Will be ‘very happy’ if Husain returns: Chidambaram

NEW DELHI - Home Minister P. Chidambaram Tuesday said the government would be very happy if eminent painter Maqbool Fida Husain, who has been given Qatari citizenship, returns home after years of self-imposed exile.

“We would be very happy if M.F. Husain returns to India,” Chidambaram told reporters in reply to a question about the 95-year-old painter, who was offered Qatar nationality last week.

Under attack from sections of the Hindu right, India’s most celebrated artist has been shuttling between Dubai and London.

The painter has many lawsuits pending against him across the country for his paintings on goddesses that some radical Hindus find sacrilegious and has been living abroad as a fugitive since 2006.

The home minister said the government had assured his family full security to Husain if he wished to return to India.

Chidambaram said there were some cases against the painter in some courts and his lawyers could find a way to put an end to those.