Manthratalk: The First Word : M.F. Husain and His Nudes of Hindu Dieties is Bull...

Manthratalk: The First Word : M.F. Husain and His Nudes of Hindu Dieties is Bull...: M.F. Husain’s Paintings represent bullying; they don’t represent secularism Some misguided people of India painstakingl...

M.F. Husain and His Nudes of Hindu Dieties is Bullying

M.F. Husain’s Paintings represent bullying; they don’t represent secularism

Some misguided people of India painstakingly portrayed paintings of Husain as representing secularism and secularist interests. However, Husain’s paintings only demonstrate the selective derision of Hinduism than anything else. The recent issue of Charlie Hebdo killing makes one wonder about Husain. Unfortunately, Charlie Hebdo was not as conniving as Husain. He drew cartoons on many religious figures and his secularism was evident in all of his work. Husain only drew mocking paintings of Hindu deities, but not others. Husain’s followers (many were Hindus) and coreligionists have praised him for his mocking paintings of Hindu deities. However, Husain’s coreligionists were not as tolerant when it comes to their own religion. They are only tolerant when it comes to other religions than their own. They never bothered to condemn Husain’s caricatures of Hindu deities but did so with Charlie Hebdo cartoons, and some even went so far as to kill Charlie Hebdo. Maybe one should be crafty like Husain to receive international fame and acclaim at the expense of other religions, but not their own. 

One should not banish cartoons or drawings on any subjects including religious subjects. However one should be mindful of the choice, and question if one were to single out and draw discriminatory paintings or cartoons on a single religion. Targeting a single religion would constitute bullying rather than secularism. On that note, it can be said that Husain's paintings are a bullying tactic.

Husain’s nudes of Hindu deities

I suppose, we could assume that Husain is doing a great favor to Hindus by drawing these images trying to open them up for secularism and be open to taking any critique (even if it is silly) in stride. But why not render the same favor to other religions- may be his own religion? Why not draw Fatima or Aisha or Mohammad, if not nude at least in the loving embrace of each other? He shows quite a restraint when it comes to Islamic subjects, but goes berserk when it comes to Hindu subjects. What is wrong? For Husain Hinduism seems to be an easy target, a religion that could be mocked and made fun of with a couple of free and easy brush strokes. The paintings don’t even have to look good. He even won the highest civilian award for being so reckless with his drawings of Hindu deities. It even won him international acclaim and sympathy from anti-Hindu elements worldwide. He is even seen as a protector of Muslim sentiments and welcomed with open arms to immigrate to Khatar. Would the followers of other religions be as tolerant if he were to draw similar paintings of their revered deities? He did not even draw nudes of Hindu deities, he went even further; he drew caricatures of them. Would he similarly dare to draw caricatures of deities of other religions? Well, we know the answer, he never dared to do it; in fact, he never even contemplated doing such a thing: One of the reasons he is regarded as the champion of the interests of Islam. His nudes of Hindu deities clearly show that he harbored animosity towards Hinduism, which came out in the form of his paintings.

Caricatures of Hindu deities

What has Sita ever done to anyone? Her life was so lonely and so sad. She loved Rama, and suffered her whole life for being loyal to Rama, who cared more about his prestige and kingly duties than his wife. How can anyone be so mean to Sita as to draw her nude riding on the shoulders of Hanuman? Hindus have always revered Sita as the most loyal wife of Rama. Stories of her faithfulness to Rama is part of her story. In fact, one of the common stories anyone hears about Sita is that she refused to go home when Hanuman visited her in Lanka and requested her to do so. Sita had told Hanuman to just convey her message to Rama. Why is it that Husain cannot be sympathetic to Sita and had to draw her nude riding on the shoulders of Hanuman? Was he such a misogynist that he is not interested in understanding feminine sorrows, or was he trying to mock Sita for being loyal to her love in times of intense struggle? Where does his sympathy lay? Does he hate monogamy? Is Husain’s issue with monogamy or Rama or Sita? May be living most of his life single might not have helped him understand the pleasures of monogamous love. At least he should respect the sentiments of others who understand it and still practice monogamy. 

There can be only one reason to do these paintings, either fame or to prove his superior intellect by bullying others by proving other's beliefs as silly. It seems likely that towards the end of his life he became a megalomaniac and probably not sure what he had to do to fulfill his desire. If not, then it is only probable that he  had harbored such animosity towards his fellow countrymen who are Hindus that he had to express it in such a way as to bully them and prove his superiority. Otherwise, it is difficult to understand how or why he would resort to drawing such images, which he had never done before during his long career. The government of India should politely withdraw the civilian award Padmasri bestowed on him for his reckless drawings that hurt the sentiments of millions of Hindus worldwide. 

Himalayan Earthquakes: Why the Building Boom and Tunnels Must Stop

Himalayan Earthquake: A Disaster on the Roof of the World

The world woke up to the disastrous earthquake in the Himalayas today, April 24, 2015. This is what the scholarly and scientific community had been warning South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia in the past few decades. Constructions, especially urbanization and building of roads especially tunnels underneath the Himalayan mountain ranges have proven disastrous in this area. This is exactly what I have discussed in my recent article, "Himalayan Ranges, Glaciers, Lakes and Rivers: An International Ecological, Economic and Military Outloook," (Webb, J., and Wijeweera, A. Eds. 2015. Political Economy of Conflict in South Asia: Causes, Implications & Solutions. London: Palgrave - http://www.amazon.com/Political-Economy-Conflict-South-International-ebook/dp/B00TR5JF7I/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1429988347&sr=1-2&keywords=Wijeweera). Military and economic activity of nations in this region is exposing Himalayas to undue stress and danger pushing it into facing disastrous consequences. I cannot emphasize enough of the impending dangers of such militaristic and building activities in the Himalayan regions. China's planned five tunnel roadway connecting southern Tibet to Nepal, and the large Hydro-electric project planned in Tibet would further push this region into danger. Instead of bringing development to this region such large dams, and roadway tunnels only spell impending disaster to this region.

Pushing Himalayas into danger is not only a problem for Tibet or Nepal, but the whole of Asian region.  Any large earthquakes may spell absolute danger since it may cause avalanches, and make the rivers to change course. Any collapsing hill ranges, and flooding rivers will not only cause dangers to the immediate foothills in the Himalayas, but would bring environmental consequences for the deltas of Ganga-Yamuna, Indus and Sutlej rives in India and Pakistan; Brahmaputra and Padma rivers in India and Bangladesh; and other large rives in China and Southeast Asia. 

Large nations like India and China must proceed with caution and build an alliance to protect the Himalayas and avert danger through reducing construction and military activity in the Himalayas. 

Historical Significance of Amaravathi: Name of Andhra's New Capital

Amaravathi is the Best Name For Andhra Capital

The state government of Andhra Pradesh has recently announced the name of its new capital to be Amaravathi, a name that evokes historical significance, religious legends, linguistic and artistic achievements. Andhra Pradesh state has kept the old name, while ten districts separated from it are called Telangana formed the new state. However, there are some new opportunities in front of Andhra Pradesh to name its new upcoming capital, ports, and airports. This is an opportunity for Andhra Pradesh to reflect on its rich heritage and draw appropriate names from its great historical past to inspire and infuse future generations of Andhra Pradesh with pride, and self respect.

Naming of new state capitals with historical significance or changing the names of existing state capitals to reflect their respective historical significance is not an uncommon occurrence in India. For example Gujarat separated from Maharashtra, and their new capital is appropriately named Gandhinagar. The names of capital cities of Maharashtra, Bengal, and Tamilnadu are changed accordingly in the recent past to reflect their past cultural heritage.

Name is an important aspect of a culture, and Andhra Pradesh has an important and long historical heritage behind its existence, which must be reflected by the name of its new capital appropriately. Historically, the Krishna-Guntur region of Andhra Pradesh has been a focal center of Philosophy, literature, and religion. This place is memorialized by a number of eminent personalities of Andhra Pradesh who have made this region their residence. Several Andhra dynasties are well known not only in Andhra Pradesh, but across India. Satavahana, Ikshvaku, Kakatiya, and Vijayanagara dynasties come to mind right away. Numerous literary stalwarts also graced the land of Andhra Pradesh. Nagarjuna's Madhyamikavada is known not only in India, but across the world. It is a noted fact that Srikrishna Deva Raya composed his Amuktamalyada after a vision from Andhravishnu (also known as Srikakulandhravishnu), when he visited the temple in Srikakulam of Krishna district. Acarya Nagarjuna spent part of his life in Nagajunakonda monastery in Guntur district. 

Satavahanas empire is the first significant historical state of Krishna-Godavari river basin. Satavahanas are also known for supporting Buddhist and Hindu religions equally. Krishna-Guntur region also has several firsts to its credit. The first temple of India was discovered in the Nagarjunakonda excavations in the Krishna river basin. The excavations also revealed inscription dedicated to Ashtabhujaswami, the first inscription dedicated to Vishnu, in his eight-armed form. One of the major Satavahana trading cities is Amaravathi. Several trade routes of India are connected mainly through waterways connecting cities across India. Amaravathi  is a central city with two roads  each passing from north to south on its right and left sides respectively. Selecting the name Amaravathi as the name of the new capital of Andhra Pradesh is a fitting reminder of this historical heritage.  Linguistically, Amara is a Sanskrit word, which means 'eternal', or 'endless'. It is also the name of the capital city hosting the residence of King of Gods, Indra, eternally reverberating with fine arts entertaining gods, and goddesses endlessly.

Any capital built between Guntur and Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh will be well served by drawing on the names associated with Satavahana cultural heritage which flourished in the Krishna river basin indicating its connection with historical as well as divine legends.  Amaravathi is hence a fitting name reminding of Andhra Pradesh of great historical, religious and artistic background.