The selected cartoons appeared first in other publications, either in print or online, or on social media and are credited appropriately.
As 2020 comes to an end, ThePrint brings a roundup of the best political cartoons of the year.
In today’s featured cartoon, Alok Nirantar commented on the ongoing farmers’ protest against the three farm laws of the central government. He compared the protests to the anti-corruption protests led by activist Anna Hazare in 2011.
Mir Suhail illustrated the vilification and media trial that actor Rhea Chakraborty underwent after she was accused of abetting actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide — one of the biggest and tragic stories of 2020.
In early 2020 before the Covid pandemic hit the country, Alok Nirantar alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were trying to deflect people’s attention from the country’s poor economic condition by attacking students of various universities.
In the run up to the Bihar polls, Sandeep Adhwaryu referred to the BJP’s promise of 19 lakh jobs, to lure young voters, in its election manifesto for the Bihar polls.
After the nationwide lockdown was announced in March, the country saw a massive exodus of migrant workers who started going back to their native villages on foot. Here, R. Prasad commented on the resumption of domestic flights even as the migrant workers were left to fend for themselves.
The West Bengal election campaign saw both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress taking unsavoury potshots at each other. Here’s Alok Nirantar’s take.
Another major event of 2020 was the prolonged standoff between India and China along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh. Alok Nirantar, in this cartoon, referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constant assertion that China had not entered Indian territory.
In July, Sandeep Adhwaryu took a jibe at the BJP government’s rather unsuccessful attempt to ‘flatten the curve’ of Rahul Gandhi’s politics.
The Covid-19 pandemic saw many people lose their jobs and the media industry was one of the worst-hit. Here, Nala Ponnappa weighed in on the lay-offs and pay cuts in the Indian media, which struggled because of shrinking advertising during the lockdown.
Lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan found himself at the receiving end of the Supreme Court’s wrath after contempt proceedings were initiated against him for a series of tweets on Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde. While Bhushan was convicted, he was asked to pay a fine of Re 1. Satish Acharya’s take.