M.F. Husain: Qatari citizen, Indian at heart
Husain was hounded out of India in May 2006 following a string of court cases by radical forces who took offence to his depiction of Hindu gods and goddesses
Dubai: The grand old man of Indian art M.F. Husain has said his newly acquired Qatari citizenship will not impede his return to his home country.
In town to showcase his works (a collection of limited edition imprints at the Capital Club, DIFC) on Thursday, Husain said: "I can go to India any time, it's only that I no longer have the right to vote there. Anyway, I don't care much about it as I have never exercised my franchise."
So, what's holding him back?
"My work, of course. I have three major projects under way. I can't leave them halfway," he said.
India will have to wait before Husain, 95, turns a centenarian because, by the artist's own conservative estimate, it will take him "between 4 and 5 years to complete the projects". The works include paintings tracing the history of Indian civilisation from Mohenjo-daro to Manmohan Singh; the history of the Arab civilisation dating back to Babylon and 100 years of Indian cinema.
Husain was hounded out of India in May 2006 following a string of court cases by radical forces who took offence to his depiction of Hindu gods and goddesses. He described his detractors as "worse than Nazis" and compared himself to Galileo who also had to leave his country.
Before accepting Qatari citizenship in February this year, Husain lived in self-imposed exile in London and Dubai.
"Creativity knows no boundaries. I go where my work takes me," he said, adding he has deep respect for the Indian law and was not running away from it.
"Had I been young I would have fought for myself. I want to work in peace and have left the legal battle to my lawyers in India. Why do you think I am spending Rs60,000-Rs70,000 [Dh5,000-Dh6,000] on them every month?" he asked, before adding with a smile, "It's almost like a tax."
