Photo by artstander, courtesy flickr

Maqbool Fida Husain

Maqbool Fida Husain Tyeb Mehta Subodh Gupta Hindu Groups Threaten Indian Artist India Art Summit Bans Artist for Second Year Asia Week As Western Economy Heads South, South Asian Art Market Looks East Controversial Paintings of Deities Censored in Mumbai

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The 93-year-old Husain, India’s wealthiest and most famous painter, fled to Dubai after becoming a target for Hindu nationalists who opposed his portrayals of Hindu goddesses in the nude, attacking galleries that show his work, accusing him in court of “promoting enmity” among faiths, and offering a reward for his murder.

In September, India's highest court dismissed one of the cases against Husain, arguing that nudity is common in Hindu iconography. Husain said at the time that he would return home, but he now criticizes India’s current Congress Party government for failing to provide the protection that would allow him to return.

“I am working, it’s O.K.,” he said. “If things get all right, I’ll go. If they don’t, so be it. What can I do?”