Why was Satish Acharya’s Instagram restricted in India? The EC cartoon row explained
New Delhi: Instagram has restricted access in India to the account of political cartoonist Satish Acharya, prompting the Kerala Cartoon Academy to express solidarity with him and call for the restriction to be withdrawn.
The restriction came days after Acharya published cartoons commenting on the Election Commission and its decisions related to the revision of electoral rolls. Instagram's notice said access had been restricted in India pursuant to legal requirements under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules.
Satish Acharya’s Instagram account restricted
A message displayed on Acharya's Instagram page said: “We temporarily restricted access to this account pursuant to legal requirements under India's Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules.”
Acharya said on X that some of his cartoons published in 2023 were also being blocked.
The restriction followed a series of cartoons he had posted about the Election Commission, including work based on an Indian Express report about objections raised within the poll panel over decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Cartoonist Manjul has also alleged that Instagram restricted access in India to one of his cartoons on the Election Commission.
In a post on X, Manjul said Instagram had restricted the cartoon following a notice from the government or law enforcement authorities. He said the cartoon remained visible outside India.
The cartoonist said the work concerned the Election Commission and its decision-making process.
Also read | Congress turns up heat on EC: PM, CEC resignations among CWC demands
Restrictions follow controversy over electoral roll revision
The developments come amid a controversy over an Indian Express report concerning the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
According to the report, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to decisions and orders related to the exercise, saying they had been taken without their knowledge or recommendations.
The Election Commission has said that decisions related to the SIR were unanimous. Reuters has also reported that the poll panel has initiated a review of its voter-roll software following the concerns raised in the report.
Acharya shares Modi’s 2018 remarks
Reacting to the restriction, Acharya shared on X a December 2018 statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi praising the work of late cartoonist R K Laxman and congratulating his family on the digitisation of his Common Man cartoons.
Acharya accompanied the post with the caption “Wah Modiji Wah! #BlockSarkar”.
Also read | SIR question gets bigger: EC says no nationwide decision was taken in 2025
Kerala Cartoon Academy protests
The Kerala Cartoon Academy has strongly protested the restrictions involving the works of Acharya and Manjul on social media platforms in India.
In a statement issued by its chairman Sudhir Nath, the academy said similar restrictions had been imposed on several other cartoonists and expressed concern that many of those affected had not publicly protested.
“Cartooning is an art form of criticism,” the academy said, expressing concern over what it described as a growing trend of curbing criticism.
The academy also recalled the well-known exchange between former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and cartoonist Shankar, in which Nehru is widely quoted as telling him, “Don't spare me”.
The academy called for the restrictions to be withdrawn and said it stood in solidarity with Acharya and Manjul, while stressing the importance of freedom of expression and democratic values.
(With PTI inputs)