India's pseudo secular brigade is at it again. Artist M. F. Husain's decision to accept citizenship from the Middle Eastern state of Qatar and live there has them raving and ranting against the Hindu majority, blaming it squarely for forcing him out of the country.

It beggars belief that these left leaning so called liberals can't see the fact that it is the tradition of tolerance that is deeply embedded in Indian culture that gives them the very voice they use to criticise everything innately Indian, such as Hindu culture and social mores, with such impunity that borders on intellectual dishonesty and complete disrespect for the very milieu that has shaped them.

Husain is undoubtedly a well-recognised artist whose works command hundreds of thousands of dollars on the international art circuit. As much as his mastery over his craft and technique, he has built his success by regularly resorting to antics to stay in the news to raise his profile.

He has over the years put to great use the simple but clever philosophy ever so often relied on by the public relations outfits which advice Hollywood celebrities: all news - good or bad - is great so long as it polarizes people and keeps the issue in the media and the subject in the limelight. Eventually, it does great things for personal brand value. Hollywood examples of this are legion.

Husain has routinely courted controversy throughout his career by doing things out of the ordinary with the nous and elan of a marketing genius. Many years ago he decided never to use footwear and famously squatted outside a well-heeled club in Mumbai, after being refused entry because he did not have footwear on - a requirement according to the club's rules.

That simple but brilliant act catapulted him to the front pages and he has time and again used stunts like these, without doubt to preserve and increase his brand value.

Last update : 30-03-2010 13:43

Keywords : The Intellectual Dishonesty of Pseudo Secularists, Dev Nadkarni

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