Cartoonists Closer to God, Modiji? Satish Acharya’s Insta Page, South First Cartoon Blocked
Editorial cartoonist Satish Acharya’s Instagram account has been blocked in India since Monday, 28 September. Earlier, some of his cartoons, including a few published in 2023, were restricted.
The message on his Instagram page says: “We temporarily restricted access to this account pursuant to legal requirements under India’s Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules.”
Among the cartoons restricted, one is drawn for South First, which is critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following the Election Commission of India (ECI) expose by Indian Express.
Sharing that a few cartoons from 2023 are also being blocked, Satish Acharya wrote on X: “Darr ke aage jeet nahi hai, Saheb! (There’s no victory before fear, Sir!) Some cartoons published in 2023 are also being blocked NOW!”
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
The Instagram notice for restricting the cartoon read: “We restricted access to your content in India pursuant to a notice from The Government of India/Law Enforcement under Section 79(3) (b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.”
The cartoon remains inaccessible on South First’s Instagram page too, and the notice says, “Post not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.”
Calling out the Modi government for restricting accounts and content critical of it, Satish Acharya shared a statement of PM Modi from December 2018 when he congratulated the late cartoonist RK Laxman’s family for digitalising the ‘Common Man’ cartoon.
“Cartoons have healing power, cartoonists closer to god," PM Narendra Modi had then said.
“Wah Modiji Wah! #BlockSarkar,” Satish Acharya posted after sharing the quote.
Earlier restrictions
This is not the first time the cartoonist’s content has been targeted by the Modi government.
In March, the Union government had sent him two notices via X (formerly Twitter) in three days to remove two of his cartoons, including one he had drawn for South First, from the platform.
In a mail sent to Acharya, X Corp said that it had received a blocking order from the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, citing Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
“Due to legal restrictions, we are unable to provide you with additional information. However, if you wish to contest this blocking order, we encourage you to contact cyberlaw@meity.gov.in or seek appropriate relief from the courts. Indian law obligates X to withhold access to this content in India; however, the content remains available elsewhere,” it had said in the notice.
This story was first published by South First.
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