
India’s Supreme Court today ruled that Bharat Mata (‘mother India’), a 2005 painting by M.F. Husain, is not obscene. The decision upholds a similar verdict by the High Court in Delhi on 8th May. Husain, India’s greatest modern artist, faced dozens of lawsuits after Bharat Mata was exhibited in 2006. In particular, an advertisement promoting the exhibition in the 6th February 2006 issue of India Today, which included an image of Bharat Mata, prompted a campaign against the artist by conservative Hindus. Husain has been living in self-imposed exile since the legal cases were filed.