In BJP ruled Madhya Pradesh: Hateful exhibit justified as freedom of expression

Indian Express
May 17, 2007

Here Bajrang Dal fights for right to expression
Milind Ghatwai

BHOPAL, MAY 16: Freedom of expression is relative —- it changes in absolute terms from Vadodara M S University’s Fine Arts Faculty to Bhopal’s Bharat Bhavan, both centres of cultural excellence.

Hindu activists in Bhopal today came out overwhelmingly in support of an exhibition of paintings at Bharat Bhavan titled ‘The Face of Terror’, featuring Muslims as terrorists. Such was the vehemence of their call for an artist’s right to express himself that a Muslim organisation’s protest was drowned in the din.

The exhibition by Kailash Tiwari, an artist who wears his saffron affiliation on his brush, opened last evening in the capital.

Ask him about the paintings, and Tiwari, the Madhya Pradesh convener of the right-wing Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan, says: “Why does every dead or captured terrorist happen to be a Muslim?” In the past he has led a campaign against M F Husain for depicting Hindu gods and goddesses in the nude, and drawn a sketch of Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru in blood to protest against his clemency plea.

“What image comes to your mind when you think of terror,” repeats Tiwari, standing next to one of his 20 paintings, all featuring figures easily identifiable as Muslims. “Should I draw terrorists sporting a tilak or a dhoti?”

The district convener of the Bajrang Dal, Vishar Purohit, sees nothing wrong. “Why should anyone object to factual representation? The artist has every right to exercise his freedom of expression,” he reasons, while criticising in the same breath the paintings by M S University student Chandramohan, which landed him in jail. “Every Muslim is not a terrorist, but every terrorist is a Muslim,” Purohit and Tiwari add.

Incidentally, Bharat Bhavan did hold back six of Tiwari’s paintings, considering their content explosive. These covered issues like gangrape, cow slaughter and the Godhra train carnage. All paintings are on display on Tiwari’s website, www.kailashtiwari.com.

The painting on display titled ‘Sovereignty Shattered’ depicts the attack on Parliament while ‘Massacre’ shows killings of Hindus in Kashmir. In ‘A Tavesty’, the artist notes that the Tricolour cannot be hoisted in Kashmir except on official occasions. Al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden also figures in some of the paintings.

Another painting, titled ‘The Tradition’, depicts Muslims flagellating themselves in mourning. “Such a barbaric ritual like drawing blood in public should be banned. Haven’t Hindu practices like sati and bali (sacrifice) been banned by the law?” he says.

Ausaf Shahmiri Khurram of the All India Festival Committee of Muslims was among the few voices objecting to the paintings today. “Were not those who killed Rajiv Gandhi or Indira Gandhi terrorists? What about Naxalites?” he says, demanding that the exhibition be wound up for conveying the impression that all Muslims are terrorists.

Asked about this demand, another Hindu activist, Devendra Rawat, was quick to defend Tiwari. “If you oppose the exhibition, you are supporting terrorism,” he said.