India’s first gay cartoon character launched

Mumbai. Leading cartoonist Karan Khan has announced the arrival of his latest creation – a frog called Gaydhak (गेढक). Gaydhak has orange spots on its largely green skin, and walks upright like human beings. It leaps only when it sees a fellow male frog, which gives it a gay character and makes it the first gay cartoon hero of India. Gaydhak will soon be seen in one of the leading newspapers in India as a daily comic strip.

“We Indians are becoming more and more accepting and liberal. Many people are now publicly accepting that they are gay and I thought it was high time when we had a gay cartoon hero as well. Gaydhak is a tribute to India’s pluralism.” Karan Khan told, hoping that adventures of the gay frog will remove misconceptions and prejudices against homosexuals in India.

When asked why he had not made Gaydhak wear his underwear over his dress, as is the case with most of the superheroes, Karan Khan clarified that he didn’t want gays to be perceived as superhuman but as normal people. Karan further informed that Gaydhak didn’t possess any special powers and would not rescue the world from evil forces. He would be a normal gay living in a fictitious place called 'Gaytham City'.

The adventures of Gaydhak will be published in one of the leading newspapers, name of which was not disclosed by Karan due to ‘professional reasons’. The mystery has caused a lot of curiosity among people, who are planning to buy all newspapers tomorrow morning to read the inaugural strip. But a controversy too is brewing among all this mystery and curiosity.

Although Karan Khan denied it, but our sources confirm that some Hindu groups have threatened to blacken the face of Karan Khan if he went ahead and launched Gaydhak. Faking News received an e-mail sent by a group, calling itself Amar Hindu Sena (AHS), which claimed that Gaydhak was hurtful to Hindu sentiments and had potential of defiling young Hindu minds.

“There are saffron spots on the frog, which Karan Khan has deliberately put to hurt Hindu sentiments. In traditional Hindu culture, a frog has been a symbol of rain and happiness but this is a Muslim conspiracy to erode Hindu traditions. Karan Khan will have to pay dearly for this.” the e-mail threatened.

Within minutes of receiving this e-mail, we received another threatening e-mail from a group calling itself Ahl Hadees Sipaah (AHS), which claimed that Gaydhak was unislamic in character and hurtful to Muslim sentiments. The group has given an ultimatum to Karan Khan to take back Gaydhak or at least change its color of skin to non-green, failing which the cartoonist will be beheaded.

Despite Faking News making these e-mails public, Karan Khan refused to comment on the controversy and told that he would rather concentrate on adventures of Gaydhak. But rights group expressed outrage over such threats and have asked the government to provide police protection to the cartoonist. Government has assured of taking appropriate steps in this regard.

Meanwhile some parents too expressed unhappiness over possibility of a gay cartoon becoming famous among their children. These parents have decided to beat up their children if they followed adventures of Gaydhak, although they expressed interest to know more about the gay frog.