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President MR as the cartoonists’ delight

Cartoons have been a powerful form of communication since their origin. Cartoons are loved by all irrespective of age differences. Often a message communicated through a cartoon is more effective than thousand written words. A cartoon has no language barriers and its message can be spread across the world.


President Mahinda Rajapaksa visiting the Deyata Kirula stall on newspaper cartoons relating to him.

Cartoons in newspapers have been all time favourites among readers. They have become an indispensable feature in newspapers providing humour, entertainment and relaxation to the readers. In the print media, political cartoons which depict the issues of the current political scenario of the country and the world have gained much importance among other cartoons. Most of these contain a blend of wisdom and entertainment.

A cartoon is a silent art form which has an immense hidden potential to awaken the people. The first newspaper cartoon in Sri Lanka was drawn by G. S. Fernando in the Swadesha Mitraya newspaper in 1931 criticizing the recommendations of the Donoughmore Commission. The pioneer in popularizing formal political cartoons is said to be Aubrey Collette who was associated with the Times of Ceylon. With the development of computer technology and graphic designs, this art form has gathered momentum in the present era.

Political cartoons are often levelled at political figures with the power of decision making. When considering the Sri Lankan context, the Head of State has always been the key inspiration of cartoonists in print media. At times these cartoons have been favourable and appreciative, whereas at times these have been critical and sarcastic.

Head of State in cartoons

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, being the present Head of State and an influential political personality has been the subject of an unprecedented number of cartoons in Sri Lankan print media compared to other political leaders in the country in the past and in the present. Being thoughtful of this fact, Mass Media and Information Ministry Secretary W. B. Ganegala has compiled an anthology of cartoons, published in all daily and weekly newspapers in the Sinhala, English and Tamil languages, relating to President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The anthology named ‘Serada Mahinda’ (Long Live Mahinda) comes in volumes as an annual collection of cartoons since 2006. The latest and sixth volume in this series containing the work in 2011 was published recently. Commenting on the cartoon collection relating to President Rajapaksa, Ganegala observed that as a whole, the cartoonists show through their delicate observations, the maturity and efficiency of the President in meeting day- to-day political challenges and the ways in which he would turn any adverse situation to one of advantage.


The two cartoons which appeared in Indian newspapers.

“I have included all cartoons related to the President without censoring, and it can be noted that about 95 percent of them are favourable to him and appreciating his calibre. It is inspiring to see how even cartoonists in newspapers representing the Opposition have appreciated the incomparable political stature of President Mahinda Rajapaksa,” he remarked.

Ganegala revealed that the latest volume also includes two cartoons published in Indian newspapers; ‘Indian Express’ and ‘The Hindu’ on June 11 and March 17 respectively. He observed that collecting and preserving these cartoons would be useful for the reference of future generations. He noted that the political scene behind a cartoon can be recollected at any time, and this collection is like a history book which enables anybody to go through history with a smile.

He said that copies of these books were distributed among foreign missions in Sri Lanka as well as Sri Lankan missions representing the country aboard. This anthology of cartoons has also been distributed to leading school libraries, all the Ministers and MPs free of charge.

Ganegala observed that the Deyata Kirula exhibition stall on cartoons relating to the President attracted a huge crowd. He noted that the commentary books at the stall were filled with encouraging and valuable comments of the visitors depicting the mirror image of the country. Even the President had made a visit to the stall. About 250 copies of the 'Serada Mahinda’ anthology were sold at the Deyata Kirula stall. “It was not published for commercial purposes. However during the exhibition we sold it to the public with a 40 percent discount”, he said.

Serada Mahinda


The series of ‘Serada Mahinda’ cartoon collection. Pictures by Nissanka Wijeratne

The entire collection of six volumes contains about 2,360 cartoons from about 20 cartoonists in the country. The majority of the cartoons talk about the positive side of the performances of the President including his personality, leadership qualities, his vision for the future, media friendly manner and how he tackles very serious political issues wisely.

Ganegala said that he was extremely happy to initiate this endeavour for a patriotic, charismatic and exemplary leader like President Mahinda Rajapaksa whose bravery, wisdom and feelings for the country are incomparable.

The first book of the series contains a valuable article on the development of cartoons as a refined art by veteran journalist Edwin Ariyadasa. Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and Colombo University Sinhala Department Professor Sarath Wijesuriya have also made valuable contributions to the anthology by supplying messages and articles.

This series is the first mega collection of cartoons relating to a Sri Lankan political leader. The specialty of these books is that they were published during the tenure of the President. The cartoons in this collection also stand as a proof of the media freedom in the country. The cartoons exuding soft satire, humour, confrontation, exaggeration, social rectification, attitude formation, can be seen in this entire collection.

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