‘Big Brother’ to ‘Saffron Burden’: Instagram Artists Take On CAA

Illustration by @sanitarypanels on Instagram.

(Photo Courtesy: Instagram)

Art speaks louder than slogans. While India undergoes socio-political turmoil and students from universities all over India protest against the Amended Citizenship Act, artists on Instagram are expressing their dissent through art.

Several graphic illustrators and artists on Instagram have been sharing artwork, posters and comic strips slamming the government’s decision to implement the Citizen Amendment Bill despite the public uproar. While some are arguing the ‘saffronisation’ of India with vivid colours and graphic sketches, others are urging people to speak up against it by (literally) drawing striking parallels.

Poster Art: #CAB Against Constitution

Kruttika Susarla on Instagram urged everyone to join the protests against the CAB in their respective cities. In a post, she asked her followers to read up on why CAB and NRC are dangerous and prompted them to speak up against it. She also shared a free downloadable poster with a graphic image of BR Ambedkar, which read ‘#CAB Against Constitution’.

Graffiti: ‘Everything Is Fine’ Echoes ‘Big Brother is Watching You’

A graffiti artist with a follower count of 21K who identifies himself as Tyler is selling stencils of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Rs 50 on his Instagram handle post CAB approval. The stencil art is reminiscent of the dictator, Big Brother from George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984.

Illustration: The Burden of Saffron

This illustration of the Ashoka chakra carrying the burden of the saffron colour in the Indian flag has garnered over 30,000 likes on Instagram in 23 hours. Captioned as ‘weighing us down’, this illustration is by a Mumbai-based graphic designer who has been vocal about the changing Indian political scenario.

Illustration: India No More Secular

Rachita Taneja is the creator of the webcomic Sanitary Panels. With a follower count of over 27K, Taneja scathingly criticised the BJP government for passing the Citizenship Amendment Bill with the use of striking sketches.

Artwork: Post-Independence Civil Disobedience

This photoshopped image of the Civil Disobedience Movement reads ‘Shah-Modi Go Back’ instead of ‘Simon Go Back’. Sumit Roy, a visual illustrator, expressed his dissent against the Citizenship Amendment Act by calling for a movement as potent as the civil disobedience movement. He captioned the altered historic photograph,
“Let’s reject and protest against the real anti-nationals.”