Indiens Picasso, kaldte man den nyligt afdøde maler, M. F. Hussain, der blev 96 år gammel. Men det er ikke så let at være modernist, maler og muslim. Især ikke, når man håner hinduerne. Maqbool Fida Husain endte sine dage i frivilligt exil i London. Indiens premierminister, Manmohan Singh, sagde, at det var et tab for nationen. Interviewet med Taslima Nasreen indledes med et spørgsmål om Hussain, men handler ellers om noget helt andet:
‘I supported Husain but you can’t disown your country’
Rakhi Chakrabarty | Jun 19, 2011
For nearly two decades, Bangladeshi doctor-turned-writer Taslima Nasrin, 49, has been living in exile, driven out by fundamentalist ire in her country and in Kolkata against her liberal views. Yet, the atheist author tells Rakhi Chakrabarty that she hopes to return to the familiar grounds in Kolkata again, if not Bangladesh. Excerpts:
After M F Husain died in exile in London, you tweeted “Cry beloved country, cry”. Did you identify with him?
I believe in absolute freedom of expression. Everyone has a right to offend and be offended. So I supported Husain. In India, I see a division: some support Husain, others support Rushdie. Why can’t they support everybody’s freedom of expression? If they can’t support Rushdie, (Danish cartoonist Kurt) Westergaard, M F Husain, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Asiya Bibi and me equally, then they don’t believe in the freedom of expression. But I don’t quite understand why Husain took Qatari citizenship? I wouldn’t have done that. Was it because he was angry with Hindu fundamentalists? But they don’t make the whole of India. When Bangladesh refused to renew my passport, I used UN travel documents. You can’t disown your country.
Mere HER i Times of India.
Andre kilder: Wikipedia,
Opdatering 1. juli – Nick Cohen har en lille artikel om Husain her i Standpoint Magazine.
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