NEW DELHI, Oct. 9 -- Indian artists have condemned criminal charges filed against celebrated painter Maqbool Fida Husain for his depiction of the Hindu goddess Saraswati as a nude woman, reports said Wednesday. Bombay police lodged a criminal complaint against Husain Tuesday, calling the paintings a malicious effort to hurt the religious sentiments of India's Hindu majority.
Husain, a Muslim, was also accused of promoting hatred between the religions. The charges follow an appeal by right-wing Hindu political groups in the southwestern state of Maharashtra to take action against the painter. If convicted, Husain could be jailed for three years. But artists in Bombay, who gathered at an art gallery to discuss the issue, condemned the move as blatant politics and said the painter did not intend to offend any religious groups, the Press Trust of India reported. Many pointed out that Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of education, has often been depicted in the nude in carvings on ancient temples. 'The whole issue smells of political opportunism of the worst kind,' artist Akbar Padamsee was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, Husain, now in London for an auction of his paintings at Sothebys, called the legal move against him 'comical and foolish,' The Asian Age newspaper reported. 'What is obscene in art and what is not...or for that matter what is art itself...is an eternal debate,' Husain was quoted as saying. He also vowed to continue with his interpretation of Hindu deities, which he said are the legacy of all Indians. 'These icons don't belong to any particular community,' he said. 'Their appeal is universal.' Husain, 81, is one of India's most celebrated artists. The self- taught painter began his career as a Bombay sign painter and his paintings have been displayed worldwide.
