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Amjad Ali Khan defends Husain

DUBAI: Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan has denounced the “culture of intolerance” affecting India, and hoped for the speedy return home from Dubai of artist M.F. Husain.

“It is sad the way M.F. Husain, a member of the artistic community, is being treated. I hope he is accepted back. After all, he has achieved so much and brought so much fame to India,” he said during a meeting with journalists.

Mr. Husain has been living in Dubai and London after right-wing groups in India threatened him over the portrayal of Hindu gods in some of his works.

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan was here for a concert hosted by the Indian Consulate General to mark the 60th anniversary of India’s Independence. He was accompanied on stage by his sons, Ayaan Ali Khan and Amaan Ali Khan.

He was worried that “intolerance had become a global phenomenon, and India had not been immune to this trend.” He said bigotry and sectarianism were “a threat which needed to be addressed at its roots — within the family and at school.”

“We need to introspect on the content and quality of our education system and recognise the crisis that has emerged because of inadequate parenting.”

Advocating respect for multiculturalism, despite the onslaught of globalisation, he said: “India should be allowed to remain India as it cannot become the U.S., just as the U.S. cannot become India.”

Asked to comment on fusion music, he said music could only become enriched with cross-cultural exchanges. “Music has no religion like water, air and fire, and it connects the world, rather than divide.” Indian music had been influenced by Persian music, as the sitar and the sarod evolved from Persian l traditions.

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