ay artist Balbir Krishan became the most recent victim of the wrath of Hindu activists for his overt portrayal of homosexuality in paintings. Krishan, who lost both his legs in a train accident 15 years ago, was attacked by an unidentified person on Thursday morning at the Lalit Kala Akademi, on the last day of his exhibition titled Out Here and Now.

"The incident happened soon after I reached the gallery. Though I was being threatened by some people ever since my show went on display, I never imagined it would come to this," a shaken Krishan told Guardian 20. The attacker, who covered his face with a kerchief, hit the artist's head with a stone and threw him off his chair before vandalising most of his paintings on display. "The man abused me and said, 'We taught a good lesson to M.F. Husain too. If you don't stop, you'll get the same dose'," the 37-year-old artist recalls.

{ The exhibition, on consists of paintings depicting homo-erotic scenes, where men are shown making love in different postures

Though people present in the Akademi tried to catch the attacker, he got away. A report was later registered with the police.

Just a day before the attack, Krishan received several blank calls, which he believes were made by the same people and was verbally abused by two men during an interview with a newspaper reporter. He reveals that most people who have been visiting the gallery called his work "profane". "They said my paintings were a sacrilege to Hinduism and threatened to kill me," the mild mannered painter said. "I'm really scared, but more than that I'm baffled. Though I'm from a village in Uttar Pradesh, I was never threatened or attacked there. It is shameful that such an incident is happening in the national capital, right here in the art and culture district."Image 2nd

The solo exhibition, on display from 30 December, consists of a series of 20 paintings depicting homo-erotic scenes, where men are shown making love in different postures. Krishan, who is very forthright about his sexuality, opined, "My painting is my expression. What is wrong with depicting homoerotic scenes? Trying to intimidate people like this amounts to stifling them."

Ashok Vajpeyi, former chairman of Lalit Kala Academy, strongly condemned the attack, saying, "This is a violation of an artist's freedom of expression. Every person, including the attacker, is entitled to their own opinion. But to physically harm to accept your point of view is downright wrong."