hindu Janjagruti
Samiti (HJS, for Hindu reawakening) and the Vishwa
Hindu Parishad (VHP) - for hurting sentiments of
people.
The HJS has also appealed to
President Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh to take action against the "anti-national
and perverse attitude of great artists". The
deputy chief minister of Maharashtra state, R R
Patil, has said state police are conducting a probe
into the allegations. The HJS has also organized
protests in Goa, Karanataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Husain, meanwhile, has apologized and
though the offending painting has been withdrawn
from the website, it has already sold for about
$175,000, which will bring some succor to the
victims of the earthquake.
At one level
such intolerance to free expression is a
reflection of the way India is - a multi-layered
and cultural cauldron of classes, castes and
religion, liberal and conservative opinions.
It is also a sad commentary that radical
and extremist elements hold people to ransom
whenever they wish, a wasted vengeance that is
often buttressed by politicians to fulfill their
own narrow gains.
As in any other
society, one has to live with culture vigilantes
and they are well within their rights to protest
through legal means. However, it is the extent to
which they affect popular imagination, cause
violence, disrupt normal existence and cost lives
that calls for different action against them.
As has been argued very well by Asia Times
Online's Pakistan bureau chief, Syed Saleem
Shahzad (Stoking the jihadi fires,
February 8), in the case of the cartoons of the
Prophet, it is simply playing into the hands of
the jihadis.
In India, such radicals
are trouble-mongers and publicity seekers who do not
enjoy popular support and look for excuses to
create a fuss. Even if one were to consider the
hypothetical situation of Husain deliberately
trying to hurt Hindu sentiments (many say this is
unlikely), ignoring him is a better punishment,
with those who buy his art left to take their own
decision.
Fundamentalist Hindus, cadres
of the VHP or the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh
(RSS), Shiv Sena that allies with the BJP at the
national level, have attacked movie halls that
screen controversial films and art galleries
(including Husain's exhibition), as well as protested
India-Pakistan cricket matches, couples holding
hands, women wearing jeans and celebrations linked
to Western influences such as Valentine's Day. And
all in the name of cleansing society for a higher
social value system.
Last year, Sikhs
protested against the Bollywood film, Jo Bole
So Nihaal, starring top actor Sunny Deol. What
followed were bomb blasts, believed by the police
to be the handiwork of Sikh extremists, at movie
halls in New Delhi that killed and crippled many.
Muslim clerics, too, clamor for their bit
of attention. In a reflection that radicals will
be such, whether Hindu or Muslim, they have
criticized the Husain paintings. The Muslim
religious leaders claim to understand the
sentiments of Indian Muslims and the correct
interpretation of Islamic tenets. Political
parties are averse to take them on as somehow a
view has gained ground that siding with the
religious heads conveys an image of being
pro-Muslim.
By voting en masse, Muslims
offer a powerful vote bank. Such a strategy has
been followed for long by national parties such as
the Congress party in the past (the Shah Bano
case, wherein the Congress in power overturned a
ruling by the Supreme Court to provide maintenance
due to divorce) and continues to the present.
Emboldened, Muslim clerics continue to issue
irrational diktats. They include the
instance of the alleged rape of a Muslim woman,
Imrana, by her father-in-law. The clerics declared
that Imrana should treat her husband as a son and
move in with her alleged rapist. In another recent
case, Muslim women were asked not to contest in
local elections in the state of Uttar Pradesh, and
those who went out to vote were ordered to wear
veils.
India's tennis
sensation Sania Mirza has been a victim. While Mirza is
a national icon because of her tennis victories, fatwas
(edicts) that she "covers up" have continued to
fly, issued by known and unknown Muslim clerics.
They want her, as a devout Muslim, to wear long
pants and full-sleeved shirts, the way it is with
sportswomen of Muslim countries such as Iran or
Pakistan.
Issues related to sex, too,
invite as much attention as religion. Recently,
Khusboo, rated among the top actresses in southern
India - with temples dedicated to enable fans to
worship her - said in a magazine interview that
premarital sex was okay provided it was safe,
consensual and between adults.
The
brouhaha included statewide protests, rallies,
burning and beating of her effigies with
chappals (slippers) as well as court
cases. Local politicians keen to play the caste card because
of upcoming elections in the state fanned the
fire.
A local court (as affected by the
social and cultural milieu) issued a no-bail
warrant against the beleaguered actress, who was
at pains to explain that her views had been blown
out of proportion.
In another instance, an
Israeli couple who kissed after marrying according
to Hindu rituals at the famous religious
destination Pushkar in Rajasthan were in for shock
and harassment after priests filed a complaint
with the police that they defied Hindu religious
norms by doing so.
There are
reports of more foreign couples being victimized
by priests at Pushkar. A hotel was forced to shut
down in Chennai, the capital of Tamil
Nadu, after pictures appeared in the media of a couple
kissing at a party in the premises. In the past,
Hindu fanatics have attacked film halls playing
the movie Fire that dealt with a lesbian
relationship.
Indeed, the rights to protest
and express one's opinion should co-exist in any
society, with proper channels of legal redress
that reflects popular emotions and sentiments.
This is easier said than done. The dividing lines
always get muddled.
Siddharth
Srivastava is a New Delhi-based
journalist.
(Copyright 2006 Asia Times
Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us
for information on sales, syndication and republishing
.)
