This new comic book explores free speech in India, and here's why you should check it out

(Clockwise from left) Panels from the book. Illustrations Courtesy/Rachita Taneja; Bloomsbury India

Rachita Taneja is best known as the creator of Sanitary Panels, a series of webcomics that cast a critical eye on society, politics, and culture, especially in India. In her new book, Touching Grass (Bloomsbury India), Taneja brings a compilation of her best panels over the last 12 years, alongside several new ones. "I had been thinking about putting a book together for a long time. I finally got around to it," she tells us. "I've been working on it since early last year." This process included redrawing her older comics.

Following the tradition of political cartoons, such as those by RK Laxman and Maya Kamath, Taneja's comics blend imitations of leaders and ordinary citizens with topical content and sharp humour. However, unlike Laxman's and Kamath's detailed caricatures, they make use of ‘the humble stick figure'. In her introductory note, she calls this "the purest, simplest representation of a human, pared down to its essence". Some personalities are deliberately distinguishable from the others through additional details, like the beard and spectacles of India's Prime Minister or the long hair of the yoga guru Baba Ramdev.

Rachita Taneja

"Satire is a powerful medium to hold truth to power," she says. "In this country, we've had great cartoonists who have broken down complex issues into a simple and easy-to-understand medium." Taneja believes this is what makes the form an appealing one. Everyone needs to be held accountable, she adds. "Leaders need to be satirised because it brings them down to reality."

The medium is also under threat. "There is a push to silence satire because of how effective it tends to be, especially on social media," she tells us. Anyone can create or consume it. Nevertheless, with a bold disclaimer at the beginning of the book, she continues to create fearlessly, offering nuggets on all that we're experiencing today - doomscrolling, economic inequality, climate crisis, gender and caste-based violence, and more.

Available: Leading bookstores & e-stores

Advice from the artist

>> Consistency is key

>> Be aware of who is being satirised because it is important to understand where you stand in the ladder of privilege and whether you're punching up or punching down

>> Because of misinformation and AI-generated content, it's also important to check the source of news. Make sure your news sources are diverse, independent, and trustworthy

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