'Political cartooning is dying an untimely death in India.'
In the intellectual circles the conversation often revolves around this topic.Some people feed nostalgic and remember the legends like Shanker. And talk about the Shankar's Weekly for a while and lament its absence.
Its political cartooning really dying,or is it rather close to extinction? Or is it already dead? These are some of the questions we'd make an effort to find answers to.But, that's later.
India is a paradise for cartoonists.Most of our politicians work selflessly for the cartoonists..., and not for the people.
Cartooning has been through many ups and downs in India in the past one century.We have a rich tradition of cartooning.Newspaper,the Hindustan Times where I worked for many years,can claim credit for introducing this art form in India.Shankar was the first cartoonist of the HT.or of any newspaper in India.From Pt.Nehru to Manmohan Singh, no prime minister has dissapointed us cartoonists.
In the past two decades or so,I have had the privilege of drawing many prime ministers.Most of them invented solely to serve the cause of cartooning!
Indira Gandhi was no exception.She was a great cartoon lover.On Nehruji's birthday, One year, she went to Shankar Pillai.And presented 20 originals cartoons to his father as a birthday gift.
My career as a professional cartoonist began in 1982,she was the Prime Minister at that time.Everybody thought that a long and sharp nose and white streak of hair was enough to capture her! But her personality extended far beyond the two trademark features! For, it's not just the external features that make a caricature.Unless you capture the essence of the personality you can't get the atma or the soul of the character!
David Low,the great English cartoonist,rightly said once-"A caricature is not what you look like-but what you Ought to look like!"
Cartoonist captured Indiraji's supreme self confidence,her autocratic streak,her snootiness and her strength of character,she was assassinated.I thought my career was over with her demise.
Rajiv Gandhi was hardly the stuff cartoons are made of! A frightening prospect for any cartoonist! He wad too handsome to be caricatured and too innocent to be rediculed -atleast,in his intial days!But there is some hidden force that propels prime ministers towards the cartoonist's drawing board.The relationship is almost like that of a moth and the flame! The first six months is months is a period of honeymoon with the people-and after that begins a very special honeymoon with the cartoonist!
Rajiv Gandhi did not fail us cartoonists!V.P.Singh,Chandrashekhar,Deve Gowda,IK gujral...no Prime Minister has dissapointed the cartoonist.Mr Manmohan Singh did not dissapoint my tribesmen when he was the Finance Minister,and he's lived upto my expectations as a PM! He must be one of the luckiest politicians who got the highest job on a platter! The Nuclear Deal has put on the center stage for us.The Leftists have made my job even easìer by easier by making his a tough one!
L.K.Advani is one politician who has dominated the cartooning scene inspite of one being Prime Minister ever.He is a dream come true for a cartoonist! The dream begins from his head shining smooth! Then his toothbrush moustache! His shy eyes and his not so shy brand of politics.What else could you ask for! He has evolved to be one of my tribe's main sources of bread and butter!
In that sense I am indebted to him for some of the credit for my cartooning career must go to him...for some of the credit for my cartooning career must go to him.The most of it, of course, goes to P.V.Narasimha Rao! Rao remains my all time favourite to date! He was the best Prime Minister cartoonists could ever dream of! Flaring nostrils,a pout that became almost a landmark of Delhi!It's interesting to see how a scholor and an elder statesman can evolve into a first rate caricature! Initially,my caricature of Rao slightly resembled him,but soon there was a situation when he started looking like my caricature of him! The caricature represented his personality more than he himself did!
Atal Behari Vajpayee is not someone who'd inspire a cartoonist! But when your government falls within a period of 13 days,you deserve to be in that three coloumn frame! He has been pushed into situations where he's always been at the mercy of the cartoonist! When Jayalaltha pounced upon him and mauled him,inspite of his unwillingness to be a cartoonist's darling,he became one!Whether India was shining or not,Atalji and his colleagues were shining in our cartoons.And let me admit, lt is we cartoonists who really FELT GOOD through out Atalji's tenure!
The cartoon has come of age in India.It has become an integral part of journalism and democracy.Democracy and freedom are life blood a cartoonist.A cartoonist can't function and survive without his freedom.That's one of the reasons why the art of cartooning has flourished only in democratic countries.But,as Abu Abraham once wrote-'Nobody gives you freedom on a platter...you have to assert your freedom.'
And not surprisingly,when journalists were crawling when they were asked to bend,during the Emergency,it was Abu who was the sole voice of dissent!
After all,cartooning is an art of dissent, an art of protest.It's a negative art...in a positive way.Bečause a cartoonist ultimately dreams of a world in which his role will be eventually eliminated! For,there is no role for a cartoonist in a Utopian world.Fortunately for us,and unfortunately for you,that's a near impossible dream!
We have a rich tradition of cartooning in India! Politicians have learnt to live with it!Many of them really enjoy a good cartoon even if it is at their own expense!They've phoned me on several occasions to ask for the day's original drawing!
I am greatly privileged in the sense that cartooning gives me immense power to reduce the mightiest in the land to mere caricatures!
Years back a cartoonist had said that there will be a time when the divining line between the politician and the caricature will dissapear! And that will be the most difficult time for the cartoonist!The last decade saw the evolution of the politician from the leader to the comic caricature...and to the criminal!
Let me come back to the question I raised in the beginning..Is cartooning dying?
I'd like to tell you that a few weeks ago a young and very talented cartoonist from south India came to see me.He was working for a newspaper there and his editor completely stopped using his cartoons.One fine morning,his editor called him to his cabin.
I'm rather sad at the poor state of cartooning in the world,'the editor said with a grim expression on his face.'The art of Political cartooning is dying',-he continued.The young cartoonist was rather touched by his editor's concern.
The young man gathered courage and said...'If you think cartooning is dying,you should protect and groom it rather than killing it,Sir!You have no cartoons in the paper,Sir!:'
'But,do you know that cartooning is dead in England.They don't use front page pocket cartoons anymore?' The editor put on the table The Observer,The Guardian and the Telegraph---three top English papers.'Look...!?'
To the editor's horror,all three had prominently displayed pocket cartoons on their front page! But,they have stopped using large political cartoons.Lookl?'
All three had six column big political cartoons on the Op-ed page!
'So what?', the editor said,'May be it's not dead in England, but,I am absolutely sure that Political cartooning is dead in India,and I have proof---look,there is no cartoon in our newspaper! 'he said triumphantly.
Let me assure you cartooning is not dead in England or America or France or Germany.And It won't be dead in India as well.For,so long as there will be a Laĺoo,or a Jayalalitha or a Mulayam Singh or a A Prakash Karat or a Sonia or an Advani ....there will be an RK Lakshman or a Sudhir Tailang or an Unny.The cartoon is one of the weapons that newspapers have as an anti dote to TVs flickering images like the Twenty 20 cricket! You have to spend a few seconds to enjoy it! For the moment Rakhi Sawant has replaced the cartoon from front -page, but people will soon get bored.
If we have survived as a civilization for thousands of because of our sense of humour!And we will...only if we do not lose it! | 
