 "How MF Husain’s paintings are courting controversy again")
Renowned Indian painter Maqbool Fida (MF) Husain’s works are in the limelight again. A court in Delhi has called for the seizure of two of his “offensive” paintings exhibited at the DAG after an advocate filed a complaint.
On Monday (January 20), the court ordered the police to confiscate Husain’s artworks featuring the Hindu deities Hanuman and Ganesh following advocate Amita Sachdeva’s complaint that they “hurt religious sentiments”. She also sought an FIR against DAG, formerly Delhi Art Gallery, and its owners or directors for displaying the “offensive” paintings.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Sahil Monga of the Patiala House Court reserved his order on the FIR on Wednesday.
Let’s take a closer look.
MF Husain’s paintings to be seized
Advocate Amita Sachdeva, who practises at the Delhi High Court, took to X on December 4 to express her displeasure with two of MF Husain’s paintings displayed at DAG.
She said she photographed the “offensive paintings” at the art gallery, and after researching previous FIRs against Husain, filed a police complaint five days later.
“However, during a visit with the IO [Investigating Officer] on 10.12.2024, the paintings were removed and falsely claimed they were never displayed,” Sachdeva alleged.
The DAG hosted the exhibition Husain: The Timeless Modernist displaying over 115 pieces from October 26 to December 14.
Sachdeva later urged the court to preserve the CCTV footage from the gallery for the period when the exhibition showcased Husain’s paintings.
On January 4, Judge Sahil Monga said the report filed by the investigating officer stated that the CCTV footage was preserved and submitted along with the report, reported Indian Express.
The Delhi Police inquiry found that the exhibition was organised in a private space and was intended only to display the artist’s original work, the judge observed, as per BBC.
Advocate Makrand Adkar, representing Sachdeva, told the court that the paintings were showcased in a public place and not a private place, as mentioned in the inquiry report. He said the complainant was an eyewitness herself.
“The most revered entities of Sanatan Dharm, Hanuman and Ganesh, were insulted in the paintings… This is obscenity. It is a deliberate and malicious attempt to insult Hindu deities,” advocate Makrand Adkar, representing Sachdeva, said to the court, according to the Indian Express report.
“Thousands saw our deities… they were made objects of ridicule,” he added.
Sachdeva’s counsel then sought an FIR against DAG through its owner and director under Section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
DAG responds
Responding to the controversy, the DAG said it had been assisting the police in the inquiry. It added that the exhibition attracted about 5,000 visitors and had received “positive reviews in the press as well as from the public”.
The art gallery further pointed out that the complainant was the only one to object to any of the artworks in the exhibition, reported BBC.
“The complainant has herself displayed and publicised the images of the drawings over social media and television news media deliberately intending them to be viewed by a larger audience, while contending that the same images hurt her personal religious sentiments.”
It said a “detailed” police investigation found no “cognisable offence” by the gallery.
As per Indian Express, the DAG said Tuesday: “Pending an enquiry into a few select works of MF Husain at a recent exhibition, DAG is reviewing the situation and seeking counsel. We are not party to any court proceedings so far, and are trying to follow the developments. We will come back to you as soon as we have an update on the issues at hand.”
MF Husain and his many controversies
MF Husain, a Padma Vibhushan recipient, was referred to as the “Picasso of India”.
A devout Muslim, Husain in a series called Theorama created works inspired by the Ramayana, Mahabharata, the Battle of Karbala, Sikh literature, and Christianity, noted ThePrint.
Credited with bringing Indian modern art onto the global map, most of his artworks were celebrated but some courted controversy.
Husain faced flak and was accused of obscenity by the right wing for his painting of a nude Hindu goddess.
In 2006, he issued a public apology for his nude painting, Bharat Mata or Mother India. Husain left India the same year moving to London in a self-imposed exile.
Two years later, the Delhi High Court quashed three cases against him accusing him of hurting public sentiments with his Bharat Mata painting. In a major relief for the painter, the Supreme Court in 2008 refused to initiate criminal proceedings against Husain, ruling that his paintings were not obscene and that nudity was common in Indian iconography and history, as per BBC.
“There are so many such subjects, photographs and publications. Will you file cases against all of them? What about temple structures? Husain’s work is art. If you don’t want to see it, don’t see it. There are so many such art forms in temple structures,” the apex court said.
Husain, who faced abuse, assault and multiple legal cases in India, died in 2011 aged 95 in London, away from his homeland.
With inputs from agencies
 "Trump’s Munir outreach, India tariffs aren’t strategy — it’s about a Nobel: Ex-NSA John Bolton")
 "Zelenskyy could cede some of Ukraine's territory in peace deal: Report")
 "Can Delhi follow the Netherlands’ example to end its stray dog crisis?")
 "Trump 2.0 and the end of strategic trust: Why Bharat must prepare for a long separation from America")
 "Trump’s Munir outreach, India tariffs aren’t strategy — it’s about a Nobel: Ex-NSA John Bolton")
 "Zelenskyy could cede some of Ukraine's territory in peace deal: Report")
 "Can Delhi follow the Netherlands’ example to end its stray dog crisis?")
 "Trump 2.0 and the end of strategic trust: Why Bharat must prepare for a long separation from America")
