Shock over 'loss' of Indian art maestro

The Indian community in the UAE reacted with shock yesterday after renowned artist MF Husain gave up his Indian citizenship and became a citizen of Qatar.

Many of them laid the blame for Husain's decision firmly at the door of the Indian Government.

"As an Indian I feel the loss very deeply," Dubai gallery owner Malini Gulrajani told Emirates Business. "He was a national treasure and we have lost him."

In 2008, a painting called Battle of Ganga and Jamuna by the artist – who was once dubbed the "Picasso of India" – sold for $1.6 million (Dh5.87m) at a Christie's auction in New York.

Yesterday, Husain applied for an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card after handing in his Indian passport at the country's mission in Doha. OCI status gives a foreign national of Indian origin the same privileges as a citizen except political and voting rights and the freedom to own agricultural property. The move means that he is no longer an Indian citizen.

Husain, 94, produced many works in a successful career spanning seven decades. However, in 1996 he found himself at the centre of controversy following the publication of a magazine article about nude images of Hindu deities that he had painted in the 1970s.

The artist fled India after receiving death threats, and since 2006 has lived in self-imposed exile in Dubai. He was threatened with legal action and had 1,250 cases against him pending all over India. But most of them were quashed and only three remain outstanding. In January, he was offered Qatari citizenship, which he accepted on Monday – thus relinquishing his Indian citizenship as the constitution does not allow dual citizenship.

Husain said: "India is my motherland and I can't leave it. I just surrendered a piece of paper, not my motherland. I will continue to travel to India and have applied for an OCI card."

1X1 gallery owner Gulrajani, a friend of Husain who has displayed works by the artist, said: "As a gallery owner it does not make a difference to me if he is in Qatar as he is still in the region. Also my relationship with Baba [father] will not change just because he has moved to Qatar. But I wish the Indian Government had protected this national treasure. However, I respect his decision and I know he must have taken it after a lot of thought. I was close to him, so I know how much he loves India and this decision must have been very difficult for him.

"The wife of the Ruler of Qatar really appreciates him and is a great admirer of his work. I suppose any artist cannot resist having a great patron, so maybe that's why he made this unfortunate decision," she added.

Dubai resident PK Gulati said: "It's a great loss to India. I wish he had not done it as it just gives too much importance and a sense of victory to those who drove him out of the country. I wish he would reverse his decision."

Another resident, Mohit Mittal, said: "It is a great loss for India as he is such a brilliant artist. There is no denying his contribution to the art world and it is sad that the Indian Government, which provides so much security to cricketers and actors, did nothing to give a sense of security to Husain.

"However, I don't understand what prompted him to take this extreme step as he had been living in Dubai for so many years and was quite secure here."

Nirupa Paulraj of Dubai said: "It's a great shame that a superb artist like him was forced into exile because the Indian Government failed to protect him. I wish the government had done something to give him a sense of security and ensure that he was not hounded out of the country by unruly elements."

But not everyone supported Husain. Sharjah resident Raj Bhaskar said: "I think he deserved what he got as he did not respect the freedom that was given to him."

And George Dhaws of Dubai said: "India is a very tolerant country, but religion is very important there and he should have understood that. Artistic freedom does not give people the licence to hurt religious sentiment."

Emirates Business tried to obtain the views of the Indian Government, but was still waiting for a comment from the consulate in Dubai as the paper went to press.

 

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