M.F. Husain has ruled out returning to India so long as the climate of threat and intimidation which forced him to leave the country four years ago remains.
Mr. Husain, who recently accepted citizenship of Qatar, told a British newspaper on Saturday that he had been offered security by the Indian government but at his age, (he is 94) he did not want to spend the rest of his life living in a security bubble.
“I'm at the stage of my life where I like to work in peace and full comfort. At this age I can't just sit in one room and not go out,” he told The Times from Doha.
Expressing fears for his safety despite the Indian government's assurance of protection, he said: “The Home Secretary called saying they would provide security. I said, ‘Tell me, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi — had they lesser security?'”
Mr. Husain, famous as much for his art as for his nomadic and bohemian lifestyle, insisted that his acceptance of Qatari citizenship did not mean rejection of India.
“I will always remain an Indian-born painter. There is no ban on me,” he said, but pointed out that there were still court cases going on against him and the threat of violence remained.
Mr. Husain was forced to leave India in 2006 following a sustained campaign of harassment — including death threats — by far-right Hindu groups who objected to his paintings of Hindu goddesses, alleging they were obscene.
He said the campaign was driven by politicians rather than those with genuine religious grievances.
“Had it been that [genuine religious hurt], the head of religious groups should have spoken up. It has nothing to do with art or culture or religion. They [politicians] wanted to get heard and get the votes,” he said.
Mr. Husain, who has lived and worked in Britain in the past and was given a lifetime achievement award by a British art charity recently, said he was in talks with steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal to set up a museum in Britain.
