World Cartoonist Day 2025: 5 Legendary Cartoonists Of India Who Used Humour To Criticise Politics And Society

Publish Date: 05 May, 2025 Author: Deepanshi
Pinterest/Facebook/Wikipedia World Cartoonist Day 2025: 5 Legendary Cartoonists Of India Who Used Humour To Criticise Politics And Society

World Cartoonist Day 2025: Art has been a medium for criticizing and commending society and politics since time immemorial. Cartoonists across the ages have used their creativity to caricature poignant issues and exceptional achievements with a witty and amusing touch. To honor the artists behind cartoons, World Cartoonist Day is observed every 5th May. The day celebrates the form of cartoons and cartoonists who wield the power to present the gravest of realities with a lightness in their hands without trivializing their significance. 

On the occasion of World Cartoonist Day, we take you closer to five legendary Indian cartoonists who used humour to criticize politics and society.     

R.K. Laxman

Popularly known for his comic strip in the daily The Times of India, “You Said It”. His creation “The Common Man” is widely known, through which he used to make poignant political and social commentary on the relevant situation of the country under the leaders of the time. His caricatures of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi are some of his most famous works.

From the Emergency of 1975 to the Gujarat Relief Fund, he was a courageous cartoonist using his pen to enlighten and awaken the masses. 

K. Shankar Pillai 

A man of satire, K. Shankar Pillai earned the title of “the father of political cartooning” for his immense work focused on caricaturing the political leaders of the country.

Pillai is the founder of  Shankar's Weekly, India's Punch in 1948. His satirical magazine was shut down during the emergency, after which he primarily made cartoons for the kids. 

Abu Abraham 

With a career spanning 40 years, Abu Abraham carved an unmatchable space for himself in Indian journalism as a cartoonist. His talent is to bring the news of the hour to the audience in the form of cartoons.

He is famously known to have openly published his views through cartoons during the Emergency, a time when most cartoonists were under the scrutiny of the government. 

Satish Acharya  

A contemporary Indian cartoonist from Karnataka, Acharya, is using his self-taught skills of caricaturing to make commentary on the current political conditions of the country. He was featured on "United Sketches" as a professional cartoonist from India. He is also among the list of "24 Intellectuals" by Forbes India in 2015.

Maya Kamath 

A woman giving space and voices to the women’s issues of the country in the political and art landscape with her satirical cartoons, Maya Kamath used her satirical cartoons to bring out the social and political realities of women to the front.

She stands as the few recognised women cartoonists in India in the 1980s and 1990s.

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