On January 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the hologram statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at India Gate. The hologram will fill the space intended for the Netaji statue until the granite statue is finished and installed in place.

However, this move did not sit well with a section of so-called intellectuals and liberals, who had no qualms about mocking the legacy of one of the country’s most formidable freedom fighters. in its attempt to mount an attack on Prime Minister Modi and BJP.

Such an attempt was made by Gujarat Samachar and cartoonist Manjul. In the January 24 edition, the press house published a cartoon in the paper edition where two men with saffron ballads talk to each other in front of a statue. The caption written in Gujarati translates to “Who is this guy? And when did he die? Just because he was against Nehru and Gandhi Ji, we erected his statue.

The media house and cartoonist not only mocked the freedom fighter but also downplayed Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s contribution to the country’s fight for independence. Netaji played a vital role in India’s struggle for freedom from oppressive British colonial rule by establishing Azad Hind Fauj, a military regiment that would fight with the British government. Yet, for Manjul and Gujarat Samachar, Bose’s crucial role in India’s independence struggle meant nothing as they hinted that his statue was only installed because he was allegedly against Nehru and Gandhi. . It was Netaji who was among those who first called Mahatma Gandhi the Father of the Nation.

However, for Manjul and his detractors like him, Netaji and the other freedom fighters except the Nehru dynasty are nothing more than sticks to beat the Modi government. In fact, a host of social media users, including activist Vijay Patel, strongly criticized the cartoon for denigrating the legacy of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and using a hulking freedom fighter to advance its political propaganda. .

Manjul and the History of Making Disparaging Cartoons

This is not the first time that Manjul has drawn derogatory cartoons and got away with demanding freedom of expression. In 2021, after receiving an email from Twitter that an Indian law enforcement agency had raised an objection on his account, Manjul, who is an anti-BJP cartoonist, cried foul. He tried to insinuate that the Modi government was trying to silence his freedom of speech. He had shared a screenshot of an email received from “Twitter Legal”, in which he indicated that the microblogging platform had received a request from Indian law enforcement authorities regarding his account. “Jai Ho Modi Ji ki sarkar ki (All hail the government led by Narendra Modi),” he alleged.

In another tweet, he claimed, “Thank you Modi govt for not asking twitter to close the handle for being anti-religious and atheist and not considering Modi Ji as my God.” Manjul further insinuated that Twitter’s warning was received at the request of the Indian government. He wrote: “It would have been better if the government informed him of the tweet that offended him. I could have reposted the same tweet. It would have helped people. »

Gujarat Samachar also has a problematic history. In 2021, Urvish Kothari, one of its columnists, mocked the government of Gujarat and used a video of burning pyres to attack the government’s covid management capabilities. In 2019, Gujarat Samachar thought invoking the slogan “How is Josh” to question the government was a good move. The Islamists used this phrase to celebrate the Pulwama attack.