‘Protesting dishonour of Constitution’
IAC supporters shout slogans in support of cartoonist Aseem Trivedi while he was being escorted to the Bandra court on Monday —
In a letter written from the Bandra lock-up, cartoonist Aseem Trivedi said that he would not apply for bail and would continue to be in jail to fight against censorship and section 124 A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code.
“I am walking on Gandhi’s path and will continue to trouble myself for the cause of the nation. Do not get worried…as Anna (Hazare) says that going to jail is an honour for us. I am not applying for bail because I am proud of what I did and will continue to do the same. I am not a criminal to bail myself out by paying money. Till the time, the law framed by the British colonial government — section 124 A (sedition) of the IPC — is not abolished, I will continue to be in jail and protest against it,” said Trivedi in a letter written by him in Hindi. The letter was later circulated by his supporters.
Trivedi termed himself as a “true citizen of the nation”. “If someone telling the truth is termed as a traitor, then I am a traitor. I am a traitor if Gandhi, Bhagat Singh and Azad were traitors. Friends, even a small child of the nation is aware of my motive. I am protesting the dishonour of the citizens and the Constitution. Through my cartoons, I protest the dishonour of the national symbol of our country,” Trivedi said in the letter.
The letter further reads, “Friends, art and literature are mirrors of the society. I have depicted those things in my cartoon…Bharat mata is nothing, but the 125 crore citizens of India and dishonouring us, means dishonouring Bharat mata,”
Trivedi added, “I am a supporter of the Constitution of the country and (Babasaheb) Ambedkar, who formed the Constitution. Hence, I am hurt when I see the Constitution being dishonored and I want to stop it through my cartoons.”
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