Dinkan (

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

: ഡിങ്കൻ) is a fictional anthropomorphic superhero mouse who appears in an eponymous

comic story series in children's magazine ''

Balamangalam ''Balamangalam'' ( ml, ബാലമംഗളം) was a Malayalam comic magazine published between 1980 and 2012. It was also published in Kannada with the title ''Balamangala''. History and profile ''Balamangalam'' was first published in 198 ...

''. Some modern day rationalists of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

use Dinkan to mock organized religion and religious intolerance.

History

Dinkan (ഡിങ്കൻ) was created by story-writer N. Somasekharan and artist Baby in 1983. Dinkan was one of the earliest superhero characters created in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and it quickly became popular among children. Like

Terrytoons Terrytoons was an American animation studio in New Rochelle, New York, that produced animated cartoons for theatrical release from 1929 to 1973 (and briefly returned between 1987 and 1996 for television in name only). Terrytoons was founded by ...

created

Mighty Mouse Mighty Mouse is an American animated anthropomorphic superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox. The character was originally called Super Mouse, and made his debut in the 1942 short ''The Mouse of Tomorro ...

and several other superhero characters, Dinkan borrowed a few traits from the iconic

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

character Superman. He also had characteristics of Iron Man.

Character biography

Dinkan was born in Pankila forest, somewhere in

. He was a naughty mouse, who wasn't disciplined. During one of his escapades, Dinkan was abducted by aliens from an unknown planet. They conducted experiments on him which ended up giving him superior strength, enhanced senses and the ability to fly. Somehow Dinkan found himself back in the Pankila forest and he decided to use his powers for the well-being of animals in the forest.

Dinkoism

Dinkoism has emerged as a

parody religion A parody religion or mock religion is a belief system that challenges the spiritual convictions of others, often through humor, satire, or burlesque (literary ridicule). Often constructed to achieve a specific purpose related to another belief sy ...

on social networks organized by some atheists in

, India. This religion celebrates Dinkan as their God in an attempt to bring awareness of the fallacies and practices of traditional religions. British Broadcasting Corporation covered the Dinkoist religion in its ''BBCTrending'' Programme. BBC reported Dinkoism as an atheist movement with significant growth in the social media.

Growing recognition

On January 3, 2016, a group of dinkoists, calling themselves Mooshikasena (the Rat Army), went to protest in front of actor Dileep's Dhe Puttu restaurant to protest his film titled Professor Dinkan ("Professor Dinkan") on the grounds that it offended their religious sentiments. This was a mockery of similar protests around the world, especially in India. Also in January 2016, a Dinkanist in California won the right to have a license plate for his car with Dinkan written on it, in recognition of his belief.

References

External links

News on Dinkan
* {{cite web , url=https://www.asianetnews.com/magazine/interview-with-samusa-thrikonadhyaya-on-dinkoism-split , title= ഡിങ്കോയിസം ശരിക്കും പിളര്‍ന്നോ; സമൂസ ത്രികോണാധ്യായ തുറന്നുപറയുന്നു... , author= Rasheed KP , work=

Asianet News Asianet News (formerly Asianet Global) is an Indian free-to-air Malayalam-language news channel owned by Asianet News Network. Asianet News Network operates as a subsidiary of Jupiter Entertainment Ventures (Jupiter Capital Ventures). The chan ...

, date= 29 Jun 2016 , accessdate= 24 December 2019 , language= ml , trans-title= Did Dinkoism really split up; The samosa triangle is frank ... Atheism Comics characters introduced in 1983 Hindu new religious movements Indian comics titles Indian comics characters Internet memes Malayalam comics Religious parodies and satires Parody religion deities Animal superheroes Comics characters with superhuman strength Fictional anthropomorphic characters Fictional mice and rats Parody superheroes Male characters in animation