India's cartoonists built an audience online - now their posts are being restricted
0 / 67
English
中文
Satish Acharya is among Indian cartoonists whose work has been restricted by Meta recently For the second time in three weeks, Indian cartoonist Satish Acharya found himself effectively invisible on Instagram in his own country.
（暂无翻译）
The 55-year-old discovered on Tuesday that his account had once again been briefly blocked in India, allegedly with no explanation from the platform.
（暂无翻译）
Just a few weeks ago, another cartoonist, Manjul, had found that Instagram had restricted a post criticising India's election commission over its controversial revision of voter rolls.
（暂无翻译）
His profile remained accessible. The cases have raised concerns about the use of legal orders to restrict political satire in India, with cartoonists saying they are often given little explanation for why their work has been blocked.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
Acharaya's account was first restricted from 28 September to 6 October, when users in India could neither find his profile through search nor access it through a web link.
（暂无翻译）
Anyone trying to access his profile saw a message saying it was unavailable under India's Information Technology Rules.
（暂无翻译）
The rules allow authorities and courts to order social media platforms to remove or restrict content.
（暂无翻译）
The government says they help tackle unlawful material, but artists and free-speech advocates warn they can stifle India's rich tradition of political satire.
（暂无翻译）
"Meta platforms have been restricting the reach of my cartoons for some years," Acharya told the BBC.
（暂无翻译）
"But when my entire profile was restricted in India, I was a little sad." He wrote to Meta, Instagram's parent company, but received no reply.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
He says he was preparing to go to court when his account became accessible again in early October, only to be blocked again earlier this week for three days. In a statement, Meta told the BBC that it may temporarily restrict accounts to comply with India's IT Rules but did not explain the specific reasons for restricting Acharya's account or Manjul's post.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
The message on Satish Acharya's profile when it was last blocked between 20-22 October Critics say the restrictions come as humour and satire play an increasingly visible role in political dissent in India, particularly among younger people.
（暂无翻译）
Memes and Gen-Z humour helped fuel protests over education and jobs in July, which led to the resignation of India's education minister.
（暂无翻译）
Online debate has also intensified over a controversial revision of voter rolls that removed 130 million names.
（暂无翻译）
The political significance of social media has not been lost on the government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has urged ministers to strengthen their online presence and connect with younger audiences.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
At the same time, technology policy expert Prateek Waghre says the government is increasingly using legal orders to regulate online content. The Indian Express reported, external that government agencies sent nearly 195,000 blocking and content-restriction orders to platforms including Instagram, Facebook and YouTube between March and July through the federal government's Sahyog portal.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
The figures, obtained through a right-to-information request, do not show how many posts were ultimately restricted or removed.
（暂无翻译）
The BBC has not seen the original response.
（暂无翻译）
Waghre says that some platforms, particularly Meta, "seem more willing to comply", he says, while X appears more willing to push back. But limited public data makes comparisons difficult.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
Meta declined to comment on his assessment. The government has also reportedly sought greater scrutiny of how social media platforms recommend content. Earlier this week, several media outlets reported, external that authorities had asked Meta to ensure its systems did not steer users towards "a single or limited set of narratives" and strengthen checks on content that could "cause public disorder or incite violence".
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
The BBC has sought comment from India's IT ministry on the restrictions and reported instructions to Meta but has not received a response.
（暂无翻译）
RK Laxman is among the most recognisable political cartoonists in India Of course, political satire has a long history in India - as do attempts to curb it.
（暂无翻译）
Cartoons have been a fixture of Indian journalism since independence, with RK Laxman's Common Man becoming one of its most recognisable characters.
（暂无翻译）
But cartoonists have also faced censorship.
（暂无翻译）
During the Emergency in the 1970s, when civil liberties were suspended and the press was tightly controlled, Abu Abraham continued drawing, even as dozens of his cartoons were stamped "not passed by censors".
（暂无翻译）
In 2012, cartoonist Aseem Trivedi was arrested on sedition charges over cartoons allegedly mocking the Indian constitution.
（暂无翻译）
The charges were later dropped. Today, concerns about restrictions on political expression extend beyond cartoonists.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
India ranks 157th in Reporters Without Borders' World Press Freedom Index, while critics accuse the government of putting growing pressure on independent media. The government rejects the criticism, saying India's media remains free and vibrant.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
Comedians have also faced controversy over political satire. Kunal Kamra, known for his jokes about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, has faced threats, cancelled shows and legal action. For cartoonists, however, challenging those in power is central to their work.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
"We are among the default opposition," says Sandeep Adhwaryu, a cartoonist at a leading Indian newspaper. "The nature of the craft is to oppose," he says, adding that cartoonists, like journalists, must question whoever holds power.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
Acharya says he has followed that principle throughout his career.
（暂无翻译）
Before 2014, many of his cartoons targeted the Congress-led government and were shared by BJP leaders.
（暂无翻译）
"I never faced official restrictions on my cartoons during the previous governments, though there would be some trolling occasionally," he says.
（暂无翻译）
Now, with the BJP in power, much of his satire is directed at Modi's government. One of Manjul's cartoons which criticised the controversial voter roll revision that has resulted in the removal of 130 million names from the electoral rolls Social media has allowed independent cartoonists like Acharya to reach audiences without relying on newspapers or other traditional outlets.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
"We are not associated with newspapers or any mainstream media.
（暂无翻译）
That's why we can draw," says Manjul.
（暂无翻译）
But that freedom comes with a new vulnerability - dependence on platforms that can restrict their work or cut off access to their audiences.
（暂无翻译）
No one knows this better than Rachita Taneja, the creator of the hugely popular Instagram comic Sanitary Panels.
（暂无翻译）
"My career would not have existed without the internet," she told the BBC. Yet she describes social media as a double-edged sword.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
"At the end of the day it's a for-profit endeavour that answers to advertisers," she says.
（暂无翻译）
Taneja says that Meta's compliance with Indian government requests reflects the company's commercial priorities rather than concern for users' rights.
（暂无翻译）
Meta declined to comment. Even cartoonists working in traditional newsrooms face pressure.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
Adhwaryu says artists may soften captions, avoid certain subjects or think twice before submitting a cartoon.
（暂无翻译）
Over time, he says, such self-censorship can become normalised, even without explicit instructions. Still, cartoonists have found ways to support one another.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
When Acharya's Instagram account was first restricted, Taneja drew a stick-figure cartoon in solidarity. "Seeing people on the front lines creating communities, protesting, running campaigns, tirelessly fighting for their own rights and the rights of others is what keeps me going," she says. Adhwaryu believes satire will continue to adapt.
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
He compares cartoons and humour to a "shape-shifting virus".
（暂无翻译）
"It keeps mutating in response to its environment," he says. "It will find its way."
（暂无翻译） （暂无翻译）
仅供学习使用，如有侵权请联系删除 · 查看原文