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Justice N Nagaresh of the Kerala High Court has issued notice in a plea against the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi for awarding a cartoon that portrayed 'India as a ‘cow’ at the Covid-19 Global Medical Summit, where England, China and the USA are represented as humans.'
The cartoon is drawn by Anoop Radhakrishnan, secretary of Kerala Cartoon Academy. It is titled ‘COVID-19 Global Medical Summit’, depicting a cow shrouded in a saffron shawl representing India flanked by doctors in England, China, and the United States in the global medical summit.
The petition was moved by Haindaveeyam Foundation, arraigning the Union Government, Kerala Government, the state Lalithakala Akademi, cartoonist Anoop Radhakrishnan and unnamed jurist of the Honourable Mention Award for the cartoon, as respondents.
The Foundation has claimed that the cartoon disparages India and distorts reality.
According to them, it was authored with a deliberate intention to create public disorder. It has submitted that they approached the respondents to review the award, however, nothing transpired therefrom.
Thus, the present petition has prayed that the award be withdrawn. The plea also accused the criteria adopted by the Respondents in declaring the award to the said cartoon, to be illegal, unreasonable, and without any rationale.
Earlier the Kerala unit of BJP and its feeder organisations lashed out against the Akademi for selecting a cartoon that ‘humiliates’ the country, for its Honourable Mention Award.
BJP State President K Surendran tweeted out that those holding responsible positions are trying to insult and humiliate their own country.
Cause Title: Haindaveeyam Foundation v Union of India & Ors.
Photo: Twitter
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