14 yrs after death, Husain remains on saffron radar

Husain's 25 artworks to be auctioned on June 12 as per court orders; saffron outfit calls for ban

- Saurabha Kulshreshtha

MUMBAI: More than two dozen rare paintings by M F Husain will go under the hammer on June 12, evoking a sense of déjà vu. The Indian modernist has, over the years, drawn the attention of saffron outfits for his bold and controversial depiction of Indian gods and goddesses and, on one occasion, Bharat Mata (Mother India). It is this sense of outrage accompanied by protest that has returned 14 years after the artist's passing.

The 25 Husains to be auctioned on June 12 have been caught in legal crosshairs. These paintings were secured by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) as part of a case involving an unpaid loan of ₹236 crore by industrialist Guru Swarup Srivastava's Swarup Group of Industries.

The artworks are part of Husain's 'Our Planet Called Earth' series and titled under the auction theme 'MF Husain: An Artist's Vision of the XX Century'. The price they fetch at the auction, at the Pundole Art Gallery, will contribute to the recovery of the loan default.