(The Times of India, 26 August 2008)
Editorial
Don't Give In
It’s happened once again. Vandals smashed prints and photographs of M F Husain’s paintings which were on display at an exhibition in Delhi. The culprits were members of a little-known outfit called the Shri Ram Sena. This is, of course, not the first time that the 92-year-old artist’s works have been targeted by Hindu extremists. In 1996, members of the Bajrang Dal stormed into an art gallery in Ahmedabad and destroyed several paintings and tapestries by Husain. The pretext was Husain’s controversial painting of Saraswati. Two years later, vandals broke into Husain’s Mumbai home and damaged it to protest against his depiction of Hindu deities. These incidents and several court cases against him in different parts of the country prompted Husain to go into exile.
The latest instance of vandalism could have been prevented if adequate security had been provided. Since the police had been informed of the exhibition they should have arranged for security. One doesn’t have to be a Sherlock Holmes to figure out that a Husain exhibition is likely to be targeted. If the police are guilty of looking the other way, the violent attacks on Husain’s paintings show up a worrying erosion of tolerance and freedom of expression, values that are deeply ingrained in India’s Constitution. Those who disagree with Husain are welcome to oppose exhibition of his works. But they must do so peacefully as is done in most other democracies. When the ‘Last Temptation of Christ’ was released in the US, some Christian groups were opposed to it. They protested in front of cinema theatres but did not try to stop screening of the film.
Unfortunately, the government seems to be giving in to the extremists. Husain’s paintings have not been included in the ongoing India Art Summit in Delhi, supported by the Union ministry of culture. The parallel exhibition of Husain’s works was organised to protest against his exclusion. This is not the only instance of the government succumbing to pressure. Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen was virtually hounded out of the country by Muslim radicals and the government did precious little. Now that she’s back, security agencies have restricted her movement prompting her to consider leaving India once again.
Those who violently target artists or writers for their works have no place in a democracy. They must be arrested and punished. But what is more disturbing is the government’s ambivalent stand on freedom of speech and expression. If the government cannot ensure that Husain or Nasreen have the freedom to express themselves or even live in India, then it ends up undermining some of the basic tenets of our Constitution.
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