MF Husain surrenders Indian passport

Dubai, Mar 8: Renowned artist MF Husain has surrended his Indian passport to the country's mission in Doha, according to media report on Monday, Mar 8.

A newspaper report said that Husain went to the country's mission in Doha and surrendered his Indian passport on Sunday, Mar 7.

An Indian Embassy official in the report said that Husain surrendered his passport as India does not recognise dual citizenship.

"So in such a situation, surrendering passport by the person concerned is mandatory and Husain has only done that," the official said.

According to sources, 95-year-old Husain had an almost two-hour meeting with Indian Ambassador in Qatar Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa.

This step by Husain, who was recently conferred a Qatari citizenship, will come as major blow to his fans back home India who are appealing to the government to bring him home.

Earlier, Husain's son Owais Husain informed that his father had accepted the Qatari citizenship and is no longer an Indian citizenship.

Husain was in a self-imposed exile after he was forced to leave India in 2006 by Hindu fundamentalists for hus nude paintings

of Indian god and goddesses.

Though he had earlier expressed his desire to return to India, no immediate steps were being taken to bring him back home.

Reacting reports of Husain being granted Qatari citizenship, the Indian government while calling Hussain as the 'pride of

India' said that the government was willing to provide him with security.

"There is no case against M F Husain. Supreme Court has quashed all the cases against him," home secretary G K Pillai had recently said. He said the government was ready to provide security to the artist if he planned to return.

"He (Husain) is the pride of India," foreign secretary Nirupama Rao had said, adding, "I would like him to feel safe and secure in India".

OneIndia News