Paintings of 'gopis' in bikinis to banners protesting diktats: Bechara freedom of expression in India

Unless Akram Hussain has never heard of MF Husain, he could not not know that a painting of Lord Krishna surrounded by “gopis” in bikinis all hanging out in a bar would not go down well. The difference is MF Husain was already famous in the world of art and did not really have to prove anything. This Hussain probably thought a controversial painting would be his ticket to celebrity. And it certainly gave him his 15 minutes of fame. The fact that the painting is mediocre is besides the point. Freedom of expression extends to mediocre paintings, lame satire and stupid speech as well. It’s not meant only for Booker winners. Hussain’s painting seems to be tailor-made for provocation like the Charlie Hebdo cartoons. But at least those cartoons, offensive and distasteful as they might have been, wore their politics upfront. Lord Krishna alone knows what Hussain was trying to convey with his painting. And the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists, in their defence, were more equal-opportunity offenders, against fundamentalism in all garbs, while there’s no evidence that Hussain took on his own religion’s icons with similar zeal. [caption id=“attachment_2199018” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] What’s wearying about the whole episode is the predictability of it all. Unknown artist draws painting baiting religious sensibilities, in this case the religious sensibilities of another group. The group meant to take offence, takes offence on cue and an FIR is registered against him. The artist can claim to be a free speech martyr and a victim of religious intolerance in India. The offended can claim moral high ground that they took recourse to the law instead of bullets and lathis. In an ideal situation, we would roll our eyes and move on since Lord Krishna’s self-worth is hardly tied to an inconsequential piece of artwork somewhere but both sides have TRPs to gain in this game of self-righteous indignation. Freedom of expression requires we defend Hussain’s right to paint even if he have to hold our noses about his paintings while doing so. The laws to protect communal harmony and not offend religious sensibilities might have been intended as peacemakers but really exist as weapons of the bully over and over again. And not all those who take offence even bother with the law as Balbir Krishnan found out when one of his paintings at the Lalil Kala Academy was vandalized by a masked man who did not like its gay subject matter. The unfortunate side effect of this pointless painting controversy is that it distracts from plenty that is really at stake every day when it comes to freedom of expression here. Shobhaa De’s fairly innocuous jibe at a chief minister as Diktatwala draws the spectre of a privilege motion upon her. While the Shiv Sena volunteers marching on her home smartly claim the PR advantage by gifting her vada pav and misal, their MNS cousins were not so restrained when it came to octogenarian former Mumbai mayor Nana Chudasama’s banner declaiming “Promoting Marathi Welcomed. Diktat not Welcomed.” Much has been made of the fact that Chudasama is the father of BJP spokesperson Shaina NC though family ties should hardly be the basis for outrage. Shaina NC is justifiably angry. “MNS is not our ally. Just wait and see what my party does,” she tells the media. And therein lies the problem that bedevils freedom of expression over and over again. We always play politics with it. The BJP must be relieved that it’s the MNS and not its ally the Shiv Sena that was involved. But when the shoe is on the other foot, the BJP and its subsidiary groups and ideological allies have been just as trigger-happy when it comes to being offended. And the Congress has been as wanting in its defence of freedom of expression whether it’s caving in to demands for Salman Rushdie bans or the infamous Article 66A. Shaina NC should note the BJP has not condemned the privilege motion against Shobhaa De either even as she condemns the attack on her father. One woman’s diktatwala is not the same as another man’s diktat. The BJP’s ally, the Shiv Sena’s spokesperson refused to unequivocally condemn the MNS vandalism at Chudasama’s office where they manhandled the peon and broke furniture and burned the banner. How could they? The Shiv Sena is no shrinking violet when it comes to these tactics. “ This banner of Nana Chudasamma was not necessary… protest is nothing wrong,” said Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande. And so we beat on boats against the tide. It’s unlikely anything will change as long as being offended proves to be far more electorally rewarding in India than standing up for freedom of expression. And Akram Hussain’s gratuitous god in a bar with gopis in bikinis does the already beleaguered cause no favours either. As they say, with friends like these…