Cartoonists pay the price as Kerala Lalithakala Akademi humours pressure groups

The first whiplash that the cartoonist community received was the one associated with Bishop Franco Mulakkal.
Kerala Lalithakala Akademi (Photo| Special Arrangement)
Kerala Lalithakala Akademi (Photo| Special Arrangement)

KOCHI: It seems freedom of expression has become a thing of the past. This is the statement that most cartoonists not only in other parts of the country but also in the state have to say. And why not since they have been at the receiving end for their satirical take on some topics? The situation now is such that for the past two years, the cartoonists, who got recognition through awards instituted by Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, have allegedly been sidelined.

"The first whiplash that the cartoonist community received was the one associated with Bishop Franco Mulakkal. When the state cartoon award for 2018-2019 was announced, a section of the Church raised objections. The winning cartoon was a satirical take on the bishop. But with the Church raising objections, the akademi decided to defer the presentation of the award," said Kerala Cartoon Academy secretary Anoop Radhakrishnan.

The deferment of the award presentation happened again. "In 2019-2020, when the award was announced, I was shortlisted for honourable mention. Yet again, religious sentiments -- this time of Hindus -- became the hurdle and the award presentation was deferred," he added.

According to him, three awards are given every year -- the state cartoon award and two honourable mentions. "But all that have come to a stop. When we approached the akademi chairman and secretary, they expressed their helplessness. However, they said the awards will be presented soon. That was three months ago," said the cartoonist.

According to him, the akademi used to present cartoon and photography awards on the same day. "Hence, the photography awards too got deferred in 2018-19 and 2019-2020. But this time around, the akademi has decided to hold the award presentation on July 9. However, the akademi has not issued any statement on cartoon awards," said the cartoonist.

However, Akademi secretary Balamurali Krishnan refuted the allegations. He said, "The award presentation will be held. The present office-bearers of the akademi have the same opinion on this point. In the case of photography awards, there were no issues, but the presentation of these also got deferred. Hence, it was decided to hold a presentation on July 9."

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