Paintings of Hindu gods by ‘Picasso of India’ seized for being ‘offensive’

Three days aft a tribunal successful India ordered the seizure of 2 paintings by late creator MF Husain implicit a ailment that they were “offensive,” the assemblage displaying them powerfully opposed the “unfounded allegations” successful a lawsuit that sets artistic freedom successful the state against personal spiritual values.

The Delhi High Court connected 20 January permitted constabulary to prehend the paintings aft a lawyer named Amita Sachdeva complained the artworks – featuring Hindu deities Ganesha and Hanuman alongside nude pistillate figures – “hurt spiritual sentiments”.

In an X station connected 13 December, Ms Sachdeva said she had taken photos of the “offensive paintings” astatine the Delhi Art Gallery and filed a constabulary ailment connected 9 December aft “researching past FIRs against MF Husain”.

Maqbool Fida Husain, dubbed the “Picasso of India”, was 1 of South Asia’s astir renowned artists but nary alien to controversy, repeatedly accused of obscenity by Hindu groups for coating deities successful the nude oregon with nude figures.

In 2006, Husain issued an apology for his coating of “Mother India”, depicting a nude pistillate successful the signifier of the country’s map. He felt compelled to permission India and lived successful self-imposed exile successful London until his decease successful 2011, aged 95.

The paintings ordered seized by the tribunal were portion of an accumulation titled Husain: The Timeless Modernist, featuring 100 “pivotal works that bespeak his almighty interpretations of Indian life, culture, and modernity”. It ran from 26 October to 14 December.

The assemblage told The Independent the accumulation saw astir 5,000 visitors, “including scholars, academicians, collectors, students and creation enthusiasts arsenic good arsenic journalists, garnering affirmative reviews successful the property arsenic good arsenic from the public”. “It is noteworthy that nary different idiosyncratic among astir 5,000 visitors astatine the assemblage raised immoderate objection to immoderate of the artworks displayed successful this exhibition,” it said.

The paintings, the assemblage said, “were acquired internationally astatine a Christie’s auction and brought into India pursuing owed customs clearance”.

In her station connected X, Ms Sachdeva alleged that erstwhile she visited the assemblage again with a constabulary serviceman connected 10 December, the paintings had been removed and the assemblage “falsely claimed they were ne'er displayed”.

“This connection of Ms Sachdeva is patently mendacious and malicious,” a spokesperson for the assemblage told The Independent. “When the investigating serviceman enquired astir the artworks displayed during the exhibition, we provided the full database of artworks on with their photographs, including those works which she claims to person photographed during her archetypal sojourn to the gallery. It is evident she is deliberately creating a mendacious communicative to garner attraction due to the fact that nary 1 astatine DAG has ever offered immoderate remark oregon mentation to her astatine immoderate constituent of time.”

The paintings displayed during the accumulation were “routinely replaced with different works of the creator truthful that each his works get their deserved show clip during the exhibition”, they added.

The Independent has reached retired to Ms Sachdeva for comment.

According to media reports, Ms Sachdeva demanded the tribunal analyse the gallery’s CCTV footage to find retired erstwhile the paintings were moved and why.

“Given its implicit content successful creator freedom, the Delhi Art Gallery denies immoderate wrongdoing arsenic alleged by the complainant who has publically claimed to beryllium principally driven by a spiritual agenda,” the assemblage said.

“In fact, the complainant has herself displayed and publicised the images of the drawings implicit societal media and tv quality media deliberately intending them to beryllium viewed by a larger audience, portion contending that the aforesaid images wounded her idiosyncratic spiritual sentiments.”

In its bid connected Monday, the tribunal said constabulary had seized the CCTV footage and filed a report, which stated the accumulation was held successful a “private space” and was lone intended to showcase the artist’s archetypal work. It further said the paintings had been taken from the assemblage and were present with police.

Ms Sachdeva’s counsel Makrand Adkar took objection to the constabulary study calling the assemblage a backstage abstraction since it was unfastened to the nationalist oregon other “the complainant wouldn’t person visited” it, Hindustan Times reported.

“The astir revered entities of Sanatan Dharm, Hanuman and Ganesh, were insulted successful the paintings,” the lawyer claimed. “This is obscenity. It is simply a deliberate and malicious effort to insult Hindu deities. Thousands saw our deities…they were made objects of ridicule.”

The Independent reached retired to Ms Sachdeva for remark aggregate times but had not received a effect astatine the clip of publication.

Ms Sachdeva had asked for a lawsuit to beryllium registered against the assemblage connected charges of deliberately and maliciously outraging spiritual feelings. The court, however, dismissed the petition.

In a connection to The Independent, the assemblage said it “strongly opposes the complainant’s unfounded allegations and shall telephone retired her effort to motorboat a malicious prosecution against the Delhi Art Gallery, erstwhile called upon by the tribunal to bash so”.

The assemblage besides “intends to prosecute its ain ineligible remedies against the complainant for the mendacious and mala fide accusations made by her”.

Indian courts person historically protected Husain’s close to creator liberty. In 2008, the Delhi High Court dismissed obscenity charges against him portion cautioning that “a caller puritanism is being carried retired successful the sanction of taste purity”.

“Ancient Indian creation has been ne'er devoid of eroticism wherever enactment worship and graphical practice of the national betwixt antheral and pistillate has been a recurring feature,” it said.

The Supreme Court successful 2011 upheld the decision, declaring that Husain’s works were protected nether the law proviso guaranteeing the state of code and expression.