Union minister slams German cartoon ‘mocking’ India’s population

Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar slammed the German media company ‘Der Spiegel’ for its racist tone in its cartoon depicting India as the most populous nation, surpassing China. “Notwithstanding your attempt at mocking India…,” the union minister said, sharing the caricature, which has been widely circulated on social media for a couple of days.

The minister of state for entrepreneurship, skill development, electronics and technology tweeted, “Dear Cartoonist at @derspiegel…Notwithstanding your attempt at mocking India…its not smart to bet against India under PM @narendramodi ji….In a few years India’s economy will be bigger than Germany’s.”

The viral cartoon aimed to illustrate a comparison of the “development levels” between India and China, following the news that India has surpassed China’s population. It depicted an overcrowded train of Indians with swarms of passengers both inside and on top of it, overtaking a “sophisticated” bullet train of China with two drivers inside. The drivers in the bullet train appeared shocked at the sight of the overcrowded Indian train, which angered several users who echoed the larger sentiments that the mannerism of the West in depicting India is nowhere close to the country’s reality.

A user Anurag Mairal also tweeted another cartoon by a United States media house from 2014 with a similar overtone, criticising “the West’s racist tropes” about India.

Other reactions also followed as the cartoon went viral. “Hate for Indians is obvious, however love for China looks fishy,” a user said.

Another user, with a somewhat positive outlook said, “Yup, we did it, despite this…and you can’t stop us!”

One person pointed out that while it is important to recognise the subtle racism here, it is also valid to acknowledge the reality of India’s overcrowded trains during festival seasons, which is often highlighted in media coverage and has a room for improvement.