I wrote this piece in Feb �06 but because of work and travel, never got around to finalising it.

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On BBC World Service this morning (9th Feb �06), an interview with the 12 cartoonists who drew images of Prophet Mohammed for the Danish newspaper last year:��Our lives have become complete hell�we do not think it will ever change�.

The cartoonists are all in hiding and have been give police protection. There is a bounty on their head and a very real risk to their lives.

Contrast this with our own situation:
MF Hussain apologises and withdraws a nude painting of �Bharat Mata� that he had donated to a charity to raise funds for the Tsunami victims. Impeccable timing – as you can imagine.

But few remember that this was not the first time that he had drawn provocative and hurtful nude images � Several years ago, in 1998, he first exhibited images of Goddess Saraswati, Sita and Draupadi � Sita is worshipped across large parts of India alongside Lord Ram, one of the main deities of Hindus and there is no doubt that these images tested the limits of �taste� and tolerance � yet Hussain continued to be feted by the country�s intelligentsia and protesters were dismissed as a bunch of Hindu fanatics, �thugs� and opponents of artistic freedom.

And yet, I hear no voices from these very people in support of the �artisitic freedom� of the 2 Danish cartoonists and several newspapers across the world that published the cartoons.

Why these double standards?

Is it OK to make fun of certain beliefs while being respectful of others?
Are certain religions fair game for parody and satire (how many times have you seen Hanuman being referred to as the �Monkey God�?) while others need to be treated with kid gloves?

Artistic freedom and freedom of expression cuts both ways � so I am somewhat surprised that Hussain hastily changed his position and apologised for the images � instead of coming out in support of the 12 cartoonists.

Ironically, the Muslim Brotherehood achieved what the Bajrang Dal could not � an apology from the painter!