In recent years, memes have become a popular form of political commentary and satire. With their ability to convey complex ideas in a simple and humorous way, memes have the potential to revive the art of political cartoons and satires.

Political cartoons and satires have a long history of using humor to comment on current events and political issues. From the caricatures of the French Revolution to the editorial cartoons of modern newspapers, political cartoons have been an important part of political discourse.

However, in recent years, the popularity of political cartoons and satires has declined. Many people now turn to social media for their news and political commentary, where memes have become the dominant form of humor and satire.

Memes are often created by ordinary people, rather than professional cartoonists or satirists. This democratization of humor has allowed for a wider range of voices to be heard, and for diverse perspectives to be represented. Moreover, memes are often more accessible than traditional political cartoons or satires. They can be easily shared on social media platforms, and their simple format makes them easy to understand and share with others.

Ms. Priyanka Sharma shared on Facebook a photoshopped image of a recent photo of Bollywood heroine Priyanka Chopra from the MET Gala event in New York, replacing her face with that of the Chief Minister of West Bengal and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Ms. Mamata Banerjee, and it went viral.

Outside of making her friends laugh and poking fun at her political opponent during this time of general elections in India, I think she didn’t mean to make any sort of political statement with it, at least the image doesn’t convey anything. Ms. Sharma is an activist of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a political opponent of TMC in the state of West Bengal.

Ms. Banerjee and her party TMC weren’t amused. One of her party colleagues lodged a police complaint against Ms. Sharma. Following the complaint, West Bengal police immediately arrested the 25-YO girl on May 10 under section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code and under other provisions of the Information Technology Act and put her under 14-day judicial remand. Her arrest was followed by protests from the BJP and other social media users. The speed of arrest is really noteworthy.

During the hearing before granting her bail today, the Supreme Court bench observed that though freedom of speech is non-negotiable but “your freedom of speech ends when it infringes upon others’ rights.” Freedom of expression means that the government doesn’t interfere with an individual’s right to express their thoughts or feelings, so long as the expression doesn’t invoke or cause any immediate harm or danger. Due to the controversy on the morphed image, I am not posting it here. I wonder how can that banal meme causes any harm or danger to anybody, incite violence or disrupt public order! Maybe Ms. Banerjee and her party colleagues have lost their sense of humour in the heat of elections.

Viral content on social media like memes are becoming frequent content in political communication too. Recent years we have witnessed satirical, funny and very popular form of presenting political candidates in memes on social media. Watching the meme spread made me realise memes are often used as, or interpreted as, a political statement — just like political cartoons.

Cartoons or caricatures are visual representations, words or signs which are supposed to have an element of wit, humour or sarcasm. Freedom of speech cannot be encroached upon if there is no incitement to violence or intention of disrupting public order, says the Bombay High Court judgement on Aseem Trivedi’s cartoons.

Political cartoons are an important tool to frame social crisis. This is because, contrary to journalists who strive to produce unbiased content, cartoonists are encouraged to choose a side. Because of their humorous nature, some experts argue that these illustrations are more provocative and influential than other forms of opinion.

Humour is the foundation of a cartoon, and it is its limitation. Attempts to rationalise humour in terms of today’s utilitarian social structure probably explain why political cartooning, and the genre of cartooning as a whole is a dying art.

Memes are often innocuous, used for banter and as an in-the-know way to communicate and feel part of a group. Despite their popularity, memes are not without their critics. Some argue that memes are too simplistic and shallow to be effective political commentary. Others worry that memes can be used to spread misinformation or hate speech.

However, if used responsibly, memes have the potential to revive the art of political cartoons and satires. By combining humor with social commentary, memes can engage a wider audience in political discourse and encourage critical thinking about important issues.

In a fast-paced environment such as the internet, memes have the potential to revive political cartoons and satires by democratizing humor and making it more accessible to a wider audience. While there are valid concerns about the use of memes in political discourse, they offer a unique opportunity to engage people in important issues and encourage critical thinking.