Tharoor Presents MV Raghavan Memorial Award to Cartoonist EP Unny
Synopsis
Congress MP Dr. Shashi Tharoor presented the MV Raghavan Memorial Award to veteran editorial cartoonist EP Unny in Thiruvananthapuram on 6 November 2026, praising the depth of knowledge and thought that underpins great cartooning.
Key Takeaways
Shashi Tharoor presented the MV Raghavan Memorial Award to cartoonist EP Unny in Thiruvananthapuram on 6 November 2026 .
Kerala Transport Minister CP John and Technopark founder GVR Kerala were also present at the ceremony.
Tharoor praised cartoonists for compressing what 'most of us require pages to explain' into a few lines.
The award is named after MV Raghavan , a Kerala politician and former CPI(M) leader.
EP Unny is one of India's most prominent editorial cartoonists, known for decades of national-level commentary.
A cartoon, Congress MP Dr. Shashi Tharoor observed on Friday morning in Thiruvananthapuram, does in a single image what most writers take pages to accomplish — and that compression is precisely where its genius hides. Tharoor presented the MV Raghavan Memorial Award to eminent editorial cartoonist EP Unny at a ceremony that brought together Kerala's political and creative worlds.
Tharoor reflected on the deceptive simplicity of the art form, noting that while a cartoon's point lands within a minute, 'we often fail to realise the knowledge, thought and understanding behind each cartoon.' The remark was both a tribute and a corrective — asking audiences to look past the punchline to the craft beneath it.
Who Is EP Unny?
EP Unny is one of India's most recognised editorial cartoonists, celebrated for decades of sharp, insightful work in national publications. His pen has animated political debates, skewered power, and distilled complex policy moments into single frames — exactly the tradition the MV Raghavan Memorial Award was designed to honour.
The Award and the Name Behind It
The award is named after MV Raghavan, the Kerala politician and former CPI(M) leader whose legacy the event commemorates. Kerala has a long tradition of political figures lending their names and presence to cultural and media honours, recognising that journalism and satire are not peripheral to public life — they are part of its spine.
Who Shared the Stage
Joining Tharoor at the ceremony were Kerala Transport Minister CP John and Technopark founder GVR Kerala, underscoring the cross-sector character of the event. Thiruvananthapuram — Tharoor's own constituency — regularly serves as a stage where political leadership intersects with recognition of the arts, a convergence the city's cosmopolitan identity seems almost to invite.
Cartooning as a form of journalism has an especially deep root in India, where visual commentary has historically cut through barriers of language and literacy. That a sitting MP paused to articulate that depth — publicly, at a named memorial event — is a small but telling moment in the ongoing conversation about how democracies value their satirists.
Point of View
Recognising editorial cartooning through a named memorial award carries a quiet political resonance. The cross-party presence of Transport Minister CP John alongside a Congress MP also signals that Kerala's political culture retains a civic generosity around cultural honours. Whether such ceremonies translate into broader institutional support for cartoonists and satirists remains the sharper question.
NationPress
6 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the MV Raghavan Memorial Award?
The MV Raghavan Memorial Award is a cultural honour named after MV Raghavan, a Kerala politician and former CPI(M) leader. It recognises contributions to arts and media, with the 2026 edition going to editorial cartoonist EP Unny.
Why did Shashi Tharoor present the MV Raghavan Memorial Award?
As Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Dr. Shashi Tharoor participated in the ceremony held in his constituency, presenting the award alongside Kerala Transport Minister CP John and Technopark founder GVR Kerala.
What did Shashi Tharoor say about cartoonists?
Tharoor remarked that cartoonists depict in a few lines what most people require pages to explain, and that while a cartoon's point is grasped in a minute, the deep knowledge and thought behind each one is often underappreciated.
