highest award. According to Shashi Tharoor, who supported the petition, it praised Husain because his "life and work are beginning to serve as an allegory for the changing modalities of the secular in modern India – and the challenges that the narrative of the nation holds for many of us. This is the opportune and crucial time to honour him for his dedication and courage to the cultural renaissance of his beloved country." Husain had such a vast amount of work that spanned over 10 decades producing roughly 40,000 paintings by the end of his lifetime. On his part Husain stated that leading Hindu leaders have not spoken a word against his paintings, and they should have been the first ones to have raised their voice and only people with political intentions created controversy. After Husain's death, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray said, "He only slipped up on the depiction of Hindu gods and goddesses. Otherwise, he was happy and content in his field. If his demise is a loss for modern art, then so be it. May Allah give him peace!" Awards and honours Padma Shri in 1966, Government of India. Padma Bhushan in 1973, Government of India. Padma Vibhushan in 1991, Government of India. Raja Ravi Varma Award in 2007, Government of Kerala. Honorary Doctorates from Banaras Hindu University, Jamia Millia Islamia, University of Calicut (2003) and University of Mysore. National Art Award in 2004, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. Aditya Vikram Birla ‘Kalashikkar’ Award in 1997 for Lifetime Achievement. National Film Award for Best Experimental Film for Through the Eyes of a Painter, in 1968 India. Golden Bear short film award for his film Through the Eyes of a Painter at Berlin International Film Festival in 1967 and purchased by Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), New York City. International Biennale Award in 1959, Tokyo. First Prize at the National Exhibition of Art in 1955, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. Bombay Art Society in 1947, Mumbai. Legacy Indian film director Santi P. Choudhury made Husain, a documentary film on his life in 1980. Choudhury had earlier made another documentary on the artist, A Painter Of Our Time: Hussain, in 1976. Both of these were produced by the Government of India's Films Division, for whom Hussain himself had earlier made the film Through the Eyes of a Painter. On 17 September 2015, search engine Google commemorated M. F. Husain