Instagram restricts cartoonist Satish Acharya's account in India over cartoons on EC

New Delhi: After Instagram restricted access to cartoonist Satish Acharya's account within India, the Kerala Cartoon Academy expressed solidarity with him and called for the "ban" to be revoked.

The restriction came days after Acharya's cartoons took on the Election Commission over its decisions on the electoral roll revision exercise.

'Does Cong not trust EC in Keralam, Karnataka?': Smriti Irani defends poll panel; questions Oppn on voter deletions

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."

Political cartoonist Manjul, too, said that one of his cartoons on the Election Commission has been allegedly restricted in India.

This comes amid a firestorm over an Indian Express report that questions were repeatedly raised on issues related to the SIR of electoral rolls within the three-member Election Commission (EC) by two of the three commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

Sandhu and Joshi have formally objected, on record, at least 14 times over the last 10 months to decisions taken and orders issued, which they said were without their knowledge or recommendations, according to the report. The EC has said all SIR-related decisions were unanimous.

Sharing the development on X, Acharya said some of his cartoons published in 2023 were also being blocked.

"Darr ke aage jeet nahi hai, Saheb! (There’s no victory beyond fear, Sir!) Some cartoons published in 2023 are also being blocked NOW!" he posted.

Darr ke aage jeet nahi hai, Saheb!
Some cartoons published in 2023 are also being blocked NOW! pic.twitter.com/Khjx3uCoz6

— Satish Acharya (@satishacharya) September 28, 2026

Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has not issued any separate statement on the issue so far.

Reacting to the restriction, Acharya also shared on X a December 2018 statement by Narendra Modi, in which the prime minister had praised the work of late cartoonist R K Laxman and congratulated his family on the digitisation of his 'Common Man' cartoon.

"Cartoons have healing power, cartoonists closer to god, says PM Narendra Modi," read the headline of the media report that Acharya shared.

“Wah Modiji Wah! #BlockSarkar,” Acharya captioned the post.

Cartoonist Manjul too has posted on X on Sunday that Instagram has restricted access in India to one of his cartoons about the Election Commission following a notice from the government or law enforcement.

"The cartoon is still visible outside India... A cartoon about the Election Commission has been stopped from being seen by Indians. When satire gets censored, perhaps the cartoon has made its point,” Manjul said, sharing the cartoon in question on X.

The Kerala Cartoon Academy has strongly protested the restrictions imposed on the cartoons of Manjul and Acharya on social media platforms in India.

In a statement, the academy said similar restrictions had also been imposed on several other cartoonists and expressed concern that those affected had not come forward in open protest.

"Cartooning is an art form of criticism. The Kerala Cartoon Academy expresses concern over the growing trend of curbing criticism in the present times,” said the statement issued by Sudhir Nath, chairman of the Kerala Cartoon Academy.

The academy also recalled an exchange involving India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and cartoonist Shankar, in which Nehru is widely quoted as telling him, "Don’t spare me".

"The cartoon academy is deeply concerned about the issue. The bans should be withdrawn immediately," it said.

The academy said it stood in solidarity with Manjul and Satish Acharya, while emphasising the importance of freedom of expression and democratic values.