What’s wrong with these Cartoons on the ECI ?

Nothing, except that they poke fun at the Election Commission of India (ECI) and call out the mess created by the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Cartoons by Manjul were restricted by Instagram in India.  Manjul posted the notice on his ‘X’ account:

Cartoonish Satush Acharya found that his entire account was restricted in India, without any notice or any redressal mechanism:

Acharya hit back with another cartoon, poking fun at the block, posted on ‘X’:

Manjul took a swipe at the judiciary:

The censored cartoons and the responses were all posted on ‘X’ but they remained unavailable on Instagram.

Other cartoonists, like Sandeep Adhwaryu of The Times of India, posted cartoons in support:

The cartoon, taking a dig at Prime Minister Modi’s recent appearance at a ‘bhajan clubbing’ session in Delhi, prompted a comment from Manjul, who said : “Spot on, Sandeep. If you want to enjoy Freedom of Expression, join the bhajan clubbing and sing bhajans and perform kirtan in praise of Mr Non-Biological.”

Sanitary Panels went a step ahead and bluntly showcased the current regime, complete with a clownish saffron nose and bow-tie :

It was a riot of cartoons. And with so many likes and shares on social media, everyone joined the party.

But the lack of accountability or transparency by the Meta-owned Instagram is disturbing, as also its mechanism for grievance redressal or restoration of censored content. In a statement, the digital rights group, Software Freedom Law Centre, India, said :

“The increasing trend of censorship of cartoons and political humour is deeply concerning, particularly because it points to a shrinking space for dissent in India. The right to freedom of speech and expression is a fundamental right, and the ability to question, criticise and even ridicule those in power is an essential part of a democratic society. Dissent may be uncomfortable for governments, but discomfort cannot be the basis for silencing it.”

SFLC called upon Meta to remove the restrictions on the two cartoonists and called upon the government to “provide greater transparency about the legal and policy basis for content restrictions on cartoons and satirical content. “