Naushad Waheed Hassan Manik (born 15 December 1962) is a cartoonist and painter from the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

Early life and education

Manik was born on 15 December 1962 in

Machchangolhi Machchangolhi (), also known as Machangolhi, is a district of Malé, Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia loc ...

Malé Malé is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 211,908 in 2022 within its administrative area and coterminous geographical area of , Malé is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city i ...

, Maldives. He studied in Majeediyya School. In 1976, he undertook his first art class, soon becoming more interested in arts. In 1978, he went to

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

and was influenced by his art master. In 1980, he was awarded the best all round artist in his school. In 1987, he met Suzanne Pruner, in California, US Pruner financed Manik to study at Art Instruction School in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, Minnesota.

Career

Manik participated in the 4th South Asian art biennale, held in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, where he met several Asian artists. After Manik was imprisoned in 1990 for drawing a political cartoon, his fame grew as a political cartoonist. In 1993,

Qasim Ibrahim Qasim Ibrahim (born 30 August 1951), also known as Burumaa Qasim, is a Maldives, Maldivian politician, business magnate and Philanthropy, philanthropist. As the chairman and founder of the Villa Group, he is one of the country's wealthiest bus ...

commissioned Manik to draw 1200 canvases. In that same year, Manik drew a controversial portrait of president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, which stunned locals. He was appointed as Deputy High Commissioner of Maldives to the UK in 2008, later resigning in 2012 after the resignation of Mohamed Nasheed. He was later reappointed at an unknown date and later dismissed on 13 September 2023 after calling

Mohamed Nasheed Mohamed Nasheed (; born 17 May 1967), also known as Anni (), is a Maldivians, Maldivian politician and activist who served as president of the Maldives from 2008 until his resignation in 2012. A founding member of the Maldivian Democratic Part ...

the 'founder of democracy in the Maldives.'

Detainment

Manik was taken as a

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

in 1990 after drawing a political cartoon in a public weekly newspaper. He spent three years in

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

, but was later pardoned by president

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ( ; born Abdulla Maumoon Khairi; 29 December 1937) is a Maldivian politician, statesman, diplomat and scholar who served as the 3rd president of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008. He previously served as the Minister of Tra ...

. He was detained by the government for four months following the publication of one of his cartoons in the magazine '' Hukuru'' in 1999. Manik's charge was retaliatory. In 2001, he was arrested for participating in debates critical of the government, tried for treason, and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released on 22 February 2006. While Manik was imprisoned, he was named an

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

prisoner of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...

Family life

Manik is the brother of former president

Mohamed Waheed Hassan Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik (; born 3 January 1953) is a Maldivian politician who served as president of the Maldives from 7 February 2012 to 17 November 2013, having succeeded to the office following the resignation of President Mohamed Nashe ...

. Manik has been married to Aishath Hussain since 1989, and has had two children.

Award

Naushad received the President's award in 1997 for his drawings.

References

External links

Naushad Arts

Amnesty International press release
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waheed, Naushad 1962 births Living people Maldivian journalists People from Malé 20th-century Maldivian writers 21st-century Maldivian writers Maldivian artists Cartoonists 20th-century painters Maldivian prisoners and detainees Recipients of Maldivian presidential pardons Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by the Maldives