Our treatment of Hussain

News came in 2 days back about how painter Maqbool Fida Hussain had been offered Qatari citizenship. A result perhaps of his close friendship with the Queen of Qatar who had commissioned him to do some paintings. Apparently, he has accepted. Normal occurence some would say just like Sonu Nigam has taken up US citizenship. Except that Hussains case is radically different because of the circumstances that led to his exit.

One thing about the way we treated Hussain deeply troubles me: if what he painted was “blasphemous” and deserved such treatment as he received, then going by that same logic, other painters like Anjali Menon, Amrita Gill and Satish Gujral deserved to be lynched in public? People like the Shiv Sena and others in the loony right, who go after Hussain with such relish should see the way Hindu gods and godesses have been depicted by other contemporary artistes!

And if what Hussain painted was blasphemous, then I think the Shiv Sena and the RSS should go out and demolish the Temples at Hampi next. See my pictures from my Hampi ride for reference!

Why this selective targetting of Hussain? Does it have anything to do with the fact that he is a Muslim and Anjali menon is Hindu? Why are rules different based on the artistes religion? We see similar dynamics at play whenever Shah Rukh Khan’s name pops up. When “Kaho na pyar hain” released, one Mr.”T Balu” was hailing it as the end of the Muslim rule over bollywood. Both Aamir and Nandita Das spoke out against Gujarat Riots. Nandita Das’s comments were ignored, but Aamir Khan was vicously attacked. More recently, Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Akshay Kumar made pretty much the noises about Pakistan’s non-participation in the IPL.
Amazing how the loony right ignored Akshay and Preity, and went straight for Shahrukh’s jugular.

Then again: perhaps not so surprising given the nature of the right wing parties in India. Muslim artistes will remain vulnerable targets for attack which gives the parties in question a good way to stay in public eye. Very important given their increasing irrelevance in indian politics which is today guided by good governance and solid performance figures.

I think, we as a nation failed to protect Hussain enough from the violence perpetrated by the loony right and thereby lost one of the greatest painters of the modern era. I hang my head in shame!