Charlie Hebdo, a satirical weekly newspaper that had once released cartoons of Prophet Muhammad, mocks Hindu Deities

“33 crore Gods in India and not one capable of producing oxygen !”

• Those who do not even know the number of Deities in Hindu Dharma are criticising the Deities for not helping the people. This displays their utter lack of comprehension of the subject.
• The Deities, who created the Universe, did not leave oxygen behind for us to worry about. Moreover, the situation we are in is a result of miscalculation on the part of the Government and its administration. It is equally true that if all the inhabitants of the world had practised Spirituality on a regular basis, we would not have landed in this disastrous situation in the first place.
• Propagating inappropriate thoughts is worse than drawing cartoons. Devout Hindus would never tolerate this kind of callous attitude. We cannot brush aside this mockery as freedom of expression.
• One may wonder, what the weekly newspaper has to say in its defence with respect to the accusations of never criticising the Church for proclaiming – “Your Heavenly Father would help”.
• Incorporation of 33 crore Deities with distinct significations is a testament to the greatness of Hindu Dharma. Each discipline (such as dance, music, drawing and architecture) has a distinct designated Deity. For example, Deity Ganesh augments the vital energy in our body. Most of the Hindus are unaware of these elementary aspects as they lack the basic education on Dharma. This ignorance thus gets exploited by such newspapers.

(The intention underlying display of this image is not to hurt religious sentiments of Hindus, but make them comprehend the denigration – Editor, Dainik Sanatan Prabhat)

Paris (France) – Charlie Hebdo, a satirical weekly newspaper which was once subject of a brutal attack by Jihadi Islamists for publishing objectionable cartoons of Prophet Muhammad, has held Deities of Hindus responsible for the deaths of Covid-19 patients on account of inadequate oxygen supply. The latest edition of this weekly depicts many Covid-19 patients in distress, lying on the ground, gasping for oxygen. The catchphrase says “33 million Gods in India and not one capable of producing oxygen !”.

1. This cartoon received a lot of criticism on social media. On the one hand, there are calls for an outright ban on the newspaper, while on the other, there are compliments for being the epitome of freedom of expression.
2. One twitter user corrected Charlie Hebdo by sharing the correct number of Deities in Hindu Dharma – “It’s 330 million, and not 33 million ! The Deities have taught us to never give up and to fight. We respect France and its citizen’s freedom of expression. Moreover, be rest assured, there would be no attack on your office or staff.”
3. Another user said, “330 million Deities have their abode in the nature. Countries such as India blindly follow the West and cut down trees in the process. In Hindu Dharma, we worship the trees as Deities.”
4. Author Devdutt Pattanaik said, “It is quite ironical that while the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad received support amongst the devout Hindus who are now upset over the comic depiction of their Deities. (Instead of getting infuriated with Charlie Hebdo which has made a mockery of our Deities, Devdutt Pattanaik seems to be deriving sadistic pleasure from the hurt religious sentiments of devout Hindus– Editor) We cannot behead anyone, however, we cannot be mute spectators as well to the ongoing crisis and the lacklustre attitude of our leaders”.