Jun 11

Jun 11 Trying to Starve Government Critics as COVID-19 Devastates India

This week, Manjul, an Indian cartoonist, was suspended by his employer Network 18, The Wire reported. He was reportedly a contract employee for the past six years.

Last week on June 4, Manjul, who goes by a single name, shared an email he received from Twitter stating that officials in India say his posts violate Indian laws.

Manjul had posted cartoons critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party government’s handling of the devastating second COVID-19 outbreak.

Twitter was reportedly asked by Indian officials to initiate action against Manjul’s account.

As of today, Manjul’s Twitter account is still live: @MANJULtoons.

Scroll down on Manjul’s Twitter account to see some of his cartoons, including EXTRA CUT, PHOTOBOMBING and POLITICKLE.

Manjul’s former employer Network18 says its 16 TV channels have 700 million monthly viewers on TV and 100 million on digital platforms. It is owned by Reliance Industries, an Indian business group with a market value of $200 billion, whose other businesses include oil and gas, petrochemicals, retail and Jio, a cellphone service. Reliance is run by chairman Mukesh Ambani who, with a net worth of $86 billion according to Forbes., is India’s richest person.

Self potrait of Manjul is from his Twitter account.

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