Warrant Issued for Arrest of Renowned Indian Artist

Maqbool Fida Hussain self portrait

Warrant Issued for Arrest of Renowned Indian Artist

03.24.06 - The New York Times' Lawrence van Gelder reports that an arrest warrant for ninety-year old Maqbool Fida Hussain, India's best-known artist, has been issued after he failed to appear in a case growing out of his painting depicting Mother India as a nude woman. After protests from Hindu nationalists, Hussain, a Muslim, withdrew the painting from a charity auction last month, but a militant organization offered $11.5 million for his murder. The warrant was issued in connection with a lawsuit filed by a Hindu in the city of Indore on the grounds that the painting was offensive. Lawyers for Hussain, expressing fears for his safety, had asked that the case be moved to New Delhi.

M.F. Hussain