Hindu Council of Australia says the Hindu community is deeply hurt that the Daily Telegraph chose to use an image of the revered Hindu deity Ganesh being hammered on the head.
NRI Affairs Correspondent
In a statement, the Australia-based Hindu body has demanded an apology from the paper for publishing the cartoon.
“People think it is ok to use Hindu icons and gods as they please. The image that the Daily Telegraph of Ganesha being hit with a hammer is unacceptable. We demand an apology,” said the Hindu Council of Australia.
The Daily Telegraph published a cartoon with columnist Louise Roberts’ piece on page 13. The article is about Australians stranded in India due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The cartoon depicts an Indian, a purple-coloured lord Ganesha, being whacked by a hammer on the head.
“While we appreciate Louise making the case in support of the Indian-Australian community members stranded in India, we found the use of the image of Ganesh being hammered very disturbing and demonstrates a lack of sensitivity on the part of the artist,” said HCA in its statement.
Several organisations have criticised the cartoon calling it ‘insensitive.’
Hindus of Human Rights Australia told the NRIAffairs that this type of unskillful art and editing is a critique of the structural racism and ignorance in some aspects of Australian media.
Punya Upadhyaya of Hindus for Human Rights says, “We think this type of unskillful art and editing is a critique of the structural racism and ignorance in some aspects of Australian media. We look forward to a more thoughtful and fact-based discussion, one with greater self-awareness by media houses. This is a serious crisis with life and death implications- such juvenile distractions detract from the reflective decisions we would like – e.g. letting all citizens come home as a fundamental right.”
NRI Affairs have approached The Daily Telegraph for a comment, and the response is awaited.
