At wit’s end: When the cartoon is turned into a target, democracy becomes a joke | The Indian Express

At wit’s end: When the cartoon is turned into a target, democracy becomes a joke | The Indian Express

Written by E P Unny |Updated: May 15, 2019 7:14:59 am

Chief political cartoonists with The Indian Express.

At wit’s end: When the cartoon is turned into a target, democracy becomes a joke

Morphing done with graphic software like Adobe Photoshop, is part of the current practice of cartooning the world over today. It is no more offensive than the hand-done caricaturing by the conventional practitioner.

A morphed image of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on social media led to the arrest of a BJP youth activist (REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/File Photo)

As a far-from-restrained poll campaign is coming to a close, the cartoon has made news — again for the wrong reason. Priyanka Sharma, a BJP youth activist from Bengal, was arrested for sharing a morphed image of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on social media. The screen image was seen by the state as offensive enough for detention. The Supreme Court granted bail to Priyanka and asked her to apologise.