The Caravan, a monthly magazine known for its far left-leaning views, has landed in a controversy for allegedly plagiarising the artwork of a Netherlands-based artist on the cover of its March 2023 issue. The cover features an illustration of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with the words “S Jaishankar as the voice of Modi’s Hindu nationalist foreign policy” as the caption.
The artist, a mixed media artist who goes by the name Ghostly_t on Instagram, claimed that The Caravan stole their artwork without giving credit or having taken prior permission.
The artist shared a story with a screenshot of the magazine’s cover and the original artwork with the words “@thecaravanmagasine YOU STOLE MY ARTWORK FOR THE COVER. GIVE CREDIT, DON’T STEAL ARTISTS WORKS.” in their Instagram stories.
On March 1, the magazine’s Twitter handle gave credit to one Samyak Prajapati for the cover design. After multiple people pointed out the plagiarism, The Caravan responded via a series of tweets saying, “It was brought to our attention that an element in the artwork for the March 2023 issue cover bears strong resemblance to a work created by the artist Tijana Barna.” They claimed that “the concept of the cover image was devised by the publication’s creative department, its execution was commissioned to Samyak Prajapati, an independent visual artist.”
Hi, we have added Tijana’s credit with their consent. We extend our apologies to them and regret the mistake. https://t.co/i49em3DV2P pic.twitter.com/YZyLnVf4UC
— The Caravan (@thecaravanindia) March 2, 2023
The magazine has washed its hands off the issue by stating that at the time of finalising the cover, “they were not aware that the background design of the piece referred to Tijana’s existing work.”
They also tweeted that “This inclusion to the over-all piece was also made without Tijana’s knowledge. To rectify the error, we have added Tijana’s credit with their consent. We extend our apologies to them and regret the mistake.”
The March issue of The Caravan magazine features articles critical of Jaishankar and his role in shaping India’s foreign policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. The EAM has been in the news for responding to billionaire George Soros’s comments on India and that democracy was under threat. The EAM called Soros old, rich, opinionated, and dangerous.
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