Cartoonist in jail for making fun of parliament

An Indian court yesterday sent a cartoonist to jail to await trial on sedition charges over sketches that lampoon government corruption, triggering an outcry from freedom of expression campaigners.

The detention of Aseem Trivedi, a freelance artist whose cartoons include parliament depicted as a giant toilet bowl, has been cited as the latest example of growing intolerance of criticism from Indian authorities.

A local court in Mumbai ordered the cartoonist, who refused to apply for bail, to be held in custody until Sept 24, his lawyer Vijay Hiremath told AFP.

“His position is that he is not anti-nationalist and sedition charges should be dropped,” Hiremath said.

Cartoons on Trivedi’s website show the sole surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks urinating on the Indian constitution, while another image is titled “Gang Rape of Mother India”.

“We are very unhappy about the arrest as he has not committed any crime, he has just exercised his freedom of expression through his cartoons,” said VG Narendra, head of the Indian Institute of Cartoonists.

“Cartoonists should be given a free hand. We must have the ability to laugh at ourselves.”

About 100 protesters chanted outside the Mumbai police station where he was being held yesterday.

Ambika Soni, the information and broadcasting minister, said drawing of political cartoons “should not be viewed as something which is a crime”.