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Artists: don’t exclude Husain works from Delhi summit

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Prominent artists on Tuesday urged the organisers of the first India Art Summit — beginning here this week — to reconsider their decision to exclude the works of painter M. F. Husain from an exhibition mounted by a number of galleries from across the country.

The three-day exhibition, scheduled to open on August 22, had the support of the Union Culture Ministry, they pointed out.

In a statement issued under the banner of the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT), the signatories said: “While the organisers may have made this decision out of a fear of attacks or protests against the works of Mr. Husain, by giving in to such threats by extremist political groups, they are playing into the hands of these forces.”

It was the duty of the state and the police to protect institutions and citizens against threats of violence and “surely the Trade Fair authorities and the Delhi police are capable of confronting any such threat.”

A case in point was an exhibition held at the India International Centre last December under police protection.

“For the artist community, Husain is the reigning father-figure, commanding enormous respect. In fact, Husain has been single-handedly responsible for putting Indian art on the world map and equally responsible for creating the world market boom in Indian art without which such a summit and fair would not be taking place in Delhi at this moment. It is, therefore, deeply ironical that his work is being excluded by diktat.”

The signatories include Ram Rahman, M. K. Raina, Madan Gopal Singh, Sohail Hashmi, Parthiv Shah, Vivan Sundaram, Indira Chandrasekhar and Geeta Kapur.

In an expression of solidarity with Mr. Husain, the SAHMAT will show images of his works outside its office on Rafi Marg all three days of the summit.

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