7 Indian Comics

7 Indian Comics That Are Tackling Social Issues

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Rachel Mathias

Animated cartoons, creative illustrations and comics have been constantly used as a medium to communicate a message of social change. From promoting the importance of hygienic surroundings to education of girl child, comics have gone a long way in taking up serious causes.

In recent times we noticed comics, graphic novels, webcomics that work towards spreading information on lesser known topics like identifying abuse, sex education, mental illnesses, menstruation and more. Here are a few that caught our eye:

Priya’s Shakti

Depicting the adventures of a girl from rural India, who invokes the power of Goddess Durga to battle eve-teasers, the novel also carries stories of four girls who were survivors of rape and their battles for justice. The brainchild of writer/filmmaker, Ram Devineni, artist Dan Goldman and social impact strategist Lina Srivastava, say that the comic book was born in response to the December 2012 gang rape in New Delhi.

Queer Graphic Anthology

The anthology captures queer graphic fiction, cartoons, illustrations, doodles, and true stories from personal experiences of people who resonate with the LGBTQ community. The stories help people to see the way one view’s the world, by expressing values on equality and love for all. (Also read – Behind The Scenes Of India’s First Ever Queer Graphic Anthology)

Hush

Indie publishing house Manta Ray created a gripping graphic depiction of child sexual abuse. Hush follows a dark plot with illustrations that would remind one of the elegant charcoal drawings.

Grassroots Comics

Grassroots Comics are created to talk about and voice the issues of individuals from diverse backgrounds. The comics truly have given a new direction to representation of silences. The comics are pasted as flyers in all possible spots i.e. bus stops, shops, offices, schools, on notice-boards, electricity poles or even on trees. After its inception in India, the idea travelled to other South Asian countries and a few countries in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, South East Asia and Europe.

Menstrupedia

Growing up everyone loves reading stories with illustrations, packaged with beautiful illustrations and cartoon characters the book makes it really easy and comfortable for parents and teachers to talk about menstruation. Although this book is specifically for girls, even boys would find it an interesting and informative read. (More on Menstrupedia HERE)

Amar Bari Tomar Bari Naxal Bari

Revolving around the history of the Naxalbari revolt in 1967, the comics is a satire on Independent India’s political history, zamindari control over farms, the uprising of the naxalites and the present day fire that impacts the country. Read more about the novel HERE.

River of Stories

Conveying the story of the environmental, social and political issues surrounding the construction of the controversial Narmada Dam Project in India is not only a semi-fiction novel with serious moving content but is also one of the first graphic novels to be published in India.

If you know of any more Indian comics that are talking about such serious issues, do let us know in the comments below. Also, check out these Amazing Indian Comics With Awesome Regional Flavours and Coolest Indian Webcomics.

source:-wishberry.in