India is on the world map and there is no denying the fact. Be it population, army, or development, India has left many countries behind. But now, a cartoon published by a German newspaper mocking India has sparked controversy and upset many in the country.
For those who do not know, India's population has recently surpassed China's population. German magazine Der Spiegel published a cartoon reflecting this and mocking India. China's modern bullet train is depicted as passing through an ordinary train from India. It showed that the Indian train was overcrowded and there was a huge crowd sitting on the train as well.
The cartoon has created a stir on social media. Politicians and leaders, mainly from India, expressed their anger. Union Minister of State for Electronics and Technology Rajiv Chandrasekhar took to Twitter and said that the cartoon was painted with complete racism. "I'd like to say this to the cartoonist in Der Spiegel. It is not wise to express opposition to India under the leadership of PM Modi. In just a few years' time, the Indian economy will surpass Germany," he said.
Kanchan Gupta, the senior advisor to the Union IT-Broadcasting Ministry, said the cartoon is a long way from reality. "Hi, Germany. This is purely racist. Your Der Spiegel cartoon is far from reality. This was done only to demean India and gain china's patronage," he tweeted. BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda suggested that der Spiegel should change its name to a racist and trolling magazine.
The Germans, who have a history of mass murders of Jews, have been criticized for looking at themselves first. Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Sai Reddy tweeted that the West is always trying to show India as a poor country. "They don't show development like Vande Bharat or bullet trains and I am looking forward to surpassing Germany to become the 4th largest economy," he said.
