Lawfare, Summons/Notices – Journalists

You must have come across the cartoon by Swathi Vadlamudi wherein she significantly and tellingly illustrates, by using the mythical figures of Ram and Sita, issues of abduction, rape and the blatant patronage by ‘nationalists’ towards the perpetrators of these crimes. Graphic satires are a powerful medium to resist, narrate and destabilize authority, especially when it comes to resisting a rape-epidemic sort of situation.

On 16th April, the Network of Women in the Media released a statement in support of Swathi Vadlamudi – a senior journalist based in Hyderabad who has an FIR lodged against her as well as Ahmad Shabbir of Times Now for sharing her tweet. The FIR has been filed under Section 295 (a) of the IPC (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) by Hindu Sangathan – an appendage of the ultra Hindu right-wing group on 14th April. She posted the image on her Facebook page and it resonated with a lot of people, getting more than five thousand shares.

But the irony that we live in today is that criticizing rapes and abduction will lead to more rape and death threats by the toxic masculinity of the Hindu Brigade. The cartoon was made in the wake of the right-wing outfit called Hindu Ekta Manch demanding the release of the main accused, Deepak Khajuria, in the Kathua case. She has drawn many cartoons but what has caught the attention of the case is the usage of the mythical figures of Rama and Sita.