Husain represents the mythical invader

NM: This has nothing to do with Husain, Sita or Saraswati. It is to do with creating tension.

Chaitanya Sambrani: They very clearly want to say, `There is only one way of representing this god and any other way is blasphemy. We are the total custodians, sole custodians and the last word on the nature of Indian tradition’.

BSE: The bottomline is power. It is similar to the nuclear blasts. You just want to flex your muscles and make your presence felt. It gives them a sense of security. These things are props which give them the self esteem that they don’t have.

CS: For generations, it seems to me, we have suffered from a false sense of history. And this sense of history is premised on an inside-outside theory of the nation. The unspoken definition of India is that it is young, middle class, Hindu and male. All our history books, including comics, seem to have this bias. Any person standing up today and saying, `You are inheritors of aglorious tradition which was subjected to repeated attacks by outsiders and therefore is in this position of poverty. You better start attacking these people or start bursting bombs. Do something which will allow you to retain your self esteem’, finds a willing audience. We have manufactured a false history and haven’t really understood our past.

NM: I think what should be headlined in this issue is that Husain did these works 20 to 25 years ago. His `Saraswati’ was a stick drawing. Everybody calls it a painting. In fact, in the latest issue of Frontline, an art historian has been quoted as saying that there is no such thing as a Saraswati whose torso is clothed. Antecedents of Saraswati come from tribal images. It is the worship of the female organ. Also `Sita Rescued’ was done for Ramleela celebrations in Andhra Pradesh.People are forgetting their history. A parallel can be drawn from the Ganapati celebrations started by Tilak as in those days the British allowed religious processions butnot political ones. Today, it is a big event but the political background has been forgotten. And in Ramayana, which is mythology, Sita is not a goddess but a human being.

BSE: If you read various interpretations of Sita, she is really a repressed human being. A foundling. She was an orphan and then was sentenced to exile. Bangladeshi, Bengali and Maharashtrian songs talk about her plight. Women identified with her as they are in a similar situation, exiled in their own homes. What is really interesting about Sita is that she is a human figure not a goddess.

CS: And these are mythologies, stories. But there is a very sustained effort by the Sangh Parivar to see the story as history, the truth.NM: It was the artists’ who wrote the stories, artists’ who made the sculptures and painted the frescos. What is visible and audible today, is because of the artist. And they have every right to do what they want. That is their job. Even if it shocks.

BSE: Husain is a very convenient target.He is well known and he is Muslim. But he knows more about Hindu tradition than most Hindus.

NM: I think it has nothing to do with tradition. It is just harnessing the lumpen element. It is exactly like what the Nazis did to the Jews. There was so much unemployment that they created a situation where all the hatred would be contained by others. This is exactly what is happening here. They are only for the Brahmins. They are starting caste wars.

CS: The strongest opposition to these parties is coming from the Republican Party of India, who has joined hands with the Congress now. The Sangh Parivar has always been anti dalit pro upper-caste Hindus and now they have lost the Lok Sabha. As a historical accident too, these Hindus have imbibed the worst of Victorian morality. Which is why, it is possible for them to cry obscenity and without seeing anything, the average Brahmin is easily led.

Arun Sachdev: I spoke to Husain a few days ago and for the first time, he really seemed scared. He wasnot his usual cheery self. When your house is vandalised, it really shakes you up. The point is: What choice does he have now?

NM: I think it is now beyond Husain. It is now up to us.

CS: The next attack won’t be on Husain. They have just used him as a starting point. They want to be the sole presiding authority on what visual Indian tradition is. And the people most likely to contest this are visual artists, because they are the ones who make that tradition.

Artbeat: The Shiv Sena Chitrapat Shakha threatened that Husain would be stripped and paraded if Madhuri Dixit did not disassociate herself with his film Gajagamini.

AS: Who would be paraded — Madhuri or Husain?CS: Not Madhuri, Husain. Madhuri Dixit is Maharashtra’s darling girl. She is a nadir Brahmin. She is very high caste. They’ll get booed out of the country if they say that. They cannot hurt their own constituency.

BSE: What is really hurting them is that Madhuri is on Husain’s side. And theycannot take it.

CS: It is like — `She is our girl and this outsider, this dirty Muslim, is taking away our girl. He is defiling our girl like Sita when she was taken away by Ravana’. There is a parallel here between Sita, Saraswati and Madhuri. These are men out to defend their women. And Husain represents the mythical invader of Indian history. Today they have a Chitrapat Shaka, tomorrow they will have a Chitrakala Shakha.

AS: But artists will have to come forward. Anyone can write letters but one individual will have to take a stand and take risks. But the fear of violence is so much. People are scared to face what was done to Nikhil Waghle.

NM: One idea was to have an exhibition of sculptures and paintings like those of Shiva and Parvati which will show people how our tradition has depicted Hindu gods. We are also thinking that artists should do a series on the Ramayana now. I think it will happen. Specially, I can vouch for the Delhi artists. I don’t know aboutBombay.
Co-ordinated by Anu Kumar