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Political cartoonist and activist

Sep 14, 2012 | Closed

Should freedom of expression have its limitations?

Aseem Trivedi's cartoons mocking the country's political class landed him in trouble. He was charged with sedition, which falls just a tad shorter than treason in terms of seriousness of the charges. Talk to the man himself about his ordeal and what he intends to do in future.

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Recently i saw a photo with pics of Chitambaram , Rahul Gandhi and another politician superimposed on the Indian emblem serving as a political placard in Tamil Nadu. Dont you think they should be made to answer that ? Asked by: Indranil
Best way is to ignore them. Talk more about problems you and I are facing these day. We'll surely win. :)
Dear AT, Firstly, congratulations for your bravery. Secondly, do you feel that the current laws in India you were arrested under are compatible with the Human Rights Legislation and Universal Declaration of Human Rights as specified by the United Nations. Secondly, have you reported this to the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression at the United Nations. I think your cartoons are fabulous by the way. You have done nothing more than George Orwell who wrote Animal Farm. Asked by: Dr Rita Pal
Thanks for caring about me. I believe I have done my job which is to reach to the common man of India. My cartoons are telling people the truth. You have boosted my morals. Thanks again.
Did you introspect your actions and if so do you think you could have done anything differently? Asked by: yogendhar
I did introspect and believe me I make cartoons only because I do introspection. There are millions of ways to do a think. I would request you to please fight against corruption in the way you believe you are best.
Democracy ensures freedom............but is IT freedom if we are bound to respect "OUR" national symbols but do not have the right to use them to display "OUR" wrath ? Asked by: PREETY SINGH
freedom is anyways not absolute, I agree. I make cartoons to show the reality. I know this reality is shameful, but please understand that you can't be angry with the mirror which shows you only the face you have.
WILL THE POLITICIANS OF OUR COUNTRY CHANGE? THEY R FOR POWER NOT FOR DOING SERVICE ANY HOW ALL THE BEST FOR UR INTEREST Asked by: V JAYABAL
yes, i am hopeful
What will be your strategy, if you were given a power? Asked by: Showkat
i think i'm in power as far as i'm allowed to raise my voice and my strategy is to draw the cartoons and motivate people for the battle against corruption.
What i got from all this episode is that the complainer Amit had some personal grudge against you as he was only arguing about you making the cartoons mocking the emblems, not about the others who have mocked our emblems. what you say Asked by: Anil
yes, the officers mock the national emblems when they wear national symbols in their uniform while they perform the acts of corruption.
Aseem, don't you agree there should be some limit for the freedom of expressions? The freedom of expression does not mean that one can talk/draw anything which may hurt the nation's image or faith of any religion. Your take? Asked by: Shyam Vadalker
i don't think some drawing or painting are able to change the nation's image. it's only the acts of the citizens, that can hurt the nation's image.
Is arresting you is the mistake of Police or should we say government is responsible because they haven't amended the law in last 62 years Asked by: Vivek Pilania
i think both are responsible. police didn't do the inquiry properly. and government didn't take any step to change the undemocratic law of the british period.
WILL THE POLITICIANS CHANGE IN OUR COUNTRY? ANY HOW ALL THE BEST FOR TRAIL MAJORITY OF THE INDIANS R WITH U Asked by: V JAYABAL
yes, they will. but only if we keep on raising our voice against them and their corruption. we should change ourselves too as gandhi said, be the change that you want to see in the country.
Your cartoons are poor in spelling, in grammar, and in taste. Do you feel happy that a shallow person like you is being given such great publicity? Asked by: Brijesh Kalappa
if you think my cartoons are poor in quality and taste then watch other cartoons. but don't stop them, who like them. you may disagree with my cartoons but it doesn't mean that you stop me drawing cartoons and put behind the bars. as i don't agree with your views but i'll not go for banning you. i'll simply ignore you. don't you think it's a better way. don't you feel we neet to develop some tolerance in our nature.
do you think all the pseudo patriotism that the people have(unfortunately only during independence day, republic day and gandhi's birthday) is masking the reality of the state that our country is in? Asked by: Raghuveer
yes, the people who become patriot only on selected days and during the indo pak cricket matches, never think for their country seriously. the patriotism is a subject of trend and fashion for them.
Hi Aseem, congrats for getting out of prison. What is you next step. Are you going to continue exposing mal-functions of govt thru ur cartoons? Asked by: Showkat
thanks and yes, i'll continue exposing the corrupt system in the same way.
You have asked for scrapping of sedition laws. You might not have acted for being charged under the section 124A. Do you believe there will be no person who will commit an act to get booked under that section ??/ Asked by: sundar1950in
I think, in a free country, there is no room for a sedition law. even in Uk, the sedition law can be framed only on the aliens, not on the native citizens.
Hi aseem, A good majority of the people support your cause and are more angered than perhaps yu are, but they may not agree with the method of depicting our institutions in bad light......the occupants of the institutions might not tobe your expectations, but definetely not the institutions. Asked by: s eshwar
as i earlier said that my purpose is to show you the reality and i expect you to change it.
There have been many senior cartoonists lampooning the wrong,corrupt politicians. They do not become judgemental.You seem to Judge them.Is it OK ??? Asked by: sundar1950in
it depends on the style of the artist. i dont use my art for the entertainment of the reader. neither i do drawings for a company or a news paper. i draw cartoons for a campaign. my purpose is to awake the people.
Were you mistreated or manhandled by the police while in jail? Asked by: Shyam
no.
You had breached limits of decency in denigrating the parlaiment in the cartoon. Do you regret ?? Asked by: sundar1950in
I have not breached any limit. They are the politicians who breached all the limits. they enjoy porn in the assembly house. they ask questions in the house by taking bribes. their only motive is to make money. so the politicians should regret not me.
Do you smell a government conspiracy? Or was it the case of an overzealous person and our outdated legal system? Asked by: Pradyut Sen
yes, it may be. most of the times there is government conspiracy behind the attacks on free speech.
whats your future plans on politically offensive cartoons..? Asked by: SUDHAKAR
my cartoons are not offensive. they showed the reality of the country.