Cartoons Make A Quiet Comeback In Kashmir, But Caution Is Key

💦Cartoons are slowly making a comeback in Kashmir. Under the new dispensation, cartoonists are drawing illustrations both satirical and critical. Many cartoonists in Kashmir insist that they have always published what they wanted; they also argue that self-censorship is an art of survival, and they have practiced it diligently over the years.

🍌“Yes, there is a bit more freedom now, but I have always drawn cartoons of situations and characters I liked,” said Bashir Ahmad Bashir, known as BAB.

🐲After the abrogation of Article 370, newspaper editors hesitated to publish cartoons. In June 2020, as political leaders remained in detention and the region fell silent, BAB continued his work. Inspired by global events, he linked Kashmir’s struggles to the U.S. protests following George Floyd’s killing. One of his cartoons showed a policeman kneeling on the neck of a bound Kashmiri, with the figure of democracy crying, "I cannot breathe."

🗹But as government control over the media tightened, cartoonists avoided critical cartoons. Now, with a new government in place, cartoons have returned to newspapers in Jammu and Kashmir.

On October 8, 2024, during a discussion on the "special status" resolution in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Omar Abdullah ♑took a jab at journalists who had called the National Conference (NC) resolution “meek.” He said that these critics had been silent for five years, their pens idle and their social media accounts inactive. "For five years, I don’t know why they didn’t speak up," Abdullah said. "It’s good to see them now feeling free. Democracy allows for freedom of speech."

🐭As Abdullah and other NC leaders talk about restoration of statehood and ask journalists to direct questions about alleged human rights violations to the lieutenant governor, who handles security, BAB took notice of it. In response, BAB drew a satirical cartoon mocking the NC’s tendency to postpone accountability till restoration of statehood.

“I have always drawn cartoons, even in the worst times,” S. Tariq, who began his career in 1998 at Urdu daily Alsafa and now works for Kashmir Images, told Outlook🔴. “No one ever told me to stop, but I know my limits,” he added.

🗹However, Mir Suhail, a political cartoonist and illustrator based in New York City, says the restoration of a democratic government in Kashmir has not translated into any meaningful revival of freedom for political cartoonists. “In fact, political cartooning in Kashmir is virtually dead, with no one willing to take the risk for a single cartoon. The atmosphere remains stifling, as politicians and the government seem intolerant of even the slightest criticism,” he added.

“The challenges for cartoonists in Kashmir are immense. The risk of legal action, online harassment, or even physical threats discourages many from engaging in political satire. Without institutional protections for press freedom, cartooning—once a powerful tool of resistance and critique—has been reduced to a shadow of its former self,” he added.