WASHINGTON: On March 8, KN Murli, the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Chennai and several other Tamil Nadu state government officials attacked an art exhibition, shut it down and damaged several paintings.

The exhibition, organized and sponsored by the Foundation Against Continuing Terror (FACT) and Francois Gautier, the eminent French journalist, featured miniatures and farmans (edicts) depicting the despotic and violent rule of the the 17th Century Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb is particularly reviled as a predecessor of contemporary Islamist terrorists for his forced conversions, imposition of an intolerant Sharia and destruction of several famed Hindu temples.

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) condemned the actions of the Southern Indian state and demanded a restoration of the damaged paintings and a continuation of the exhibit. Gautier, the convener of FACT, and correspondent for Le Figaro, expressed shock that even after the exhibition has been displayed for over a year in several galleries throughout India, the Tamil Nadu state government reacted to a few isolated complaints so violently. Murali specifically sought out and threw to the ground two paintings that depicted the destruction by Aurangzeb of the Somnath Temple in Gujarat and the Kesava Rai Temple in North India.

The exhibition of 40 paintings, included fine miniature paintings by Indian artists were on show at the Lalit Kala Akademi from March 3. The Lalit Kala Akademi, the premier government art organization where the exhibit had been hosted, has now cancelled the exhibition. "This is a case of vindictive action against those who wish to throw light on India's past, and a threat to free speech," said Ramesh Rao, Senior Fellow, HAF.

 "The Tamil Nadu state government acted violently and illegally, but we are left to wonder why so few of the secular votaries of free speech in India remain silent in the face of this outrage--we demand amends from the state government and resumption of the exhibition."