A hallmark of any democracy is the freedom of expression. Any man or woman has the right to express themselves. In western democracies even expression of hate and the ridiculous is also protected. That freedom is held sacred. I agree with that. India should have strong laws protecting freedom of speech.
M F Hussain death is being mourned by liberals of all walks. UPA politicians are extolling the man as is their right. I do not mourn his death. I am a Hindu. It is against my religion to speak ill of the dead. But as Voltaire said: “To the living we owe respect, but to the dead we owe only the truth”. Based on that, here is my take on this man and his approach to his art.
He definitely was a talented artist. Even a philistine like me could see that. If he wanted to paint Hindu gods and goddesses, it was his right, hypocrisy notwithstanding. His right was defended by the Indian educated class. I defend his right, repugnant paintings notwithstanding. However, the Hindus who were offended by his art had equal right to protest as a long as the protests were peaceful and did not destroy Hussain’s or anyone else’s property.
I was deeply pained when I found out that he was painting Hindu gods and goddesses in the nude. My first reaction is unprintable. My second reaction was why doesn’t he paint his own religion’s revered figures in the nude. However, after I calmed down. I did realize that it was his right to do so. It is also my right to call out the man even after his death. I am protected by Voltaire’s edict.
He was a man of the street. He started his career painting billboards. He must have been aware of the Hindu sensibilities and what impact his particular paintings would have on the Hindus. Despite of that he went through with his decision. That reflects on the mindset of that man. He may have been a talented artist but he was not a decent human being. Artists are expected to challenge the norm and break barriers but to hurt an entire community of people betrays a diseased mind.
Even as a Hindu, when I saw the picture of a so called art piece where Jesus Christ was shown immersed in urine, I was offended. The guy who made that had only one thing in mind and that was offending all the religious conservatives in the US. Despite of that grossly offensive piece of puerility, the artist was not harmed in the US. He was just ignored. That is what we should have done to M F Hussain. He should have died an ignominious death in complete anonymity instead of getting feted by the entire left wing of India (of course that speaks volumes of them).
Having said all that, I would like to say that a puerile man with a diseased mind , M F Hussain should have been protected by strong Indian laws. He should have remained unthreatened. You see, Hinduism which is the greatest religion in the world, can survive a worm like Hussain. He is gone and will get what he deserves in the afterlife but Hinduism will remain strong and the only guiding light to India. We should ignore annoyances like him and worry about what is truly important. India and what she stands for.
No comments:
Post a Comment