Police in India have arrested a political cartoonist on sedition charges after his drawings criticising government corruption irked the ruling Congress party.

A magistrate in the city of Mumbai ordered Aseem Trivedi be held for a week for questioning about a complaint that the cartoonist had mocked the Indian constitution in his drawings.

Trivedi's cartoons lampooning widespread corruption among Indian politicians were displayed at a New Delhi protest last year by the anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare.

Students, opposition politicians and free speech advocates protested today that Trivedi's arrest showed politicians' growing intolerance for criticism.

Another cartoonist was arrested recently in the state of West Bengal for caricaturing the chief minister.