Mumbai: There is widespread outrage at the weekend arrest of
Kanpur-based cartoonist, Aseem Trivedi, on charges of sedition, with his
supporters alleging that it is politically motivated and that he is
being punished for backing Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign.
The Mumbai police arrested Mr Trivedi on Saturday based on a private complaint filed by a lawyer in December last year that he had put up banners mocking the Indian Constitution during an Anna Hazare rally in Mumbai. He has also been charged with posting seditious and obscene content on his website, which has been blocked. Cartoons like one where the activist has altered the three-lion national emblem in a satirical depiction to highlight corruption have attracted the sedition charge. Mr Trivedi has been remanded in police custody till September 16.
The Chairman of the Press Council of India, Markandey Katju, slammed the Mumbai police for the arrest, comparing them to Nazi War criminals. "The policemen who make such illegal arrests cannot take the plea that they were obeying orders of political superiors. In the Nuremberg trials, the Nazi War Criminals took the plea that orders are orders, and that they were only obeying the orders of their political superior Hitler. But this plea was rejected by the International Tribunal which held that illegal orders should be disobeyed," Mr Katju said yesterday.
The Mumbai police has said the arrest is a procedural formality and that it has acted on a complaint. "He has shown disrespect to the National emblem and therefore he has been arrested under section 124 A," said Chandrakant Bhosale a senior inspector of the Mumbai Police said. The First Information Report states that the accused had put "ugly and obscene content" on his website.
Mr Trivedi, as he was arrested, remained defiant. "If telling the truth makes one a traitor, then I am happy. Likewise even Gandhi, Bhagat Singh are traitors. If while doing service to the nation I am booked under sedition, I will continue to do so and get arrested," he said. AK Khan, a friend of the cartoonist, has alleged that Mr Trivedi has been repeatedly manhandled since his arrest. India Against Corruption or IAC, which has been attacking the government over a series of alleged scams, says Mr Trivedi is not a member of the organisation, but has pledged support for him alleging that the arrest is politically-motivated.
Mayank Gandhi of the IAC said, "If anyone is talking against corruption, proclaiming it as anti-national and slamming charges of sedition, one needs to understand that this (Mr Trivedi's cartoons) is against the government and not against the country...He is not a member of IAC but is fighting against corruption and we are here to lend him moral support."
Another IAC member, Preeti Menon, said, "Whoever raises their voice against corruption is termed as a seditionist, anti-nationalist and a Naxalite."
A Mumbai court had issued a non-bailable warrant against the cartoonist last month on lawyer and Republican Party of India member Amit Katarnavea's complaint that Mr Trivedi mocked the Indian Constitution during Anna Hazare's anti-graft rally held last year at the Bandra Kurla Complex. A police team was sent to his residence in Kanpur but he wasn't traceable; so his parents were informed and the warrant was served. Mr Trivedi surrendered on Saturday.
The cartoonist's father Ashok Trivedi says the family had no prior information. "Whenever he drew cartoons, it was in the welfare of the country and when he organised this exhibition of his cartoons on December 25, 26 during Anna's movement at MMRDA grounds last year, then some member of the Maharashtra Congress Committee filed a writ in the High Court and based on that Police issued a warrant without any prior information," he alleged.
Mr Trivedi was scheduled to visit Syria starting September 12 to receive the 2012 Courage in Editorial cartooning award.
From: NDTV
The Mumbai police arrested Mr Trivedi on Saturday based on a private complaint filed by a lawyer in December last year that he had put up banners mocking the Indian Constitution during an Anna Hazare rally in Mumbai. He has also been charged with posting seditious and obscene content on his website, which has been blocked. Cartoons like one where the activist has altered the three-lion national emblem in a satirical depiction to highlight corruption have attracted the sedition charge. Mr Trivedi has been remanded in police custody till September 16.
The Chairman of the Press Council of India, Markandey Katju, slammed the Mumbai police for the arrest, comparing them to Nazi War criminals. "The policemen who make such illegal arrests cannot take the plea that they were obeying orders of political superiors. In the Nuremberg trials, the Nazi War Criminals took the plea that orders are orders, and that they were only obeying the orders of their political superior Hitler. But this plea was rejected by the International Tribunal which held that illegal orders should be disobeyed," Mr Katju said yesterday.
The Mumbai police has said the arrest is a procedural formality and that it has acted on a complaint. "He has shown disrespect to the National emblem and therefore he has been arrested under section 124 A," said Chandrakant Bhosale a senior inspector of the Mumbai Police said. The First Information Report states that the accused had put "ugly and obscene content" on his website.
Mr Trivedi, as he was arrested, remained defiant. "If telling the truth makes one a traitor, then I am happy. Likewise even Gandhi, Bhagat Singh are traitors. If while doing service to the nation I am booked under sedition, I will continue to do so and get arrested," he said. AK Khan, a friend of the cartoonist, has alleged that Mr Trivedi has been repeatedly manhandled since his arrest. India Against Corruption or IAC, which has been attacking the government over a series of alleged scams, says Mr Trivedi is not a member of the organisation, but has pledged support for him alleging that the arrest is politically-motivated.
Mayank Gandhi of the IAC said, "If anyone is talking against corruption, proclaiming it as anti-national and slamming charges of sedition, one needs to understand that this (Mr Trivedi's cartoons) is against the government and not against the country...He is not a member of IAC but is fighting against corruption and we are here to lend him moral support."
Another IAC member, Preeti Menon, said, "Whoever raises their voice against corruption is termed as a seditionist, anti-nationalist and a Naxalite."
A Mumbai court had issued a non-bailable warrant against the cartoonist last month on lawyer and Republican Party of India member Amit Katarnavea's complaint that Mr Trivedi mocked the Indian Constitution during Anna Hazare's anti-graft rally held last year at the Bandra Kurla Complex. A police team was sent to his residence in Kanpur but he wasn't traceable; so his parents were informed and the warrant was served. Mr Trivedi surrendered on Saturday.
The cartoonist's father Ashok Trivedi says the family had no prior information. "Whenever he drew cartoons, it was in the welfare of the country and when he organised this exhibition of his cartoons on December 25, 26 during Anna's movement at MMRDA grounds last year, then some member of the Maharashtra Congress Committee filed a writ in the High Court and based on that Police issued a warrant without any prior information," he alleged.
Mr Trivedi was scheduled to visit Syria starting September 12 to receive the 2012 Courage in Editorial cartooning award.
From: NDTV
