Caricaturing culture in India : cartoons and history in the modern world / Ritu Gairola Khanduri.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Khanduri, Ritu Gairola, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Indic wit and humor, Pictorial.

Manners and customs.

Politics and government.

India--Politics and government--Caricatures and cartoons.

India.

India--Social life and customs--Caricatures and cartoons.

Political science.

Genre:

Caricatures and cartoons.

Cartoons (Humor)

Physical Description:

xii, 355 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Summary:

"Caricaturing Culture in India is a highly original history of political cartoons in India. Drawing on the analysis of newspaper cartoons since the 1870s, archival research and interviews with prominent Indian cartoonists, this ambitious study combines historical narrative with ethnographic testimony to give a pioneering account of the role that cartoons have played over time in political communication, public discourse and the refraction of ideals central to the creation of the Indian postcolonial state. Maintaining that cartoons are more than illustrative representations of news, Ritu Gairola Khanduri uncovers the true potential of cartoons as a visual medium where memories jostle, history is imagined and lines of empathy are demarcated. Placing the argument within a wider context, this thought-provoking book highlights the history and power of print media in debates on free speech and democratic processes around the world, revealing why cartoons still matter today"-- Provided by publisher.

"In September 1993 a devastating earthquake rocked Latur, a district near Mumbai, India. To convey the unprecedented magnitude of this disaster, the mainstream newspaper the Times of India published editorials and photographs; in addition, their internationally famous staff cartoonist, R.K. Laxman, drew a cartoon depicting a human skull and a ravaged hut. A week later, the newspaper's "letters to the editor" column included an angry reader's note criticizing Laxman's insensitivity at caricaturing human misery"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: the empire of cartoons

Part I. Colonial Times: 1. Upstart punches: why is impertinence always in the vernacular?; 2. Gandhi and the Satyagraha of cartoons: cultivating a taste; 3. "Dear Shankar ... Your ridicule should never bite"

Part II. National Times: 4. Becoming a cartoonist: Mr Kutty and Bireshwarji; 5. Virtual gurus and the Indian psyche: R.K. Laxman; 6. Uncommon women and common men: pocket cartoons and "situated knowledges"; 7. Artoons and our toons: the prose of an Indian art

Part III. Global Times: 8. Crafty petitions and street humor; 9. "All our Gods and Goddesses are cartoons"

Conclusions: timeless myths and timely knowledge

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781107043329

1107043328

OCLC:

869269339

Publisher Number:

99960253546

Online:

Cover image