Published Oct 02, 2026 | 2:31 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 02, 2026 | 2:53 PM
InJest in a satirical column by South First. Names, places, situations are all fictitious. Caricature by Satish Acharya/South First.
In what turned out to be no laughing matter, the government came out with one clarification after another and another, a few more, two minutes or so after it announced a ban on political cartoons.
The government gave Satire Satya exclusive access to address a host of worries and the tons of laughter the ban sparked.
It clarified, to the relief of all ministers, that only cartoons that make politicians look like jokes will be banned—not jokes that are serious politics.
The Cartoon Minister told Satya in all seriousness, “The ban is for only political cartoons and does not include cartoons in politics.”
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As cartoonists ran dry on support and ink, Opposition parties backed the ban on the condition that those in government continue to support it even when they are in opposition.
The joke was on them when it was clarified that the ban will have no exceptions at all except when the opposition is made fun of.
Satya also found through a cartoon that, other than that, satire with any mention of 56 inches, ‘chhota’ (little or tiny) or ‘bandar’(‘monkey’ or ‘Tea Minister’) was banned too.
Further amendments and clarifications added terms like news, bad, GDP, inflation, hugs, facial, suits, boots, sarkar (government), paper, leaks, election, commission, vote, chori, stock market, crash, Gen and Z.
Though reels were not initially included in the ban because the Top Minister was in the mood to act, reflections caught him and his teleprompter out, so they were added.
When legally challenged, the ban was backed by the highest and lowest courts and their judges, since court jesters were not included.
TV media supported it since now they will have a monopoly on putting out funny content on serious issues and being the sole joke in town.
The minister of cartoons also told Satya, who was taking everything in jest, that other than reporting, he would not be allowed to exist anymore either.
Cartoons of old and new, including Satire Satya, gathered at Jantar Mantar to protest as they were now officially declared less funny and more dangerous than those in politics.
(Written by Prabhpreet, an Unsanskari Writer, with a lifelong experience of laughing at things that make him cry.)
InJest is a satirical column from South First. Names, places, and situations referred to in the satirical piece are fictitious and are not intended to hurt any sentiments. The column is meant to be taken with a pinch of salt and a whole lot of laughs.
