Letter: Cartoon damages Zapiro's credibility

Had Zapiro or his editor bothered to do some research, they would realise the gross inaccuracies in the caricature, says Yuven Gounde.

Pretoria - As a solid fan of Zapiro, I must admit that as a Hindu I was disgusted when I saw the cartoon. As an ex-teacher of English and a communication specialist, I found the images totally incongruous with the supposed “message”.

The innuendo of sacrifice and Lord Ganesha as a bat-wielding “demon” is bound to anger Hindus who respect their god.

Zapiro says: “Something that would speak to people and something that showed what people have been feeling.” In the spirit of artistic expression and freedom of expression, I can only concede that Zapiro must be “daft” and I question his so-called academic “accolades”.

Equally suspicious is the comments of the (Sunday Times) editor who seems “surprised” by the backlash. Phylicia Oppelt said it was unfortunate that so many Hindus had interpreted it as an attack on their deity.

What baffles me is that both these individuals are people who work in a media environment and yet they are clueless about religious sensitivities (and accuracies!).

Had Zapiro or his learned editor bothered to do some basic research they would realise the gross inaccuracies in the caricature. So, I urge you, although the proverbial horse has bolted, do what you were supposed to do in the first place. Then perhaps Zapiro may change his mind about an apology. Ganesha is associated with removing obstacles – and this includes ignorance!

Oppelt goes further to say: “The cartoon suggested that CSA behaved as supplicants to the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

“Ganesha was depicted in the cartoon as a symbol of the BCCI and was chosen because of the deity’s strong association with India.”

Ms Oppelt, I really would like to know how a Hindu deity can be associated as a symbol of the BCCI? Has your media house or cartoonist simply run out of ideas or was the cartoon “conjured” while under the influence of some sort of “substance” to get the artistic juices flowing (at the expense of the intellectual juices)? Is this some sort of modern-day Kubla Khan hallucination? Remember, Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an artist – he was famous, not notorious!

Then Zapiro says: “Using the icon is in fact not an attack on that icon. In this case I am not attacking Hinduism and I am not attacking Lord Ganesha. I feel that as we are a secular society living in a secular democracy… this was a fitting metaphor for the way that the cricket board of India got the South African cricket board to sideline Haroon Lorgat.”

Zapiro, I implore you, was Lord Ganesha the ONLY symbol that came to mind when trying to find a parallel for the Indian cricket board?

Have you not visited India to get more appropriate images and less offensive ones? India, like its religion and culture, is rich and diverse and I don’t think “aliens” should denigrate it.

Or is this just a PR exercise for yourself because it “tickles your funny bone and your ego, of course”. Or are you simply a sadist where you hurt a people and gloat about your warped caricature? Sometimes a warped caricature comes from a warped mind all in the name of freedom of expression, of course!

You won’t apologise? I think the people you offended simply don’t care – even if you do. You have simply lost your credibility and please go on doing what you do. Sooner or later it is going to catch up with you and your cartoons will be just for you – and your editor!

Yuven Gounde

Gezina

* The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Newspapers.

Pretoria News

** The complaint about the cartoon has been dismissed by the Press Ombudsman.

• Hindu cartoon complaint dismissed