Multiple versions of a satirical cartoon have been doing the rounds over recent years on social media, deprecating either India’s national political parties, schemes of the ruling government or certain educational institutions.
The cartoon, purportedly created by American cartoonist Ben Garrison, shows a cow defecating into a bucket, which is meant to represent Indian people.
The cow is used to draw sharp reactions, as it is seen as sacred by India’s Hindu majority.
In one particular version of the cartoon, the cow (depicted as the Congress party) is seen eating an India-shaped leaf and defecating into a bucket (Indian people) while the milk it produces is collected in a separate bucket (the Gandhi family).
The same cartoon has been shared in varied contexts over the years:
THE TRUTH
After tracking the doctored cartoons across Facebook, Twitter and Reddit, and by reverse image searching several instances of the cartoon, WebQoof tracked down the first instance of the cartoon back to a September 2015 Facebook post.
The original cartoon was a creation of Amal Medhi, a political cartoonist based out of Goalpora district in Assam. In the original, Medhi had not disparaged any political party but had rather criticised the Make in India policy of the ruling dispensation.
WebQoof reached out to Medhi, who confirmed over the phone that the cartoon was indeed his creation and not one made by Garrison.
“Yes, this is my cartoon. Such posts (edited versions of his cartoon) have been in circulation for a while now,” Medhi said.
Garrison had also issued a clarification on the same on Twitter in 2017. “I have never drawn any cartoons on India politics,” he said.
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