- 1 See George Woodcock, Kerala: A Portrait the Malabar Coast, London: Faber and Faber, 1967, 3 (...)
- 2 Ibid., 221.
1The Malayalam-speaking regions of Malabar, Cochin, and Travancore (which together form the state of Kerala as we know it today), have had connections across the oceans for centuries.1 These interactions shaped the economy, culture, and the politics of the region which turned out to be distinct from the rest of the Indian sub-continent. This, in addition to the fact that most of the area were ruled by princely states (namely Travancore and Cochin) throughout the colonial rule, meant that it remained ‘virtually isolated’ from the rest of India in the 19th century, while increasing oceanic trade relations meant that it remained connected to the outside world.2
2This isolation, according to George Woodcock, extends to the fact that, until 1920, the political movements in Kerala were largely local in nature. Even as the formation of the All-Kerala Congress Conference in 1921 led to the launch of a few campaigns in line with those organized by the Indian National Congress across the sub-continent, the most notable political movements in Kerala were more focused on local rather than national issues.3 This included struggles for ensuring representation of communities in the offices of the government, those against social evils like the caste system etc.
- 4 Binumol Abraham, “Humour and History of Mentality: A Study of Popular Culture in Colonial K (...)
- 5 Ibid., 96-97.
- 6 Ibid., 21-23, 66.
3When it comes to cartoons and humour-magazines, however, we can see that Malayalam followed a similar path to that of its other vernacular brethren across the sub-continent. This is not surprising, since the effect of colonial modernity here was similar to that of the other local cultures that came into contact with the colonial rule. The spread of modern western education gave rise to a middle-class intelligentsia. In Malayali society however, this opportunity was grabbed first by the Nair castes, which were just below the Namboodiris (Brahmins) in the caste structure. Thus, they had access to both the traditional knowledge system as well as the modern. The colonial experience actually worked as a liberating force for them. Among them rose a set of writers who were interested in discussing as well as debating various contemporary issues in diverse manners. The growth of newspapers created favorable condition for imagining new spaces for engaging with the public. Newspapers became a platform to discuss and debate. The Nairs thus found their most suitable platform in the print media.4 Within print media, a trend towards humour, ridicule and satire also developed rather quickly. However, interestingly, this use of humour and satire worked in contradictory and even contesting ways.5 On the one hand the emergent middle class Nairs used it as a means to resist and ridicule the lower caste groups who were also slowly trying to emerge into the public domain with the help of modern education as well as various governmental legislation. On the other hand, they used humour as a tool for subversive laughter against the upper caste i.e. Namboodiris. The new literary style that developed therefore led to the rise of a new cultural sensibility, and as the people who grabbed their opportunity and made most of it, the newly-emerged middle class Nairs became the legitimizer of these norms. In other words, the newly formed cultural scenario was designed according to their sensibilities.6
4This further led to the birth of several journals and magazines including satirical ones that started off with Vidooshakan and flourished with Sanjayan, Vishwaroopam, and Naradar.7 The titles of these magazines themselves provide an important insight into how they attempted at indigenizing the medium of cartooning that was essentially foreign in nature. The title Vidooshakan is a reference to the figure of court jester, by the same title, popularized in Sanskrit myths and literature. Sanjayan (Sanskrit – Sanjaya) is a character from the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata, who narrates the Mahabharata Yuddha (the battle of Mahabharata, to the blind king Dhritarashtra).8 Vishwaroopam, a journal that paid keen attention to international affairs, also adopted the title for what it represented in Sanskrit as the ‘Universal/Cosmic Form.’ And Naradar is once again in reference to a character from the Indian epics called Narada Muni or Sage Narada, “the official informer in heaven who helped in communicating information from one God to another.”9
- 10 Binumol Abraham, “Humour and History of Mentality: A Study of Popular Culture in Colonial K (...)
- 11 “Vidooshaka Bandhu” [Friends of Vidooshakan], Vidooshakan 2, no. 5, October, 1920.
5Vidooshakan started publication in the year 1919. Edited by P. S. Neelakanta Pillai, it was printed at the Manomohanam Press in Quilon (in present-day terms, Quilon or Kollam is a district in Kerala)10. Soon, it assumed the subtitle of “The only Punch in Malabar,” and showed great promise in terms of its reach. The editor’s note in October 1920 responded to requests by the readers to bring the magazine to them every week, saying that they would try to do so in course of time, within the limited resources that they had. It also asked the readers in the Malaya States and Singapore to send their fee as money orders – indicating that it may have had readership across the ocean.11
- 12 “M.R. Nair Jeevacharitra Samkshepam” [M.R. Nair: Bio note], in Hasyaprakasham: Sanjayan (...)
6Vidooshakan was followed by quite a number of humour-based magazines close at its heels - most of which were rip-offs of Vidooshakan, practically working in the same style and often, crude humour. This is where Sanjayan stood out. It must be noted right at the outset, that Sanjayan did not start as a magazine. It started off as a pseudonym that M. R. Nair used for his column at Kerala Pathrika, a newspaper where he worked as editor during the year 1935. This was before Sanjayan the magazine came out. The title also outlived the magazine, in that it was used for columns in M. R. Nair’s second magazine – Vishwaroopam.12 Vishwaroopam, that started publishing in 1940, was in essence, a sequel to Sanjayan, which despite its wide acceptance and popularity, lasted only three years (1936-1939). And one of the major factors that contributed to its popularity is the fact that M. R. Nair, the editor of Sanjayan, was the founder and editor of Vishwaroopam too.
- 13 Naradar 1, no.1. August, 1941.
7Naradar, edited by G. Kesava Pillai, came out in the year 1940. The intent and idea of the publishers of Naradar behind the publication of the journal are made clear by the two notes published in the first issue. The introductory note by the editor underlined that the times are bad for the printing and publishing trade. Hitler and his antics intended at the destruction of the whole world had led to general inflation, which meant a rise in the price of paper, and costly process of printing. However, it went on to state that it was in such times that people needed someone to reassure them, guide them, make them aware of things happening around them and in spite of everything, make them smile.13
- 14 This article is a section from the unpublished thesis that I submitted as part of my PhD. c (...)
8Even as the current paper begins with the First World War, it is unfortunate that only one cartoon that discusses it could be found. However, considering the fact that it is the first cartoon published in Malayalam, its relevance is immense. From there the paper then approaches the successors of Vidooshakan that not only had better facilities at printing, but also better artists and correspondents. The times were different as well and the world was gearing up for another world war. And the paper traces these magazines and particularly their cartoons, as they tried to make sense out of the international turmoil. The aim here then, is to make sense out of this extensive investment on the part of publishers and editors of early Malayalam humour-magazines towards discussing the wars – especially in light of the fact that these wars were not even fought on the shores they operated from. How they depicted these wars, their biases in the course of the war, the unique perspectives that they adopted and more importantly how they placed India within those discussions are the major concerns here. Considering the fact that these were also years were the freedom movement gained momentum in India, these publications also tried to locate India in the larger context of international politics. The latter then explains the decision to end the discussion with the cartoon titled “Chumarssakshi?” [Wall as Witness?] (Fig 14), as it clearly encapsulates where India was placed amidst the raging discussions of right to freedom and democracy. Thus, the paper intends to engage with the myriad characters of the Second World War, that made their appearance in these Malayalam cartoons – with the British Lion and the Soviet Bear being two very prominent ones.14
- 15 T. V. Krishnan, Kerala’s First Communist: Life of Sakhavu Krishna Pillai, New Delhi (...)
- 16 Uroob (P. C. Kuttikrishna Menon), Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum [The Beautiful and the Handsom (...)
9The economy of the Malabar region was severely affected by the First World War, which was followed by an economic depression in which all people – irrespective of their class – were affected. While even the landed gentry felt the heat, the lower middle class ended up crumbling.15 It can then be safely assumed that the situation of commoners was much worse. Renowned writer Uroob narrates this situation in his novel titled Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum. The novel, first published in 1958, tells the story of a few people in Malabar with the two world wars and the national movements as its background. Uroob noted that the war had resulted in severe price hikes and inflation, while there was no rise in salaries or revenues.16 Predictably, therefore, the worst affected were the poor and the commoners. This was the context in which Vidooshakan published the first cartoon in Malayalam. It was titled Mahakshamadevatha, [The Great Famine Goddess] (Fig 1), linking the central character and the theme.
Fig 1. Mahakshamadevatha [The Great Famine Goddess], Cartoon, Vidooshakan, October 1919. The first cartoon published in Malayalam. Courtesy: Chithira Thirunal Library, Trivandrum.
10The way the disaster is depicted is also worth noting. It is etched as a demon killing people. The demon is shown as stamping on one hapless person, while two others have already been stabbed by her spear. Meanwhile, she has also grabbed another person in her claw. A few others are also shown running from the demon in their fright. Amidst all this stands a British officer, who is rather nonchalant and somewhat indifferent to the whole turn of events. On the opposite side is a tapioca plant that is carrying and thereby saving a frightened person from the demon, being the only respite from the cruel famine.
11There are a few important factors to be noted here. Firstly, the fact that the publishers chose this specific topic to draw upon, in their first cartoon, suggests both the gravity of the situation, as well as their concern regarding the same. Secondly, even though it is the impact of the war that is being depicted, there is, in fact, no mention of the actual conflict. The third feature is the depiction of the ineffective British officer. It must be noted that Vidooshakan, despite being the first humorous magazine as well as the first to publish a cartoon in Malayalam, shows the courage to critique the colonial government in this scenario.
12What is also crucial to note here is the relevance of this cartoon and the central theme it draws upon (famine), especially in terms of the cartoons that follow. The famine resulting from the World War One was not the last time this region would go through such tragedy. Nor was it the last time that such tragedies made their way into the frames of Malayalam cartoons.
- 17 Abraham Tharakan is a writer who has authored several essays and short stories. His (...)
- 18 Abraham Tharakan, “Some Memories of World War 2,” Song of The Waves – Parayil A. Tharakan B (...)
- 19 Kuttamath Kunniyoor Narayana Kurup, Modern Kerala: Studies in Social and Agrarian Relations(...)
- 20 Naradar 1, no. 4, (December 1941).
- 21 Editorial, Naradar 2, no. 9-10, April-May 1942.
13“The main topic of conversation among people in the late 1930s and early 1940s was the second world war,” states Abraham Tharakan17, in his memories of war-time Cochin. People were aware of the effects of a war from their living or vicariously lived experience of the First World War.18 And as expected, the Second World War also brought with it a lot of suffering for people in general, and more so for the poorer sections. The harshest effects were probably the scarcity of food and increasing black-marketeering.19 According to a Naradar editorial, merchants hiked the prices of all the essentials as soon as the news of the war spread.20 The Travancore government adopted steps to curb this and organized raids to bring the miscreants to justice. While this was a commendable move, the magazine observed that many merchants were getting off the hook by reducing the prices as soon as they spotted a government official.21
14People were discouraged from travelling, especially in trains, which were now mostly used for the movement of troops. Small-scale farmers could not pay their rent and ended up owing huge arrears to the landlords. Lawsuits were filed against these farmers, and many were evicted. Employment was hard to come by and many people left for Burma to take up road construction work there. According to Naradar, most of these people came back infected with diseases like malaria.22
15Newspapers and the press in general were also severely affected by the war as the prices of paper and other stationery also multiplied. In 1941, Naradar wrote an editorial on this subject saying that the price of paper had soared. “If you go to the market hearing that paper is being sold for Rs.10, by the time you get there it would have risen to Rs. 15 and by the time you took
- 23 Naradar 1, no. 4, December 1941.
16the money out of your pocket, it would have gone up to Rs. 20.”23 This was the background against which Sanjayan was born. As was natural therefore, Sanjayan was quite vocal in warning its readers of the looming crisis. It was keen to observe and comment on the political currents and nuances that were emerging internationally. Essentially, as far as the Malayali public was concerned, Sanjayan was a witness to what led to the war as well as how it began.
- 24 George Feldman, World War II: Almanac. Vol. 1, Detroit: U. X. L., 2000, 19-20.
17While historians and history textbooks across the world mark the outbreak of the Second World War to the year 1939, the fact is that its origins lie at the end and aftermath of the First World War. After the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia, fear of the spread of Communism was a factor underlying events and attitudes in Europe throughout the 1920s and 1930s and contributed to the rise of fascism. Dissatisfaction with the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, discontent with the performance of democratic parties and a context of instability led to the appointment of Mussolini as prime minister of Italy in 1922, his regime rapidly turning into a fascist dictatorship. Once Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, he began transgressing the Treaty of Versailles. In 1935, he commenced rearmament of the army and navy and created an air-force (the Luftwaffe). The next year, he sent his army back into the Rhineland and as the French and the British decided to turn a blind eye, Nazi Germany tasted its first victory. In 1936, Germany started aiding Spanish General Francisco Franco in his rebellion against the Republican government. The Luftwaffe bombed civilians in Spain while Italy joined them by sending troops. Thus, even before 1938, the Nazi threat had started looming over Europe and the world – being aided by a disinterested Britain and France.24
18Meanwhile in Asia, it was the colonial rule and the resultant Japanese discontent that led to their call to oust the foreigners from Asia. By the mid-1930s in fact, the Japanese government, was starting to resemble its counterparts in Germany and Italy.25
19After signing a treaty with Germany to prevent the growth of Communism, Japan turned on China and invaded it in 1937. Peking, Shanghai, and Canton were conquered and looted, villages were burnt, and civilians raped or killed. This is the context of the cartoon published in Sanjayan titled Asian Vanathile Daruna Sambhavam [The Tragedy in Asian Jungle] (Fig 2).
Fig 2. Asian Vanathile Daruna Sambhavam [The Tragedy in Asian Jungle], Cartoon, M. Bhaskaran, Sanjayan, 16 September 1937. Courtesy: Chithira Thirunal Library, Trivandrum.
20The cartoon shows a goat being strangled by a cobra. The goat is drawn with the face of the Chinese Premier Chiang Kai-Shek. While this ‘tragedy’ is happening in the foreground, there are several other animals standing by and witnessing it. These animals have all been labelled. Thus, the wolf, bull, giraffe, lion and bear represent Germany, Italy, the USA, Britain and the Soviet Union respectively and have been depicted with the faces of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Franklin Roosevelt, Neville Chamberlain, and Joseph Stalin. The grouping of these animals/nations in the cartoon is interesting too. While Italy and Germany are standing close to each other, the rest are shown as huddled into a separate group. It must be noted here that this division of nations into the Axis and Allied camps had yet to become official. Indeed, the Non-Aggression Pact between Germany and the USSR (August 1939) allowed the two signatories to invade Poland and partition much of Central and Eastern Europe. The agreement only ended in June 1941 when Germany invaded the USSR which then joined the Allied side, an event which the cartoonist seems to have anticipated by almost four years!
21The Sino-Japanese war of 1937 was one of the conflicts that triggered the Second World War. Japan enjoyed early success in China, which is what the cartoonist was depicting here. Despite the Chinese goat’s cry “Are you all just going to stand there and watch?”, no-one makes any moves to help. The indifference and reluctance to intervene shown by the powerful nations towards the early aggressions by the Germans and Italians acted as a catalyst that led to the Second World War. The cartoonist therefore blames them for this mistake, though the after-effects of this inaction were not yet known.
22The 1938 January issue of Sanjayan offered an interesting opinion – both in its cartoons and its articles. The first cartoon of the year was titled Nava Varshaarambham [Birth of a New Year] (Fig 3).
Fig 3. Nava Varshaarambham [Birth of a New Year], Cartoon, Achuth, Sanjayan, 16 January 1938. Courtesy: Chithira Thirunal Library, Trivandrum.
23Unlike the general sense of elation at welcoming a new year though, Sanjayan’s view was grim, reinforced by using black color and darkness with the intention of evoking a threatening and dangerous atmosphere. The cartoon depicts the world as a traveler in a boat, lost at sea – amongst the turbulent currents of Communism and Fascism. The adjoining editorial reinforced the message, explaining the cartoon for readers.
Did you people notice the picture provided here? Did you see the two waves rising with their fangs bare like deadly snakes as they hiss and leap at each other? Did you see someone caught in this storm, in a boat with no oars, sail or anchor, sitting like a laborer returning from Wayanad, sick and feverish in every sense of the word? That is the word that includes me and you, my dear people!
- 26 Editorial, Sanjayan 2, no 16, January 1938.
This is the condition of the world now. Ethiopia was like a scar with rotten flesh inside. Fortunately, or unfortunately, that ended there. Some random people even went ahead and took credit for this. The next one occurred in Spain. The treatment for this one was going on, and that is when a much worse wound appeared in China. Surgery seems like the only choice. But considering the slight difficulty in putting the scalpel at the throat itself, everyone is still gathered around gazing at each other.26
24The cartoon implies that the world is inching ever closer to a disaster, having to wade through the dangers posed by Fascism and Communism, with no respite in sight. The first point to consider here is the equation of Nazism and Communism. We may wonder what prompted Sanjayan towards such an argument, which may appear surprising when we consider the emergence and establishment of the Communist Party in Kerala.
- 27 George Woodcock, Kerala: A Portrait the Malabar Coast, op. cit., 244.
- 28 Ibid., 245.
- 29 Ibid., 246.
25Though the Communist Party of India was formed in 1925, there was no organized structure in the region until the 1930s.27 George Woodcock points out that it was in the early 1930s that the Communists started infiltrating trade unions in places like Calicut and Cannanore in Malabar and Alappuzha in Travancore.28 Both the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee (KPCC) that was formed in 1934 and the Kerala branch of the Congress Socialist Party (CSP), founded in 1935, had a lot of Communists in their ranks. In fact, the former was under the control of a left-wing party led by E.M.S. Namboodiripad and P. Krishna Pillai – both of whom were the founding members of the Communist party that was formed as an (illegal) underground organization in 1937. At the ground level, the party gained a foothold and their propaganda machines worked well, but by 1940 the party suffered severe repression from the government against many party workers and leaders.29
- 30 Ibidem.
- 31 Uroob, Sundarikalum Sundaranmarum, op. cit., 356-358.
26It was the Soviet Union’s decision to join the war on the side of the British and against the Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan that turned the fortune of the Communists around. Within a month, the party was legalized on the Indian sub-continent. As far as the government officials were concerned, the increasing influence of the Communists would mean a fall in the support for Congress.30 A good example being the instance in Uroob’s 1958 novel, in which the Communists who till then had worked alongside the Congressmen, are shown calling the latter Japanese agents and turning them over to the police.31 That the Communists had governmental support now helped their cause further. Free to work and spread their word, they worked their way into various organizations like the Nair Service Society (NSS) or the Yoga Kshema Sabha (a caste organization of Namboodiri Brahmins). “EMS” even became the president of the latter.
27Back in 1938, however, as far as Sanjayan was concerned, Communism and Nazism were equally dangerous for humanity. Sanjayan called the followers of both ideologies “more wretched than even animals,” “the agnostics of Europe” and “blood demons.” This, therefore, is the context against which the extensively detailed cartoon titled Aasanna Vipathu [Imminent Danger] (Fig 4) should be read.
Fig 4. Aasanna Vipathu [Imminent Danger], Cartoon, M. Bhaskaran, Sanjayan, 16 January 1938. Courtesy: Chithira Thirunal Library, Trivandrum
28It shows a bear – waving a Communist flag – stepping on the back of a tired old man (here, the Indian National Congress) who is handcuffed and in chains. On either side of the old man are Truth and Non-violence. Both are depicted as naked women. While Non-violence has been stabbed to death, Truth is still in the shackles. The tattered Congress flag that lies in the foreground completes the picture. The legend below the title reads thus: “If the Congress leaders are still going to sit and sleep instead of working hard towards upholding truth and non-violence, the result is going to be disastrous. Sanjayan is humbly trying to point out this imminent danger.”
29There are two things to be noted here. Firstly, as in the previous cartoon, Communism is seen as a danger to humanity, whether in India or elsewhere. Only here, it has been animalized as the “Soviet Bear”. The second thing to note is the characterizations. Depicting Congress as a weak old man seems to be a way of protesting against the extant situation within the party. The fact that truth and non-violence are depicted as women implies that these values are vulnerable, with the cartoonist following the convention of using female figures as the epitome of weakness and vulnerability.
- 32 Paul Knepper, International Crime in the 20th Century: The League of Nations Era, 1919-1939(...)
- 33 Frederick Samuel Northedge, The League of Nations: Its Life and Times, 1920-1946, Leicester (...)
30In addition to the crises in China and Spain, there was another one brewing in Palestine. Palestinian Arabs had risen against the British colonial government. They demanded independence as well as an end to Jewish immigration. Amidst all these crises, the talks on disarmament (reduction and limitation of armaments, to be more accurate) had been dragging on at the international level for years since the early 1930s. The League of Nations met in Geneva first in April 1937 and later in November the same year, to formulate a convention regarding terrorism.32 The irony lies in the fact that Germany and Japan had already left the League and Italy was on the point of doing so,33 while, in any case, the United States had never joined, thus rendering the organization and its conventions pointless. This is the context of the cartoon titled Avarude Anthamillatha Alochana [Their Unending Contemplation] (Fig 5).
Fig 5. Avarude Anthamillatha Alochana [Their Unending Contemplation], Cartoon, M. Bhaskaran, Sanjayan, 16 January 1938. Courtesy: Chithira Thirunal Library, Trivandrum.
31The cartoon is divided into four smaller frames. The first three show brutal scenes from the warfronts in Spain, China, and Palestine. In Spain, the Republican government was under attack from General Franco’s forces, in China, resistance to the Japanese invasion was ongoing, while, in Palestine, the Arabs had rebelled. The fourth frame shows the leaders of nations, Roosevelt, Stalin, Chamberlain, and Chiang Kai-Shek thinking hard over piles of papers and spilled ink. The inclusion of Roosevelt is interesting in view of his country’s lack of involvement in the League. In spite of their interminable deliberations, they have not yet reached any conclusions. The cartoonist sheds more light on the matter by quoting from the Bhagavad Gita in the legend. The passage translates thus: “the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched,” the implication being that as long as the participants had their own vested interests and hesitated, the endless discussions would continue to no end.
32These cartoons and articles discussing international politics prove beyond any shred of doubt that Sanjayan paid keen attention to what was happening at the international level. It should also be noted that most of the cartoons cited above were published in 1937 and 1938. The Second World War started in 1939, which means that it was not the conflict and its impact around the world that set writers and cartoonists and Sanjayan to work on topics like these. Rather they were keenly following events occurring on various continents, which, they presumed, were building up towards a war on a massive scale. This perceptive assessment, one must assume, stems from thorough observation and understanding of not only history but the contemporary political scene as well.
33One would also have to assume that the middle-class public, who formed the bulk of the readership of the magazine, was keen to know what was happening around the world. That M. R. Nair, the editor, was a keen reader of Punch could also have been an important factor in directing Sanjayan’s focus towards international affairs and especially the imminent war. But unlike Punch’s point of view, Sanjayan’s outlook was less univocally biased. While it was critical of both Communism and Fascism (as evinced in the Soviet Union, Germany, and Italy), the British, French and Americans are not spared either.
34Naradar started discussing the Second World War right from its first issue. It expressed its concerns in clear terms in an article published in English:
- 34 “Dewan’s North Travancore Tour,” Naradar, 1, no. 1, September 1940.
Even we in this distant corner of the world have not been exempt from the pinching effects of the war of total destruction of unrelenting Nazi tyranny now raging wildly in the west. The problem of unemployment and the menace of poverty following in the wake of this deadlock in commerce and trade have assumed a serious aspect and threaten to dislocate the political machinery. We are aware of the fact that there are many, unfortunate to get even one square meal a day (sic).34
35Similarly, in an editorial titled ‘Yudham!! Yudham!!’ [War!! War!!], Naradar further laid out its perspective on the war:
- 35 Editorial, Naradar 2, n. 5-6, December 1942-January 1943, 1. (My translation).
War – dark, devilish, rabid war; Russo-German war, Sino-Japanese war, Japanese American war; war everywhere. When will the world escape this fire? It does not look like that day is going to come soon. Apparently, America is willing to fight the Japanese for twenty years. Japan is ready to fight for ten. German capacity to loot, murder and plunder can last another fifteen years… What a drastic situation! This cannot possibly get any worse… People are finding it difficult to barely survive. There is no rice. Even if it is there, there is no money. Even if one has money, it will be devalued and unacceptable…. There is only one thing that helps one survive through these circumstances: the fact that these dangerous circumstances have not even peeped into Travancore yet. There is enough rice. There is no scarcity of clothes...35
36The editorial shows the realities of war and what misery it brought even to people residing in lands that were far and distant from the war zones. However, scarcity of food, devaluation of the currency, unavailability of clothes, etc. are the important issues raised here. This reference seems to be to Malabar, a region under direct colonial rule and therefore more vulnerable to colonial politics and war. This becomes clearer when one finds the article stating that Travancore is devoid of such fatalities. What makes it more interesting is the irony of the so-called ‘contrasting’ pictures that the editor tries to portray here, especially, since Naradar had, in its own first issue, stated that the effects of the war had reached even the distant corners of Travancore. The editor probably deemed it necessary, in an afterthought, to please their own rulers and show faith in them. Despite the contradiction, however, it is quite clear that the war did cause ripples in the region and its socio-economic life.
- 36 Unfortunately, not much information could be retrieved about this excellent journalist and (...)
37The importance Naradar gave to international affairs and the World War was such that it had an analyst – S. S. Aiyangar – exclusively working on these themes.36 Printed in English, Aiyangar’s articles included “Neville Chamberlain,” “France Inundated,” “Polish War and War Aims,” “Finland (100 Days War),” “A Duex Guerre (sic) (1919-’39),” “Austria Raped,” etc. An advertisement published in the February 1941 issue described these articles as “very interesting facts of the present war” and asked the readers not to miss out on reading them. The very fact that these articles were printed and sold separately proves their popularity as well as the importance they were given by the editors of the magazine. In one of his articles, Aiyangar pointed out why this war was being fought.
- 37 S. S. Aiyangar, “Polish War and War Aims,” Naradar 1, no. 6., February 1941, 33 (...)
So, what is the aim of this war? To eliminate Hitlerism, to establish collective security, to redeem Europe from the perpetual German aggression, to enable the people of this world from the horrors of war and preserve independence and liberty…. In the battlefield, many sons of fathers die. Why? To make the democracy a perennial thing in this world and to liberate the world from the anarchy that is raging now and to make and administer the peace [sic.].37
38S. S. Aiyangar’s articles were not the only means that Naradar used to discuss the World War. There were many cartoons that discussed it too. In fact, cartoons discussing the war and international affairs are predominant among all the cartoons in Naradar.
39The January 1941 issue published a cartoon featuring Adolf Hitler. Hitler’s German forces started a direct attack on Britain in July 1940. The attack involved both the German air force and navy. This attempt by the Germans to bring down Britain is depicted in the cartoon with the title Hitlerude Apakadamaya Circus [Hitler’s Dangerous Circus] (Fig 6), which suggests that Hitler might have underestimated his opponent. Hitler is dressed in the cartoon as a circus ringmaster, without the top hat, holding a whip in one hand. The iconic toothbrush mustache and the swastika tag on his sleeve make it easy to recognize him. He is seen placing his head dangerously inside the mouth of a lion – the latter being a symbol of the British. For those who might not realize the lion’s identity, the stool that it is leaning on is clearly marked with a Union Jack.
Fig 6. Hitlerude Apakadamaya Circus [Hitler’s Dangerous Circus], Cartoon, Naradar, January 1941. Courtesy: Chithira Thirunal Library, Trivandrum.
- 38 Bernard Partridge, “Anderson and the Lion,” Cartoon, Punch, 9 November 1938. <https://magaz (...)
40It is interesting to note that there are similarities between this cartoon and another which appeared in Punch. Titled Anderson and the Lion and published in November 1938, its subject was the civil defense measures British were preparing to effectively defend against German air-raids.38 Drawn by Bernard Partridge, this cartoon also used the imagery of a lion for the British. But beyond this national symbol, the use of a circus background in both cartoons seems to be a little more than a mere coincidence. This could be yet another reminder of how the British Punch inspired vernacular works.
- 39 George Feldman, World War II: Almanac. Vol. 1, op. cit., 72-73.
41In September 1940, Italian forces started an invasion of Egypt. This, if successfully carried out would have ended British control over the Suez Canal. Accordingly, in December 1940, the British mounted a surprise attack on the Italians. The latter had no choice but to retreat. More than a hundred thousand Italian soldiers were captured. This came in addition to the huge setbacks the Italians were facing in Greece. Desperate in the face of these results, Italy – regarded as the weakest of the Axis powers – sought help. Following this, Germany sent a division to aid them in early January 1941.39 A cartoon published in the February 1941 issue gave a picturesque depiction of this situation (Fig 7).
Fig 7. Untitled Cartoon, Naradar, February 1941. Courtesy: Chithira Thirunal Library, Trivandrum.
42Unlike most of the cartoons in Naradar, this one has a detailed background. The continents of Europe and Africa, where the war was raging in its full fury, form the backdrop here. In the foreground, Benito Mussolini is being attacked and injured badly by Greece and Africa, while Hitler is offering his support to the falling Italian dictator. There is also a soldier resembling an Indian, who is hacking at Mussolini’s leg with an axe. This must be a reminder of the role Indian soldiers played in British war efforts. The caption reads thus: “There is no respite for Mussolini in Greece or Africa. Whether Hitler intends to aid him or finishes him off is something we will have to wait and see.” The quote was attributed to S. S. Aiyangar, thereby establishing a connection between the cartoons and his articles. Such regular contributions – which were notably devoid of any humour – and cartoons focusing on international politics and the World War, published in Naradar, essentially point to the reading public’s keen interest in these topics.
43As mentioned in the introduction, Vishwaroopam was essentially the rebirth of Sanjayan that was shut down after its short span of life. The editorial board, the style of writing, the cartoonists and illustrators were all essentially the same for both magazines. The major difference, apart from the name, consisted in the outlook of the magazine. While Sanjayan was more concerned with the local issues – as shown by the cover image of the wit looking down upon the region – Vishwaroopam considered global issues as important too. In other words, though Sanjayan did discuss international issues, this was not one of its proclaimed objectives. That this ambiguity was eliminated in Vishwaroopam shows that the editors were keen to adjust their approach in this second venture of theirs.
- 40 “Njangalkku Thonnunnath,” [What We Think], Sanjayan 1, no. 3, October 1940, 1.
44Considering Vishwaroopam and its treatment of the course of the Second World War leads to a set of cartoons that could be compared with Naradar. The fact that Vishwaroopam was based in the Malabar presidency and therefore under direct colonial rule whereas Naradar was based in the princely state of Travancore makes such a comparison more interesting. The commentary section of the third issue of Vishwaroopam titled Njangalkku Thonnunnath [What we think] discussed the agreement between Germany, Italy and Japan. In reply to a reader’s query in this regard, the editor remarked that speaking in terms of traditional medical practice, being affected by three ‘big’ diseases at once, will result in the loss of one’s consciousness. When this worsens, it results in madness and eventually death.40
Fig 8. Untitled Cartoon, M. Bhaskaran, Vishwaroopam, October 1940. Courtesy: Chithira Thirunal Library, Trivandrum.
- 41 George Feldman, World War II: Almanac. Vol. 1, op. cit., 87.
45It was in September 1940 that Japan signed a treaty with Germany and Italy – also called the Tripartite Pact.41 Referring to this development, Vishwaroopam published a cartoon (Fig 8) which showed three naughty little boys – Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo – and a sleeping bear. Holding each other’s hands, the youngsters are happy with their newfound friendship – Japan being the new friend to join their little group. The caption below explains the frame further, by narrating the conversation. The kid in the middle – Mussolini – appears to be asking the one on his right “Why is uncle bear not reacting to our new-found friendship with Japan?” He then asks his friend to blow slightly at the bear to see whether it will wake up. The implication, therefore, is that the Axis powers are effectively a group of spoilt brats who are playing a dangerous prank by provoking the Soviet Union, who, though sleeping, nevertheless remains a bear.
46In addition to the rather straightforward approach of what is happening and how, some of the cartoons in Vishwaroopam also offered certain distinct and unexpected angles on the conflict. The following cartoons (Fig 9, 10, 11 and 12) are some cases in point.
47Germany relied heavily on submarines, fighter planes and bombers in the Second World War, and not so much on surface vessels. Successful British hunting of German battleships in the early phase of the war prompted the Germans to rely more on their famed U-boats. These submarines in the Atlantic intercepted or destroyed vessels carrying supplies – military and otherwise – that were meant for Britain. This was the context for a cartoon by Achuth (Fig 9). It shows a submarine passing by as two fish talk to each other. “Are human beings trying to make our life difficult by establishing empires under the sea as well? Do you have any idea?”
Fig 9. Untitled Cartoon, Achuth, Vishwaroopam, October 1940. Courtesy: Chithira Thirunal Library, Trivandrum.
48What is interesting about this cartoon is that beyond the political implications of the war, it offers an altogether different perspective. Human beings, who have already ruined the surface of the earth, are now moving underwater as well, which is a matter of concern for the fish. The cartoon reflects the artist’s concern over the course of the war and international politics on the one hand and the dangerous extends of imperialism on the other. The fact that it has been depicted in the perspective of fishes, and that they hold “humans” culpable however, might even be read as an early comment on the environmental impacts of wars.
49Published in the same month in October 1940, another cartoon reflects on the inefficiency of the League of Nations. The organization’s reputation was already undermined when, while its creation was being discussed, the United States of America decided to stay out of it. Whatever legitimacy it had was further damaged when Germany decided to rearm itself, in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles and the decisions of the League. This, however, was only one of a number of major setbacks. Eventually, Germany and Japan left the League, and Italy and Spain also walked out, thus rendering the organization powerless and its decisions futile. This is the context of Achuth’s cartoon depicting, not without a touch of irony, the League of Nations building, the grandiose Palace of Nations, as a white elephant which was already empty and waiting for a new tenant or owner (Fig 10). It was not to reopen until 1946 when it became home to the League’s successor, the United Nations. The absence of a title seems perhaps to be inviting the reader to draw his/her own conclusions.
Fig 10. Untitled Cartoon, Achuth, Vishwaroopam, October 1940. Courtesy: Chithira Thirunal Library, Trivandrum.
50A cartoon featuring Hitler published in the February 1941 issue of Vishwaroopam, focuses on the socio-economic impact of the war rather than its military or political side (Fig 11). The central imagery and the caption imply that a meteorite coming towards the earth from the sky, went back afraid of the meteorite from the earth – the latter being none other than Hitler. And it is the effect on the earth of this second meteorite that the cartoon attempts to show. The world is a raging mass of fire started by Hitler, which is consuming the world with war, destruction, and famine.
Fig 11. Untitled Cartoon, M. Bhaskaran, Vishwaroopam, February 1941. Courtesy: Chithira Thirunal Library, Trivandrum.
51Cartoonist Bhaskaran, for his part, thus re-imagined Germany’s ruthless thirst for conquering new land in terms of a jungle, whereby the countries at war were all personified as animals. Titled “Antharmrigeeya” Sthiti [Inter-Animal Situation] (Fig 12), the cartoon shows the gory details of the war.
Fig 12. “Antharmrigeeya” Sthiti [Inter-Animal Situation], Cartoon, M. Bhaskaran, Vishwaroopam, May 1941. Courtesy: Chithira Thirunal Library, Trivandrum.
52While a German tiger and a Soviet bear are locked in brutal combat in the foreground, the details in the background show several defeated countries lying as dead carcasses – all represented as herbivores like goats, deer, etc. – including Greece, France, Norway, among others. Some are tied to a stake, awaiting their fate. Greece is still being devoured by an Italian jackal, which is also greedily watching the fight in the foreground. Behind all this, and amidst the gruesome scene, a British lion and an American eagle are observing the madness happening around them. The bloodthirst of a few countries was leading the whole world into a bloodbath.
- 42 Sumit Sarkar, Modern India: 1885-1947, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992, 375-377
53It is interesting to note how these cartoonists placed India within the larger canvass of the world wars. India, one has to remember, was unilaterally dragged into the Second World War by Britain, when the latter included India in its declaration of war against Germany in September 1939, without consulting any Indian leaders or representatives. Indian leaders had in fact offered full cooperation to British war efforts provided at least a minimum of their conditions were met by the British – the formation of a constituent assembly and a responsible national government, post-war. These requests were rejected and, on the contrary, several Acts and Amendments were adopted by the colonial government to tighten the grip over India by restricting civil liberties. These severe measures had the complete and unwavering support of Winston Churchill who took over as the British prime minister in May 1940.42 It is the hypocrisy in the British attitude that is questioned and subjected to ridicule by the cartoonist in Yudha Lakshyam! [War Aim!] (Fig 13).
Fig 13. Yudha Lakshyam! [War Aim!]. Cartoon, M. Bhaskaran, Vishwaroopam, February 1941. Courtesy: Chithira Thirunal Library, Trivandrum.
- 43 See, for example, Bernard Partridge, “His House in Order,” Cartoon, Punch 11 March (...)
54The cartoon shows a stout white man, in a waistcoat, jacket, bow tie, warm trousers, boots and hat, holding up a flag reading, “political equality and political liberty all over the world” (my translation). This man is John Bull, a symbolic representation of Britain, used widely in cartoons – especially British cartoons.43 The cartoon depicts him stepping on the breast of a woman. She is stripped of her clothes while her hands and feet are bound by shackles. Visibly in pain and suffering, this woman appears to represent India. The caption reads thus: “Britain declares that its war aim is to save the system of democracy, by stepping on the chest of a tortured India” (my translation). It also must be noted that suffering and vulnerability have once again been attributed as a feminine characteristic, reflecting deep-seated gender stereotypes.
- 44 George Feldman, World War II: Almanac. Vol. 1, op. cit., 207-208.
- 45 Ibid.
- 46 Sumit Sarkar, Modern India: 1885-1947, op. cit., 376-377.
55The last cartoon offers another critique of British hypocrisy and unfairness towards India. American President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had met on board a ship in the North Atlantic in mid-1941. The result of this meeting was a joint declaration hence called the Atlantic Charter. The Charter bound the countries to “oppose territorial changes unless they were the freely expressed desire of the people involved.”44 While this was intended as a promise to the European countries that had been conquered by the Axis powers, it also raised a question regarding the future of European colonies in Asia and Africa, where the movement for freedom and independence was becoming increasingly vocal and urgent. This question was also raised by Roosevelt who opposed colonization vehemently.45 Churchill, however, was adamant regarding the maintenance of the colonies, following which the question remained a major point of disagreement between the two signatories.46
56This situation was the subject of ridicule in the cartoon titled Chumarssakshi [Wall as Witness?] (Fig 14). While Churchill is shown here as his usual self, smoking a cigar as he signs the papers, Roosevelt is seen to be looking at the wall and fretting. A map of the Indian sub-continent hangs on the wall. Two eyes are seen to be staring from the map, at the table where the charter is being signed. It is this vision, it is inferred, that causes Roosevelt’s discomfort. The caption of the cartoon reads thus: “President Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill sign the eight clauses that form the Atlantic Charter (which excludes the case of India).”
Fig 14. Chumarssakshi? [Wall as Witness?] Cartoon, M. Bhaskaran, Vishwaroopam, July 1941. Courtesy: Chithira Thirunal Library, Trivandrum.
57These two cartoons (Fig 13 and 14) show how these cartoonists were quite clear and aware about what the war meant to the people under colonial rule – especially those under the yoke of the Allied powers. These colonial masters may have claimed to fight in order to uphold freedom and democracy, across the two World Wars. But this “freedom and democracy” was reserved for a select few (i.e. the European nations that had been invaded in the course of the war). And for most their colonies across Asia and Africa, it just meant famines, miseries and more exploitation.
58To sum up, one can see that the Second World War that began in 1939 had become a topic for cartoons in Malayalam even before the nations of the world divided into two hostile camps and took up arms against each other. The tensions and conflicts that led up to the war, as well as its course, its varied nuances, victors and losers of each battle, alliances made and broken, etc. were therefore laid out in these cartoons to be read by the Malayali readers. It seems reasonable to assume that the miseries that followed the First World War were fresh in the collective memory of the region. This would then naturally make the population wary of another possible war, thus resulting in it being discussed extensively in popular magazines and journals.
59Within this larger discussion of international politics however, lies another layer, in that there seems to be a clear delineation in the way the War was approached and covered by reporters and cartoonists in Malabar and the rest of the region. A closer analysis of the cartoons shows distinct variations in the perspectives of different publications, especially in the case of the Second World War. Of the magazines studied here, Sanjayan, Vishwaroopam, and Naradar discussed the Second World War. While what they did was the same (lamenting, ridiculing, and reporting the war), the ‘how’ is rather different.
60Sanjayan and Vishwaroopam, both of which were published in Malabar, looked at the War while also focusing on its after-effects. Thus, famine, environmental issues, destruction, drought, etc. are mentioned more in their cartoons as well as their articles. Similarly, Vishwaroopam also exposed the British hypocrisy of waging a war to uphold democracy while continuing to tighten its colonial grip on India and dragging the latter into the war.
- 47 S. S. Aiyangar, Naradar 1, no. 6, February 1941, 34.
61Published from Travancore, Naradar, on the other hand, focused on narrating the War as it happened in Europe and the rest of the world. It also reminded the readers why the War was necessary to eliminate fascist forces and restore peace.47 This difference, one must assume, arises from the differences in the experience of war in both regions. As the editor of Naradar pointed out, Travancore was not affected by the war as much as Malabar was. Though Naradar attributed this to the benevolent rule of the Dewan and the Maharaja, the fact is that Malabar was being exploited by the colonial government just like any other region it ruled. This must be read alongside the fact that the Indian national movement against the British colonial government was not mentioned as much in these pages – although the movement was at its peak during these years. This does not necessarily mean that the Malayali public was not interested in the national movement and events in the sub-continent, for Travancore also had a local Congress party. It would, however, seem that their focus was concentrated more on the issues of the state rather than the sub-continent.
62The same goes for the case of Communism in these cartoons. While all the three magazines discuss and critique Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, only Sanjayan and Vishwaroopam are vehemently against Communism as an ideology. This once again makes sense when we consider that, in its early days, the Communist movement was much more strongly established in Malabar than in the other regions of Kerala.
63In short then, the Malayalam journals had a lot of similarities in their coverage of the Second World War, especially in terms of their astute observations and somewhat anticipatory reportage of the War. The prominence that they gave to these war issues seems largely due to memories of the First World War as well as living experiences of the same. However, when it came to the nuances of these depictions and criticisms, it is also rather obvious that the same reasons became points of divergence between these magazines. In other words, these journals were adept not only at discussing international issues and the war and reporting them for their readers, but also at contextualizing and indigenizing them within the circumstances of local politics to enable their readers to see the relevance of these topics.