The selected cartoons appeared first in other publications, either in print or online, or on social media, and are credited appropriately.
In today’s featured cartoon, Alok Nirantar alludes to an upcoming floor test in the Maharashtra assembly ordered by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari following a request from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by ex-CM Devendra Fadnavis. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government — a coalition of the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Congress — is embattled following a rebellion by a majority of Sena MLAs, led by Eknath Shinde.
E P Unny takes a jibe at a joint statement issued at the G7 summit Monday, in which India, represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was among the countries that pledged to defend core ideas such as freedom of expression, open public debate and the free flow of information online and offline.
Sajith Kumar comments on the arrest of Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of the fact-checking website Alt News, for a tweet he posted in 2018 that allegedly hurt religious sentiments. The arrest has been criticised, including by the United Nations, on the grounds of freedom of expression. Earlier this year, India was rated a “partly free” country for the second year in a row by US-based human rights watchdog Freedom House.
Satish Acharya also illustrates Zubair’s arrest, while referring to the times Mahatma Gandhi was jailed for defying the colonial government.
Sandeep Adhwaryu draws on the gruesome killing of a tailor in Udaipur, Rajasthan, over comments he allegedly made on social media in support of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. Sharma’s controversial remarks on the Prophet Muhammad had led to widespread protests in India and criticism from abroad.