Where are the protectors of press freedom in Tamilnadu hiding?


The veteran cartoonist Mathi would have not imagined that a theme he drew for Corona awareness would cost him his job. The leading Tamil daily Dina Thanthi carried a cartoon of a leader’s statue covered with Corona mask which enraged the DMK as it felt that the statute resembled that of its founder C N Annadurai.

The newspaper office was bombarded with protest calls and the DMK chief shot off a letter to the editor strongly condemning the artist and the magazine. A campaign was launched in social media to condemn the daily.
What is surprising to the people of Tamilnadu is the height of hypocrisy by the so called intellectuals, leaders, cine artistes and self proclaimed rationalists who do not hesitate to gang up to support contents that offend national sentiments, Hindu tradition or Hindu deities in the name of Press freedom and freedom of speech.  But in this case they are tight lipped and do not want to give a chance for a senior artist who has contributed a lot for journalism.
Without support from any quarter, the daily succumbed to the pressure from the might political groups and not only expressed regret but is believed to have agreed not to publish any more cartoons of Artist Mathi.
Certainly mistakes need to be pointed out but muzzling the press with political force is not good for democracy in the state. This incident also exposes the double standards of the liberals in the state. 

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