For the past four years, the celebrated Indian painter M.F. Husain has been shuttling between Dubai and London in self-imposed exile after leaving his country amid harsh attacks from conservative Hindus, who consider his depictions of nude goddesses to be sacrilegious. Now the Qatari government has offered Husain citizenship, according to the 95-year-old artist, though he has yet to announce whether he will accept it.

In a sketch released to media outlets from Dubai, Husain drew a small horse, a common figure in many of his most prominent works, and wrote, “I, the Indian origin painter M.F. Husain at 95, have been honoured by Qatar nationality.” In a statement, Husain said that this “impending change of nationality brings to a close one of the sorriest chapters in independent India's secular history.”

Husain is, according to most reports, India’s wealthiest artist and is considered by many scholars to be its most significant painter. In 2008 he announced he would return to his homeland despite threats against his life, though he later withdrew that proposal, saying he felt the ruling conservative government in India would not be able to provide him with proper protection from potentially violent opponents of his work.

Read more at BBC News.