Numerous online campaigns and protests were organised across India last week.
Amid surging rage over horrific rapes and murders this year, numerous online campaigns and protests were organised across India last week. Invites, strongly-worded messages and razor-sharp cartoons followed. A woman journalist in Hyderabad has landed in trouble after she used a cartoon depicting Lord Ram and his queen Sita to convey her message on women's safety.
The cartoon imagined Sita commenting to Lord Ram on the Kathua eight-year-old gang-raped and murdered in January, and the Unnao teen who has alleged rape by a BJP lawmaker.
Hyderabad-based Swathi Vadlamudi, who drew the cartoon, shared it on social media last week. It went viral within a few hours, drawing both praise and abuse. She was threatened with a Charlie Hebdo-style attack; 12 people were killed when the French weekly magazine's Paris office was attacked by two armed men in January 2015 after they published a satirical cartoon on Prophet Mohammed.
Journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru last year, was also mentioned in the comments section of her post on Facebook.
A few days ago, a complaint was filed against Ms Vadlamudi by Hyderabad-based Hindu Sanghatan's president and advocate Kashimshetty Karuna Sagar for "hurting the sentiments of Hindus". Her cartoon was termed as "offensive" and "derogatory". Another journalist, Ahmed Shabbir, has been named in the complaint for sharing the cartoon.
A case has been registered.
Sattaiah, a police officer in Saidabad, told news agency ANI, "A case was registered against Ahmed Shabbir. Sagar again approached us on April 15 and requested to include Swathi's name in the FIR, which was registered on April 13. Action will be initiated after the enquiry."
The Hindu Sanghatan has also filed a complaint against Kerala-based Durga Malathi for drawing the "most offensive" images of religious symbols, such as the trident, that resembled male genitalia smeared in blood.
Not one to bow down, Ms Vadlamudi wrote on Facebook: