''Shankar's Weekly'' was an Indian satirical magazine published between 1948 and 1975. It was founded and run by Keshav Shankar Pillai, a pioneering

political cartoonist An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary. Their cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or curre ...

. The magazine has been compared to the UK's ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

''. The weekly printed its first issue in 1948 after Pillai left the ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...

'' following pressure from ''Times'' editor

Devdas Gandhi Devdas Mohandas Gandhi (22 May 1900 – 3 August 1957) was the fourth and youngest son of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He was born in the Colony of Natal and came to India with his parents as a grown man. He became active in his father's movem ...

to stop publishing cartoons critical of

C. Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activis ...

, a prominent Congress leader. The magazine was launched by Indian Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

, with whom Pillai shared a close friendship, even though Pillai described the magazine as "fundamentally anti-establishment". ''Shankar's Weekly'' became a platform for aspiring cartoonists across the country. Prominent cartoonists who published in the weekly include R K Laxman,

Rajinder Puri Rajinder PuriPersonal bloRajinder Puri/ref> (1934–2015), was an Indian cartoonist, veteran columnist and political activist. He was on the staff of The ''Hindustan Times'' and '' The Statesman'' as a cartoonist and writer. Later, his column ap ...

, Kevy, Kutty,

Bal Thackeray Bal Thackeray (; 23 January 1926 – 17 November 2012), also known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian politician who founded the Shiv Sena, a right-wing pro- Marathi and Hindu nationalist party active mainly in the state of Maharashtra ...

and Yesudasan. The magazine invited contributions from readers in a designated space. Many cartoonists, such as E. P. Unny, published through the readers' column. According to Unny, ''Shankar's Weekly'' was the "homing ground for the second generation of Indian political cartoons". Shankar allowed a variety of styles to function together despite himself being a very powerful leader with certainty for the craft. There was no common house style; a variety of personal styles were created by the cartoonists. In 1975, two weeks into The Emergency, the magazine shut down after having run for 27 years. According to the founder, the Emergency was not the cause of the closure. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wrote a letter to Pillai on hearing of the closure, stating she will "miss the journal".

References

{{reflist Satirical magazines Defunct magazines published in India Magazines established in 1948 Magazines disestablished in 1975 Weekly magazines published in India Magazines published in Delhi