M F Husain passes away in London aged 95
9th June 2011

Maqbool Fida Husain (17 September 1915 - 9 June 2011), popularly known as MF and dubbed the "Picasso of India", passed away in a London hospital on Thursday 9th June 2011 according Reuters, the news agency. He was prominent Indian painter who created controversy with depictions of naked Hindu goddesses that were interpreted as anti-Hindu. Five years ago he was forced to India after being persecuted by Hindu zealots angry at his work.

Husain was associated with Indian modernism in the 1940s. His work was a blend of cubism and classical Indian styles that helped put modern Indian art on the global arena with his canvasses selling for millions of dollars. He was part of the Progressive Artists Group, a collective that broke tradition to create avant-garde art. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honor, in 1989 and nominated to the upper house of parliament in 1986.

After a long career, in 1996, when Husain was 81 years old, controversy arose over paintings originally created in the 1970s which were interpreted as anti-Hindu. After legal cases and death threats in his home country, he was on a self imposed exile from 2006. In January, 2010, he was offered the citizenship of Qatar, which he accepted. He died in London on Thursday 9th June 2011 after an illness.