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India: Jan 2025 Police seizure of M F Husain’s paintings following a complaint of ’hurt sentiments’ / Full text of statement by DAG Gallery Delhi

25 January

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LINKS TO SELECT MEDIA REPORTS ON THE SEIZURE OF TWO MF HUSAIN PAINTINGS (JAN 2025)

Editorial — The Hindustan Times (Jan 22, 2025)

OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM DAG (formerly Delhi Art Gallery) For Immediate Release 22 January 2025, New Delhi.

1. In late October 2024, DAG opened Husain: The Timeless Modernist, an exhibition that aimed to display the works of Maqbool Fida Husain in New Delhi. The exhibition featured a collection of works that dealt with different phases of Husain’s artistic journey from the 1950s to the 2000s, bringing together nearly hundred works including drawings and paintings that explored the idea of nationhood, portraits and self-portraits. Husain was conferred by the Government of India with Padma Shri (1966), Padma Bhushan (1973) and Padma Vibhushan (1991).
2. During the course of the exhibition, the gallery received about 5,000 visitors including scholars, academicians, collectors, students and art enthusiasts as well as journalists, garnering positive reviews in the press as well as from the public.
3. In early December, one visitor took photographs of a few drawings in the gallery and lodged a police complaint alleging that her religious sentiments were hurt after viewing the artworks. DAG, as a responsible company, complied with the due process and furnished all information as required by the police.
4. It is noteworthy that no other person among about 5,000 visitors at the gallery raised any objection to any of the artworks displayed in this exhibition.
5. The drawings in question were acquired internationally at a Christie’s auction and brought into India following due customs clearance.
6. Given its implicit belief in artistic freedom, DAG denies any wrongdoing as alleged by the complainant who has publicly claimed to be principally driven by a religious agenda (https://x.com/SachdevaAmita). In fact, the complainant has herself displayed and publicised the images of the drawings over social media and television news media deliberately intending them to be viewed by a larger audience, while contending that the same images hurt her personal religious sentiments.
7. During the investigation into the complainant’s version of events, the CCTV recordings of the exhibition at DAG’s gallery and the artworks in question were readily submitted by DAG in immediate compliance with the police’s request. After a detailed investigation spanning over 40 days and after reviewing the evidence collected from DAG(including the artworks), the police reported to the Judicial Magistrate on 20 January 2025 that no cognisable offence has been found to be committed by DAG.
8. We are given to understand that the Judicial Magistrate has reserved his decision today on the complainant’s application for the registration of an FIR against DAG. The copy of this decision is awaited and DAG shall address its contents once it is made available by the court. In any event, DAG is confident that the judicial process will eventually deliver a just and fair result.
9. In the over three decades since DAG’s foundation, the company has remained steadfast in its mission to further Indian art and culture. Its iconic exhibitions that are curated to provide historical overviews have brought to the fore important artists neglected through the passage of time while also documenting critical art movements and collectives. New generations of art lovers have been able to reclaim the inheritance of forgotten masters through DAG’s pathbreaking exhibitions at its galleries as well as participation in international art fairs, and collaborations with museums and cultural institutions in India and abroad.