Aseem Trivedi: A Brilliant Cartoonist with a Cause
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| Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi |
Few days ago, as everyone knows, government shoved Aseem Trivedi into jail with no apparent reason. Government framed false sedition charges against Aseem in order to harass him. However, these hard hand tactics of those in power didn’t go down well with common people and media. At the end, government had to release him under immense pressure of people of this country. I also saw some pseudo-intellectuals on television terming his work as substandard and mediocre.
Let’s take the creative angle first. When it comes to the art of drawing cartoons, how it can be judged objectively? As you’re reading this blog post, you might be wondering about the same thing. A cartoon is not just a tool to evoke laughter. A cartoon is effective when it unclothes the absurdities hidden under the layers of so-called established beliefs and functioning systems, and that too, in a satirical way. The worth of a cartoon can be assessed by the impact it creates. When you look at Aseem’s cartoons, you feel as if something has pierced your heart. When you look at those cartoons, you keep thinking about those images and their effect on you even long after you first saw them.
These cartoons undrape this corrupt system and force you to think – force you to act indeed. Why these cartoons are so powerful? These cartoons are so powerful and influencing, because they assert truth the way it is. There’s no effort to cover-up the truth. These cartoons, though labeled “crude” by pseudo-intellectuals sometimes, strike at the very center of your being and ask you to get up and do something to bring about the change. This is the true creativity. And if I’m to voice my opinion as clearly as possible, I’d rather say – it is the artistry of highest class and in these so-called objectionable cartoons, Aseem touched the zenith of his art.
This is the moment, when Aseem and the battle for free speech that he is fighting should get wider support from all sections of society. The present draconian government is trying to curtail our fundamental right of free speech – it is imprisoning artists like Aseem, clamping down on medium of free speech like internet and beating innocent people who protest against it at midnight. Today, if we fail to support Aseem Trivedi and his cause, we will witness our democracy tumbling like the house of cards.
Join his Facebook group here – Save Your Voice.
Let’s take the creative angle first. When it comes to the art of drawing cartoons, how it can be judged objectively? As you’re reading this blog post, you might be wondering about the same thing. A cartoon is not just a tool to evoke laughter. A cartoon is effective when it unclothes the absurdities hidden under the layers of so-called established beliefs and functioning systems, and that too, in a satirical way. The worth of a cartoon can be assessed by the impact it creates. When you look at Aseem’s cartoons, you feel as if something has pierced your heart. When you look at those cartoons, you keep thinking about those images and their effect on you even long after you first saw them.
These cartoons undrape this corrupt system and force you to think – force you to act indeed. Why these cartoons are so powerful? These cartoons are so powerful and influencing, because they assert truth the way it is. There’s no effort to cover-up the truth. These cartoons, though labeled “crude” by pseudo-intellectuals sometimes, strike at the very center of your being and ask you to get up and do something to bring about the change. This is the true creativity. And if I’m to voice my opinion as clearly as possible, I’d rather say – it is the artistry of highest class and in these so-called objectionable cartoons, Aseem touched the zenith of his art.
This is the moment, when Aseem and the battle for free speech that he is fighting should get wider support from all sections of society. The present draconian government is trying to curtail our fundamental right of free speech – it is imprisoning artists like Aseem, clamping down on medium of free speech like internet and beating innocent people who protest against it at midnight. Today, if we fail to support Aseem Trivedi and his cause, we will witness our democracy tumbling like the house of cards.
Join his Facebook group here – Save Your Voice.
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