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Tuesday, Aug 26, 2008
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Protest against attack on art exhibition

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: A day after an exhibition showcasing the printed works of painter M. F. Husain was vandalised by miscreants at V. P. House here, a protest meeting was organised by SAHMAT on Monday.

The exhibition was organised to coincide with the three-day “India Art Summit” at Pragati Maidan, where Husain’s works were not displayed by the organisers.

Some activists, claiming to be members of “Shri Ram Sena” vandalised the exhibition on Sunday afternoon.

“In protest against the attack and the vandalism, the exhibition, which began on August 22 and was to conclude on 24, was extended in ‘as-is’ vandalised condition for a day,” said a SAHMAT member.

At the meeting, organised to condemn the attempts by right-wing forces to impose a narrow, majoritarian view of the country’s culture, CPI(M) leaders Sitaram Yechury and Brinda Karat, artists Jatin Das and Ram Rahman and classical singer Shubha Mudgal were present.

The CPI(M) Polit Bureau also strongly condemned the attack by “Hindu chauvinist elements” and demanded that the culprits be brought to book.

Attack condemned

Janata Dal (Secular) has condemned the attack on an exhibition of M.F. Husain’s paintings here on Sunday. The exhibition was organised by SAHAMAT.

“This is a grave attack on freedom of expression and the secular fabric of India”, Kumwari Danish Ali, secretary general of the party, said.

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