From: Mail Today, 12 August 2011
Fanatics haunt Husain in death
By Archana in New Delhi
A LITTLE - KNOWN group of rightwing hotheads, the Thane- based Hindu Janajagruti Samiti ( HJS), has been shooting off e- mails opposing art shows in the city where the late M. F. Husain’s works are on display.
The first target of the e- mail bombardment was the Harvest 2011 show mounted by Payal Kapoor of Arushi Arts.
Kapoor instantly withdrew the work, though it wasn’t controversial. “ It was part of a group show in which 75 artists were participating and I couldn’t have jeopardised the careers of the others,” Kapoor said in her defence.
“I went to the police and filed an FIR and withdrew the Husain canvas.” Obviously emboldened by this, the HJS fired another e- mail to the Delhi Art Gallery, which is co- hosting with DLF Emporio, a tribute to the departed master at the atrium of the luxury mall at Vasant Kunj. The show is called ‘ Celebrating Husain’. Kishore Singh, head ( publications and exhibitions), Delhi Art Gallery, confirmed receiving an email from the HJS. “ There is no sense of aggression or any demand in the letter; it seems more like a letter to the editor,” Singh said.
The HJS earned notoriety a few years back when it launched a sustained campaign against the master. As a result of threats from the HJS and pro- Hindutva groups targeting his paintings, Husain eventually left India in February 2006 and died in exile in London on June 9, 2011.
Many Husain supporters believed that the fundamentalists would bury their opposition to the master after his death, but the HJS seems to be in no mood to pipe down.
The recent HJS campaign against Husain started with a letter dated August 6 by S. G. Vatkar, the organisation’s coordinator for the Mumbai region, to Kapoor.
It ended with the plea: “ We are approaching you to request you to withdraw Husain’s work from this sale and exhibition and honour the national sentiments of Indians and religious sentiments of Hindus.” Kishore Singh said there hadn’t been any trouble at the venue of the Delhi Art Gallery exhibition. “ Ever since we got the e- mail, we have enhanced the security, but we don’t want to give legitimacy to the protest.” If the HJS is milking Husain’s name for personal gains, it is doing what it is accusing Husain’s friends of — hurting popular sentiments.
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