33 million gods in India and not one capable of producing oxygen: Charlie Hebdo

[Vanguard One]

Representational image of a healthcare worker handling an oxygen cylinder | Photo: ThePrint


New Delhi: Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly magazine, has released a cartoon strongly critiquing India’s acute oxygen crisis amid the devastating second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

Published on 28 April, the cartoon depicts Indians lying on the ground, gasping for oxygen. It also takes a dig at the multiple gods and goddesses in India, and how they have been unable to help the country’s plaguing oxygen crisis.

The accompanying catchphrase of the cartoon in French, reads: “33 million gods in India and not one capable of producing oxygen.”

The cartoon has been shared widely across Twitter to varying reactions. Some users have been offended by the inferences drawn, while others noted the truth to it.

Meanwhile, author Devdutt Pattanaik pointed out the irony of how Charlie Hebdo’s cartoon on Prophet Mohammad had found support among Hindu extremists, but they will be offended by this particular cartoon.



Remember how Hindutva supported Charlie Hebdo for standing up to Islamists and making fun of Prophet Muhammad… well, this is how Charlie Hebdo talks about India's oxygen shortage… sorry, Hindutva… no one loves you. pic.twitter.com/DOnmbl2g7a

— Devdutt Pattanaik (@devduttmyth) May 13, 2021


At present, India is experiencing a massive shortage of medical oxygen. Hospitals across the country have been consistently running out of oxygen cylinders, which has even led to deaths of some patients.

According to government data released on 8 May, at least 17 per cent of Covid patients hospitalised in India required medical oxygen and more than 1,37,000 people in the country are on oxygen support.

Charlie Hebdo controversy
This is not the first time Charlie Hebdo has released a satirical take on religious sentiments.

Earlier, the magazine had courted widespread controversy after it published a series of 12 cartoons portraying Prophet Mohammad in offensive positions in 2006. In one of the cartoons, Prophet Mohammad was depicted wearing a bomb on his head with the words ‘All of that for this’ as the headline.

This had led to criticism of the cartoon across the world, especially among the Muslim community, since any form of visual depiction of the Prophet is forbidden in Islam and is considered blasphemous.

This had also led to a terror attack at Charlie Hebdo’s office in Paris in 2015. The office was attacked by two brothers named Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, French nationals of Algerian origin, who shot dead 12 members of the magazine.

In October 2020, a French middle-school history teacher Samuel Paty was killed at a suburb in Paris by a Chechen refugee for showing cartoons of Prophet Mohammad to his students.

'33 mn Gods...not one producing oxygen': Charlie Hebdo releases cartoon on India's Covid crisis

Published on 28 April 2021, the cartoon depicts Indians lying on the ground, gasping for oxygen and the accompanying catchphrase says '33 million gods in India and not one capable of producing oxygen'.

theprint.in

 

[graphican]

We do not support derogatory remarks about anyone's religious beliefs and we will not support Charlie Hebdo because this time they're taking a jab at Hindus. Their insult-full cartons about Hinduism are equally condemned.

 

[Arsenal Caan]

I condemn it as a Muslim. Islam (ALLAH) says “Don’t abuse any one’s God/faith/ religion. If you will do that, they will also do the same.

 

[Pandora]

Totally disgusting statement. Yet there are more Indians worshipping this statement on twitter than any other group. Only reason is that CH is anti muslim and Indians will have their own gods ridiculed rather than condemn them.

 

[baqai]

The same paper when made fun of our religious belief's caused a mayhem, so i am not going to be hypocrite, in my opinion they should not tread on such topics. On the other hand those Indian friends who were enjoying and laughing previously when the same paper made fun of Islam, lets see how they react to this

 

[Enigma_]

It is pretty funny to me that the French think that pissing people off is their God-given right. Freedom of Speech doesn't mean you go out of your way to degrade people or insult their religious beliefs -- it comes with responsibility too.

 

[Leishangthem]

We do not support derogatory remarks about anyone's religious beliefs and we will not support Charlie Hebdo because this time they're taking a jab at Hindus. Their insult-full cartons about Hinduism are equally condemned.

I just find it really interesting from pure philosophical and psychological point of view ,how any commentary against religion, a concept which is totally human made , is seen as highly offensive and wrong. Can get the concept that it's wrong to say anything offensive toward skin color,appearance,gender and such but the concept that it's wrong to insult some imaginary human-made "belief" is hard to fathom realistically.
The institutions that siphons power and wealth using the concept of religion from medieval period ,has added an extra human made concept that it's wrong to say anything offensive about"religious belief",a belief which in reality don't effect any person ,stats shows the negative effects of belief on the contrary .Just a thought.

 

[Indos]

Charlie Habdo also mocking Christian (particularly Catholic) and so on. Most probably anti religion editors dominate this media company.

It is stupid to try to make a conclusion that the pandemic shows God inability. The virus maybe human made in the beginning that Allah in Quran has stated many calamities and destruction are made by human themselves.

While if the virus is not human made, then the pandemic shows the power of God where He can bring huge disasters across the World by just using a very tiny of His creation.

 

[graphican]

I just find it really interesting from pure philosophical and psychological point of view ,how any commentary against religion, a concept which is totally human made , is seen as highly offensive and wrong. Can get the concept that it's wrong to say anything offensive toward skin color,appearance,gender and such but the concept that it's wrong to insult some imaginary human-made "belief" is hard to fathom realistically.
The institutions that siphons power and wealth using the concept of religion from medieval period ,has added an extra human made concept that it's wrong to say anything offensive about"religious belief",a belief which in reality don't effect any person ,stats shows the negative effects of belief on religion on the contrary .Just a thought.

We have a disagreement with your initial assumption. Islam is not man-made religion - and Quran is the evidence for it. How? Quran challenges every human (and Djin combined) to create a chapter like a chapter it has. If you are true in your assumption that Islam is man-made religion, why don't you take up God's challenge and create a chapter like in Quran? Then you'll have the right to wonder and find it interesting from a pure philosophical and psychological point of view.

 

[Saddam Hussein]

Little French weasels with their smelly cheese

 

[Leishangthem]

We have a disagreement with your initial assumption. Islam is not man-made religion - and Quran is the evidence for it. How? Quran challenges every human (and Djin combined) to create a chapter like a chapter it has. If you are true in your assumption that Islam is man-made religion, why don't you take up God's challenge and create a chapter like in Quran? Then you'll have the right to wonder and find it interesting from a pure philosophical and psychological point of view.

It's unscientific to think any religion isn't human-made,there's no evidence that quran or any religion for that matter isn't human-made,all religion are patched up by a group of people seeking to influence the populace with a sets of common ideology which gets refined and remodeled generation by generation and they all believe in entities that are imaginary and needs no proof of existence. But there's indeed a yoke of deed,which is also referred as karma,a divine functioning, the concept of religion just ride on this coat tails ,but you don't need any religion to get that. Humans does many thing that can seem divine and impossible.

 

[Indos]

It's unscientific to think any religion isn't human-made,there's no evidence that quran or any religion for that matter isn't human-made,all religion are patched up by a group of people seeking to influence the populace with a sets of common ideology which gets refined and remodeled generation by generation and they all believe in entities that are imaginary and needs no proof of existence. But there's indeed a yoke of deed,which is also referred as karma,a divine functioning, the concept of religion just ride on this coat tails ,but you don't need any religion to get that. Humans does many thing that can seem divine and impossible.

How can you see this Quran verse as human made ? Do you think prophet Muhammad has Hubble Telescope before writing about the Kiamat or Destruction of earth and its surrounding ?

This is what is happening when star explodes :

Cat's Eye Nebula - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Do you see any connection with Quran, Surah Ar Rahman, verse 37 with talks about Kiamat (Armagedon) ???

-------------------------

Explanation

Other nebulae form as the result of supernova explosions; the death throes of massive, short-lived stars. The materials thrown off from the supernova explosion are then ionized by the energy and the compact object that its core produces. One of the best examples of this is the Crab Nebula, in Taurus. The supernova event was recorded in the year 1054 and is labeled SN 1054. The compact object that was created after the explosion lies in the center of the Crab Nebula and its core is now a neutron star.

Still other nebulae form as planetary nebulae. This is the final stage of a low-mass star's life, like Earth's Sun. Stars with a mass up to 8–10 solar masses evolve into red giants and slowly lose their outer layers during pulsations in their atmospheres. When a star has lost enough material, its temperature increases and the ultraviolet radiation it emits can ionize the surrounding nebula that it has thrown off. Our Sun will produce a planetary nebula and its core will remain behind in the form of a white dwarf.

Nebula - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Indos]

 

[Maira La]

On behalf of entire rodent community:
"We kan tek a joke shaar, we are not lyk Muslim, we laugh at ourself all the taim"

It is pretty funny to me that the French think that pissing people off is their God-given right. Freedom of Speech doesn't mean you go out of your way to degrade people or insult their religious beliefs -- it comes with responsibility too.

They know this time they are pissing no one, Indians feel honored that white master even thinks of them.

 

[AbuzarIlyas]

Charlie Hebdo are terrorists backed by back to back terrorist presidents of france! We the Muslims, respect all religions. Famous case of Ghazi Ilm ud Din Shaheed had a background. The blasphemer rajpal committed blasphemy in the reaction of the derogatory remarks of ghulam of qadian against the Hinduism. The imposter ghulam of qadian was abusing the beliefs of all religions as a "Muslim preacher" so the rajpal blasphemer published that book but still a blasphemy is a blasphemy whether it is done against Islam or any other religion and its definition is clear according to the teachings of Islam and Pakistan Penal Code.