The India subtext in the Veena Malik nude cover controversy

Last week we brought you the news that the men’s lifestyle magazine FHM India had stoked controversy with a cover featuring Pakistani actress Veena Malik, fully nude and seemingly taunting Pakistan’s forbidding spy agency with an ISI tattoo on her arm.

Since then, Malik has filed a $2 million defamation suit (full text here) against the magazine, claiming that she was only in a partial state of undress during the photoshoot and that FHM India "morphed" the image to make her appear naked (professing innocence that’s hard to believe, her lawyers also write that, "to our client’s knowledge," there are 56 institutes with the acronym ISI around the world). The magazine, for its part, insists the photo is authentic (legal notice here) and has released new pictures of Malik wearing nothing but a green ammunition belt and alternatively leaning on a military helmet and pretending to pull the pin out of a grenade with her teeth.

But that’s only part of the story. On Tuesday, the Mirror quoted Malik’s father,

Malik Mohammad Aslam, as saying he "disowned" his daughter and didn’t "want her to have any share in whatever meager assets I have until she is cleared of the controversy and pledges not to visit India again," adding, "I cannot tolerate anything against my country and my faith." Reading between the lines, it seems Aslam is as upset about Malik posing in India as he is about her posing nude. 

India and Pakistan, of course, are bitter rivals. And this isn’t the first time Malik has gotten into trouble because of her ties with India. Last month, India Today noted that Malik was under fire for agreeing to select a groom and get married on the Indian reality TV show Swayamvar. "There are thousands of Indian girls trying hard to get small roles on TV and in film," a spokesperson for the

Indian Artistes and Actors Forum declared. "So why choose Veena, who is not great or unique as an actor?" The magazine added that

"Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are abuzz with comments from people in Pakistan denouncing [Malik’s] decision."

Before that, in January, Malik lashed out at a Muslim cleric on Pakistani television after he criticized her for cuddling with men and wearing revealing clothing on the Indian reality show Bigg Boss. "There is an allegation against you, made by a segment of Pakistani society, that you brought dishonor upon Pakistani culture by going to India," the TV host explained. Mufti Abdul Qavi accused Malik of violating the "Two-Nation Theory," which posits that Hindus and Muslims on the Indian subcontinent are two distinct nations. "Pakistan is infamous for many reasons other than Veena Malik," the actress retorted.

Here’s a clip of the exchange with translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute.