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Eminent artist 95 year old M.F. Husain "Picasso of India" who was hounded out of India because of his nude paintings of Hindu Goddesses has been offered Qatar nationality. He did not ask for it but it was conferred upon him by the emirate's ruling family.
Hussien a maverick but brilliant painter who walks round barefooted has always been in news, firstly because of his paintings mainly of horses, the leitmotif of much of his work He has also worked (produced & directed) on few movies, including Gaja Gamini (with his muse Madhuri Dixit who was the subject of a series of his paintings which he signed Fida). The film was intended as a tribute to Ms. Dixit herself. In this film she can be seen portraying various forms and manifestations of womanhood including the muse of Kalidasa, the Mona Lisa, a rebel, and musical . He had painted many paintings of her depicting various roles.
Since 2006, 95-year-old Mr Husain has been living in Dubai and in London In 2006 he apologised for a painting in which he represented the country as a nude goddess. In the mid-1990s there were huge protests in Mumbai (Bombay) after he painted a whole series of nude Hindu goddesses.
Hindu nationalist groups accused the artist of hurting their religious sentiments and defiling their religion.
Mr Husain estimates that there are 900 cases against him in various courts of India. He says that he has been harassed by mobs in the country and his exhibitions have been vandalised.
As per Wikipedia
Salil Tripathi, writing in the International Herald Tribune, notes that Hindu goddesses have regularly been portrayed in the nude by Hindu artists. Tripathi asserts that,
“ It is hypocritical to place curbs on Husain's artistic freedom. What's more shameful is that a government that claims to be the secular alternative to Hindu nationalists is threatening to prosecute Husain. This does not do India proud; it adds to India's disgrace. ”
Other Indian artists have expressed criticism. Satish Gujral has gone on record to ask Hussain whether he will be bold enough to treat icons of Islam in the same manner. However Gujral says he deeply regrets the way Husain was treated and forced into an exile because of what he terms "the mob culture". According to a senior Hindu artist and former President, Bombay Art Society, Gopal Adivrekar,
“ Nothing is bad in being creative but the artists should not go for such artwork, which may hurt the sentiments of a segment of the society. ”
Writing in The Pioneer, Chandan Mitra wrote,“ As long as such a law exists in the statutes, nobody can be faulted for approaching the courts against Hussain's objectionable paintings, nor can the judiciary be pilloried for ordering action against the artist for his persistent and deliberate refusal to appear before the court." Government sources said that since India does not recognises dual citizenship so Husain will have to give up his Indian citizenship if he wants to become a Qatari citizen.
