NEW DELHI: India’s political cartoonists are raising fresh concerns about freedom of expression after Instagram temporarily blocked access to veteran cartoonist Satish Acharya’s account for the second time in three weeks, without publicly explaining the reason.
The 55-year-old cartoonist told the BBC that users in India couldn’t access his account for three days earlier this week. The latest restriction followed an earlier block from 28 September to 6 October, when users could neither find his profile through Instagram’s search function nor access it through a direct web link.
Anyone attempting to view the account was shown a message stating that access had been temporarily restricted under India’s Information Technology Rules.
The cases have intensified concerns that legal mechanisms intended to regulate online content are being used in ways that could silence political criticism and undermine India’s long tradition of satire.
No Clear Explanation
Acharya said Meta, Instagram’s parent company, had restricted the reach of his cartoons for years. However, the decision to make his entire profile inaccessible in India had left him particularly disappointed.
“Meta platforms have been restricting the reach of my cartoons for some years,” he told the BBC. “But when my entire profile was restricted in India, I was a little sad.”
He contacted Meta but received no response. Acharya said he was preparing to approach the courts when his account became accessible again in early October, only to be blocked once more.
Meta told the BBC that it may temporarily restrict accounts to comply with India’s IT Rules. However, the company did not explain the specific reasons behind the restrictions on Acharya’s account or a separate post by fellow cartoonist Manjul.
Manjul’s post criticised India’s Election Commission over a controversial revision of voter rolls. Unlike Acharya’s account, Manjul’s profile remained accessible.
India’s IT Rules allow authorities and courts to direct social media platforms to remove or restrict content. The government says the rules help tackle unlawful material, while free-speech advocates warn that their use can curb legitimate political expression.
Growing Online Controls
The restrictions come as political satire and online humour become increasingly prominent forms of dissent, particularly among younger Indians.
Memes and Gen-Z humour helped fuel protests over education and jobs in July, which led to the resignation of India’s education minister. Debate has also intensified over a controversial voter-roll revision that removed 130 million names, according to the report.
At the same time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has urged ministers to strengthen their online presence and engage with younger audiences.
Technology policy expert Prateek Waghre says the government is increasingly relying on legal orders to regulate online content.
The Indian Express reported that government agencies issued nearly 195,000 blocking and content-restriction orders to platforms including Instagram, Facebook and YouTube between March and July through the federal government’s Sahyog portal.
The figures were obtained through a right-to-information request. They do not establish how many posts were ultimately removed or restricted, and the BBC said it had not seen the original response.
Waghre said some platforms, particularly Meta, appeared more willing to comply with government demands, while X seemed more inclined to challenge them. However, he acknowledged that limited public data made comparisons difficult. Meta declined to comment on his assessment.
Several media outlets have also reported that authorities asked Meta to review its recommendation systems to prevent users from being directed towards “a single or limited set of narratives” and to strengthen safeguards against content that could cause public disorder or incite violence.
The BBC said India’s IT ministry had not responded to its request for comment on the restrictions or the reported instructions to Meta.
A Long History of Satire
Political cartooning has been a fixture of Indian journalism since independence, but artists have repeatedly faced pressure over their work.
RK Laxman’s “Common Man” became one of the country’s most recognisable political characters. During the Emergency of the 1970s, when civil liberties were suspended and the press faced tight controls, cartoonist Abu Abraham continued drawing despite dozens of his cartoons being marked “not passed by censors”.
In 2012, cartoonist Aseem Trivedi was arrested on sedition charges over cartoons alleged to mock the Indian constitution. The charges were later dropped.
More recently, comedian Kunal Kamra has faced threats, cancelled shows and legal action over political satire, including jokes targeting Modi and his party.
India ranks 157th in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index. Critics accuse the government of increasing pressure on independent media, while the government rejects the criticism and maintains that India’s media remains free and vibrant.
For cartoonists, challenging those in power remains central to their work.
“We are among the default opposition,” Sandeep Adhwaryu, a cartoonist at a leading Indian newspaper, told the BBC.
“The nature of the craft is to oppose,” he said, arguing that cartoonists, like journalists, must question whoever holds power.
Political Lines
Acharya said his work had targeted different political parties over the course of his career. Before 2014, many of his cartoons criticised the Congress-led government and were shared by BJP leaders.
“I never faced official restrictions on my cartoons during the previous governments, though there would be some trolling occasionally,” he said.
With the BJP now in power, much of his satire is directed at Modi’s government.
Social media has enabled independent cartoonists to reach audiences without depending on newspapers or traditional media outlets. But that independence has also made them vulnerable to decisions by technology companies that control access to their audiences.
“We are not associated with newspapers or any mainstream media. That’s why we can draw,” Manjul told the BBC.
Rachita Taneja, creator of the popular Instagram comic Sanitary Panels, said the internet had been fundamental to her career, but warned that social media carried its own risks.
“My career would not have existed without the internet,” she said.
“At the end of the day it’s a for-profit endeavour that answers to advertisers.”
Taneja argued that Meta’s compliance with government requests reflected commercial priorities rather than concern for users’ rights. Meta declined to comment on her assessment.
Fear of Self-Censorship
The pressure is not confined to independent creators. Adhwaryu said cartoonists working in traditional newsrooms may soften captions, avoid sensitive subjects or reconsider whether to submit particular drawings.
Over time, he warned, such self-censorship can become normalised even without direct instructions from editors or authorities.
Artists have also rallied behind colleagues whose work has been restricted. When Acharya’s account was first blocked, Taneja drew a stick-figure cartoon in solidarity.
“Seeing people on the front lines creating communities, protesting, running campaigns, tirelessly fighting for their own rights and the rights of others is what keeps me going,” she said.
Adhwaryu believes political satire will survive despite the pressure, adapting to changing restrictions and finding new ways to reach audiences.
He compares cartoons and humour to a “shape-shifting virus”.
“It keeps mutating in response to its environment,” he said. “It will find its way.”
