Is this art?

A Few days back the delhi high court upheld many petitions submitted by Mr M F Hussain, an eminent painter in India. The artist had sought dismissal of the many petitions against him for indecent paintings of hindu goddesses and of Bharat Mata.
Well frankly speaking, I don’t have much idea about legal proceedings, and Mr. MF Hussain is indeed a great painter who has played a significant role in taking the Indian art to the international level. Also my arguments may be overly simplistic or a bit orthodox for many a people but india is a democratic country and my ‘right to freedom of speech and expression’ gives me enough rights to give my opinions on the matter.
The constitution of India does gives each citizen the ‘Right to freedom of speech and expression’ but article 19 (2) also states (according to an article from TOI) that ‘freedom of speech can be curbed by reasonable restrictions …in the interests of (the sovereignty and integrity of India) the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence”.
I have already stated that I have no knowlwgde whatsoever about the legal framework etc. but as far I think Mr.MF hussain’s painting way of expressing himself through these particular paintings may be quintessential piece of art work but it may not be called decent.
Indians are traditionally very religious people and from time immemorial there has been a lot of emphasis on the decency of woman. This Indian culture is ingrained in the minds of most of the Indians. Then the depiction of the hindu deities in the way done by the artist is nothing but sheer insolence to the millions of devotees who hold gods and godesses in highest regards. This act is arrant disrespect to the reverence that the millions of people have for their deities.

Some people opine that any work of art should be viewed by how the artist perceives his work. They think that there is nothing indecent in the paintings by Mr M F Hussain because, for the artist this is just a piece of art. So by the extension of logic – you may go out, make all sorts of pictures of any person and call this as piece of your artwork. Undoubtedly a lot of people will be offended, their relatives and friends will be seriously outarged because for them the person is very respectable. Now same is the case here. At least for the complete hindu community gods and goddesses are the supreme beings, they are to be revered like nothing else. The goddesses are called ‘Maa’ which means mother. Even then not paying heed to the sentiments of the majority of the nation and going on with the so called artwork is nothing less then heresy.

Also of all the things under the sun and above the earth, did the artist not find any other thing to express his art? Why he had to choose only Hindu goddesses or bharat mata to do so. Well, to me all this seems to be a bit out of place.

My opinion on this particular issue is not a attempt to belittle the artist’s unparalleled contribution to Indian art and giving it a place in international arena. It is just that my conscience doesn’t allow me to see these paintings just as a piece of art and I believe a lot of people also feel the same.