India Loses Husain

India’s best known artist Maqbool Fida Husain — who went into self-imposed exile four years ago following death threats by Hindu fundamentalists incensed by his controversial paintings of Hindu gods and goddesses — has given up his Indian citizenship and become a Qatar national.

Husain said he recognized that his opponents were a tiny vocal minority and abandoning Indian citizenship did not diminish his Indian identity. “Ninety-nine percent of Indian people loved me and they still love me. I’m an Indian-origin painter. I will remain so to my last breath…. What’s citizenship? It’s just a piece of paper.”