SENA ACTIVISTS ATTACK HUSAIN EXHIBITION; VANDALISE PAINTINGS
New Delhi (PTI): Shiv Sena activists on Thursday attacked an exhibition of paintings by acclaimed painter M F Husain in the capital, damaging two of his works on display.
The activists managed to enter the 'Art Gallery' at the famous India International Centre here, despite a heavy police presence at the venue and prior information of Shiv Sainiks planning to attack the exhibition.
Two Sainiks entered the hall in the guise of visitors to watch the 'India in the Era of Mughals' exhibition at around 4 p.m. They shouted slogans against the artist and damaged the frames of two paintings.
One of the damaged paintings depicted Emperor Akbar and was priced at Rs 1.5 lakhs. The second painting suffered minor damage as police overpowered them when they tried to damage it.
The activists shouted slogans like 'Balasaheb (Bal Thackeray) Zindabad', 'Shiv Sena Zindabad' and 'M F Husain Murdabad' besides distributing pamphlets, which threatened to disrupt any exhibition of Husain in the country. They were later taken to the police station.
However, IIC officials said they will not close the exhibition. "If police wants us to close down the exhibition, we will do. But they have to give it in writing," they said.
The attack on the 12-day exhibition comes a day before its closure on Friday.
The exhibition ran into rough weather last week with the organisers deciding to suspend the display for a day last Saturday after curator Dolly Narang and the IIC receiving threat calls from Bajrang Dal.
Narang as well as the Centre received threat calls, SMSes and letters on December 20 and on wednesday from Delhi, Mumbai and Pune asking that the exhibition be closed.
Four men claiming to be Bajrang Dal activists barged into the room of IIC Secretary Venugopal and allegedly threatened him with dire consequences if they continued with the exhibition.
However, they defied the threat calls and decided to go ahead with the exhibition later.
The exhibition, the first major exhibition of Husain's works in Delhi after a gap of about 20 years, have 20 graphical prints of the paintings which are permanently put up at Fida Museum in London. These works are a tribute to the history of Indian cinema.
The 92-year-old artist, described by Forbes Magazine as the 'Pablo Picasso of India', is currently in self-exile in Dubai after a series of protests against him for his depiction of Hindu Goddesses.
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