A large cross depicting Christ with his penis hanging out, semen dripping from it into a commode.
A nude woman with a baby attempting to push its way out of her vagina. The caption below the painting reads: "Durga Mata".
These were two of the "works of art" made by Chandra Mohan, a student of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda, who was arrested this past week on charges of hurting religious sentiments and posing a threat to public order.
While Mohan's arrest may have been an extreme reaction and his release on bail would be welcomed even by his critics, the sequence of events leading to his becoming the most controversial artist in Gujarat merits attention. Equally noteworthy is how civil rights commandos and sections of the media have described Mohan's "plight" in jail - and labelled it an act of censorship - but have themselves censored references to the content of his art.
The protests against Chandra Mohan's paintings began on May 9, when citizens groups asked him to remove his work from a public exhibition. Contrary to an erroneous impression being created, the paintings were not on display at a private gathering but, rather, at an exposition open to walk-in visitors.
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