India, June 9 -- More than two dozen rare paintings by M F Husain will go under the hammer on June 12, evoking a sense of deja vu. The Indian modernist has, over the years, drawn the attention of saffron outfits, not so much for his artistic genius but his bold and controversial depiction of Indian gods and goddesses and, on one occasion, Bharat Mata (Mother India). It is this sense of outrage accompanied by protest that has returned 14 years after the artist's passing.

The 25 Husains to be auctioned on June 12 have been caught in legal crosshairs. These paintings were secured by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) as part of a case involving an unpaid loan of Rs.236 crore by industrialist Guru...