Instagram has restricted access to cartoonist Satish Acharya’s account in India, prompting fellow cartoonists to express solidarity and demand the immediate withdrawal of the ban.
Meta has not issued a separate statement on the matter yet.
The text displayed on Acharya’s Instagram page said, “We temporarily restricted access to this account pursuant to legal requirements under India’s Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules. “Darr ke aage jeet nahi hai, Saheb! (There’s no victory beyond fear, Sir!) Some cartoons published in 2023 are also being blocked NOW!” he said.
In another post, Acharya also shared a December 2018 statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which the PM had praised the work of late cartoonist R K Laxman.
“Wah Modiji Wah! #BlockSarkar,” Acharya said in the caption of the post. “The cartoon is still visible outside India,” Manjul said, sharing the cartoon in the post.
