Reward offered for killing famous Indian artist

INDIA: A hardline Hindu group has offered an 11.5-million-dollar reward for

the murder of M.F. Husain, India's best-known artist, after he painted revered Hindu godesses in the nude.

The statement late Wednesday by the India Hindu Personal Law Board comes after a reward for the same amount was posted by an Indian Muslim politician for the beheading of any of the artists who drew controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. Husain pulled his painting depicting "Mother India" as a naked woman from an auction after protests by rightwing Hindu nationalists.

Rightwing Hindu outfits regularly target the 90-year-old Husain, who is a Muslim, for drawing their gods and godesses in the nude. Husain is also a well-known filmmaker whose first feature in 1967 won a Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival.

"Anyone who kills Husain for making obscene paintings of goddess Sarswati and Bharat Mata (Mother India), (and) the Danish cartoonist ... will be given 51 crore rupees (11.5 million dollars) in cash," the board said in a statement.

Board president Ashok Pandey said in northern Lucknow city that the amount would be doubled if the task was carried out by Yaqoob Qureshi, the state minister who announced a similar reward for the heads of the cartoonists. The fatwa was rejected Tuesday by the chief of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference who said it went against the essence of Islam.

Lucknow, Friday (AFP)