Mudasir Gul, a young artist from Kashmir has been charged under stringent PSA (Public Safety Act) by authorities for painting an art work in support of Palestine.
Extending his support to the Kashmiri artist, another political cartoonist Mir Suhail Qadri tweeted, “My friend, the brilliant Kashmir artist Mudasir Gul has been charged under PSA (Public Safety Act) by Indian govt for drawing art work in support of Palestine.”
In an attempt to show solidarity to the Palestinian resistance, Mudasir Gul painted a face of a sobbing woman, wearing Palestine’s flag as the headscarf, and wrote “We Are Palestine” on a bridge in Padshahi Bagh, a neighbourhood in Kashmir’s capital city Srinagar.
In solidarity with the brilliant artist Mudasir Gul- for your courage and commitment to speaking truth to power.#FreePalestine#FreeKashmir pic.twitter.com/KsCDxCQefN
— Kashmir Pop Art (@kashmirpopart) May 16, 2021
After some youth held protest against Israel, near the painting site, holding flags of Palestine, police detained the artist.
The pictures and videos of the held protest went viral on social media and widely shared.
Expressing solidarity is not a crime!
— CPIML Liberation (@cpimlliberation) May 15, 2021
Release Kashmiri artist Mudasir Gul! #ReleaseMudasirGul pic.twitter.com/PHXYSTqLD0
According to reports the graffiti has been removed by Gul after police forcefully took Gul to the bridge and persuaded him to remove it himself. Now, it has been covered with black paint.
At least 21 people have been arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir police after pro-Palestine protests broke out in the erstwhile state.