Sir — The arrest of freelance cartoonist G Bala for caricaturing Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami, Thirunelveli District Collector (a glorified clerk) and city police commissioner was deplorable. It was an overreaction that could have been avoided. There was nothing distasteful or obscene about the cartoon critiquing the State Government for its unforgivable failure to save the lives of a family of four that immolated themselves. The cartoon was a cartoonist’s response to a heart-rending tragedy.
A cartoonist is no respecter of persons. It is rightly said that a cartoon is worth a thousand words. Clearly, those who were behind Bala’s arrest had no sense of humour to appreciate the cartoon and take it in the right spirit. The defamation case registered against the cartoonist was to demoralise him and deter others from drawing cartoons that “demean” public figures.
lampooning politicians and other wielders of power is the very soul of the craft of cartooning. Cartoons like the one Bala drew are a norm in free societies. Bala’s case has once again underlined that there is still far less freedom of expression than democracy needs.