India International Centre, the country’s cultural hub in New Delhi, got a flavor of religious fundamentalism when members of Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena, the Shiv Sena students’ wing, entered its premises and resorted to vandalism at an exhibition of renowned painter Maqbool Fida Hussain on Thursday.  

Although the Sena activists were clueless about the nature of paintings on display, they destroyed one of Hussain’s works on the pretext that they were against any kind of exhibition by the painter anywhere in India. 

The Sena activists had reportedly warned to attack the art gallery where the organizers were scheduled to hold Hussain’s 10-day exhibition on ‘India in the Era of Moghuls’ two days ago, compelling the organizers to postpone the event.

According to the exhibition sponsor Dolly Narang, the decision was taken after they received threatening phone calls and letters directing them to close the event. The organizers opened the exhibition on Sunday with beefed up security, but failed to foil the designs of the religious fundamentalists. 

According to the police, four Sena activists entered the exhibition venue camouflaged as visitors and damaged the frame of a print. Around 4 in the evening, the activists hood-winked dozens of cops on duty at the art gallery and entered the exhibition venue.

Soon they began shouting anti-Hussain slogans, distributed leaflets declaring their mission and ventured upon destroying the artist’s works. However, the cops on duty at the venue swung into action and nabbed the two culprits before they could do much damage.

The two Sena activists, later identified as Sohan Kumar Munde and Deepak Suri, were then taken to the nearby police station and thoroughly interrogated. While they were arrested on charges of breaching peace at the public place, the police said that they were yet to receive any complaints from the organizers – the India International Centre management.

On the other hand, the organizers said that two miscreants had made a futile attempt to damage the paintings at the exhibition, but were nabbed by their security and handed over to the police.

Later, one of the accused said that they had entered the premises following instructions of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and destroyed a number of paintings depicting Indian Gods and Goddesses. They also claimed that they have warned the organizers to close the show. Interestingly, contrary to these claims, there were no paintings of Gods or Goddesses on display at the exhibition.

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