[Reader-list] Absence of Husain at Art Summit

Sat Aug 15 13:20:22 IST 2009

Dear all,
    it is not worthwhile to discuss the issue of Hussain and his paintings
and his artistic credibility as the list has whole lot of responses in the
archives.

   It is only, enough to reiterate that personal freedom is not absolute in
any society, civilized one, and personal freedom is not licence to hurt
others in body, mind and soul. .As long as this sense of responsibility is
prevalent, sensibility is intact, the freedom of all is safe in society.

  As to God, all faiths have the same underlining cornerstone, that God is
all powerful, graceful, omni present. But human mind being fickle needs some
symbol to concentrate on, to realize the presence of god within. The
crucified messenger of God, the walls of divine  Kaba, or the images of,
from, the  shlokas do just that, mind to focus inward for few moments
to realize the power of mind, which has God in it.

   Sabka malik ek hai. Issue is misuse of the concept of faith to garner
power to rule others in society., which is of a very short term goal, fails
in the long run as the education, health care and essentials of life are not
made available, dinity to live and earn is denied, all faiths fail as the
oppressed come out of the opium of religiosity.Spiritual mind needs faith in
oneself more than faith in the religiosity.Rituals followed without
understanding the meaning or significance of such rituals remain only
rituals , nothing more .

Regards,

Rajen.

On Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 12:39 PM, A.K. Malik <akmalik45 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Dear Mr Salim and Mr Murali,
>                               I am putting a simple question to answer: Had
> a similar nudity shown for other faiths,would the person so doing have
> survived till today with our governance system?
> Regards,
>
> (A.K.MALIK)
>
>
> --- On Fri, 8/14/09, Murali V <murali.chalam at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > From: Murali V <murali.chalam at gmail.com>
> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Absence of Husain at Art Summit
> > To: "Inder Salim" <indersalim at gmail.com>
> > Cc: "reader-list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
> > Date: Friday, August 14, 2009, 10:34 PM
> > Well who is the next hindu godess to
> > be depicted nude by M F Hussain.
> >
> > Regards,
> > V Murali
> >
> > On Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 7:01 PM, Inder Salim<indersalim at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > > Dear all
> > >
> > > please click to see
> > >
> > >
> http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pllHvmNB5GI/Sn7kVWsGT2I/AAAAAAAAAPE/lF_BbjckUgg/s1600-h/sraswati+with+text1.jpg
> > >
> > > image in solidarity with MF Hussain
> > >
> > > with love
> > > inder salim
> > >
> > >
> > > On Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 2:36 PM, ashok kumari<sahmat8 at yahoo.com>
> > wrote:
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> we are submitting a memo to the home minister on
> > Husain not being included
> > >> in the Art Summit. Please send your endorsement as
> > soon as possible.
> > >>
> > >> Minister of Home Affairs
> > >> Government of India
> > >> North Block
> > >> New Delhi
> > >>
> > >> Dear Shri Chidambaram,
> > >>
> > >> We - artists, gallerists and critics, are
> > approaching you on behalf of the
> > >> artists community on the long standing issue of
> > attempts by Hindu right-wing
> > >> groups to effectively impose a ban on exhibiting
> > any work by our greatest
> > >> living artist, 94 year old MF Husain, through
> > threats of assault and
> > >> violence. These groups, including the BJP, Bajrang
> > Dal, Sri Ram Sena, the
> > >> VHP, and the Shiv Sena have led a concerted
> > communal campaign against Husain
> > >> accusing him of blasphemy since 1996. This
> > campaign has taken a violent form
> > >> on many occasions and has also led to cases being
> > filed against the artist
> > >> in courts across India, and has led to Husain's
> > self-imposed exile.
> > >>
> > >> In a landmark judgement dismissing three such
> > cases in the Delhi High Court
> > >> in 2007, Justice Sanjay Kishen Kaul defended the
> > right of freedom of
> > >> expression under the Constitution of India. The
> > Union Ministry of Culture,
> > >> during the previous Art Summit held in 2008 had
> > categorically stated “Shri
> > >> M. F. Husain is one of the most prominent artist
> > of the country and the
> > >> absence of his works at the India Art Summit will
> > not reflect the true art
> > >> scenario of India.”
> > >>
> > >> We are very disturbed by reports that the upcoming
> > International India Art
> > >> Summit taking place at Pragati Maidan from August
> > 19-24th has asked
> > >> participating galleries for the second year
> > running to not display the work
> > >> of Husain citing fear of attacks. We enclose a
> > report from the Telegraph
> > >> which quotes them as saying that the Home Ministry
> > has offered no assurance
> > >> of security.
> > >>
> > >> We find it shocking that the work of the most
> > famous artist cannot be shown
> > >> in the country of his birth, even though he is not
> > a criminal, nor is his
> > >> work proscribed or banned. The Art Summit is being
> > attended by luminaries
> > >> from around the world, and it is a sad state of
> > affairs that we, who
> > >> justifiably pride ourselves as a great democracy,
> > cannot resist threats from
> > >> these groups who we see as no less than other
> > terrorists who threaten our
> > >> daily lives.
> > >>
> > >> We request a meeting with you to apprise you of
> > the art community's anguish
> > >> and concern.
> > >>
> > >> Yours Sincerely,
> > >>
> > >> Vivan Sundaram, Ram Rahman, Parthiv Shah, Shireen
> > Gandhi, Dadiba Pundole,
> > >> Geetha Mehra, Gayatri Sinha, Arun Vadhera, Renu
> > Modi, Ashish Anand, Devika
> > >> Daulet Singh, Geeta Kapur, Peter Nagy
> > >>
> > >> ________________________________
> > >> See the Web's breaking stories, chosen by people
> > like you. Check out Yahoo!
> > >> Buzz.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
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>
>
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-- 
Rajen.