On June 18, political cartoonist Manjul revealed that he received a takedown notice from X (formerly Twitter), acting on a request by the West Bengal Cyber Crime Wing. The agency asked for the removal of two of Manjul’s cartoons, posted back in 2019, alleging they violated Indian law.

MANJUL on X: “Here is the 6-year-old cartoon they claim violates the law (1) https://t.co/CewMGaSWMv” / X

The cartoons in question featured Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, lampooning the mass defections from Trinamool Congress (TMC) to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the party’s alleged role in the chit-fund scams that rocked the state several years ago. Satirical, sharp, and unmistakably his own style, the posts are political commentary – nothing more, nothing less.

The very act of seeking to remove two cartoons from a social media platform years after they were posted underscores discomfort with critical commentary, even when expressed through satire and artistic interpretation. Manjul’s situation is not isolated. It’s a clear symptom of a broader, troubling trend of intolerance toward dissent in Bengal, both online and offline.