Indian netizens and politicians slam German magazine for 'racist' cartoon

German magazine Der Spiegel has come under heavy scrutiny from Indians after it published a cartoon that many deemed to have racist undertones. After a UN report stated that India was set to overtake China as the world's most populous country by mid-year, the magazine published a cartoon on the topic but could not hide its casual racism in the garb of creative freedom.

The cartoon showed a dilapidated, overcrowded Indian train with passengers sitting atop the roof overtaking a modern Chinese bullet train running on the parallel track with just two drivers inside. The image attempted to portray that India had gone ahead of China in the population count but used a stereotypical view of things.

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As soon as the cartoon went viral, netizens made it a point to remind the German magazine that India had changed considerably in the last few decades. A minister even reminded the publication that printing such a cartoon when India is touted to take over the European country in terms of the fourth largest economy was not a smart decision.

''Dear Cartoonist at @derspiegel…Notwithstanding your attempt at mocking India… it's not smart to bet against India under PM @narendramodi ji….In a few years, India's economy will be bigger than Germany's.," tweeted Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics & Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Similar sentiments were echoed by Kanchan Gupta, senior adviser to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, who said the cartoon had no resemblance to reality.

''Hi Germany, this is outrageously racist. Der Spiegel caricaturing of India in this manner has no resemblance to reality. The purpose is to show India down and suck up to China.''

Vijayasai Reddy, an MP in the upper house of the parliament said the illustration was in 'bad taste' and that he could not wait for India to overtake Germany as the fourth biggest GDP.

"Cartoon by German Magazine ‘Der Spiegel’ is in bad taste. The Western World prefers to depict India as poor and struggling. They won’t show India’s Vande Bharat or upcoming bullet trains. Cannot wait for the next few years when India will overtake Germany as the 4th biggest GDP."

According to the UN's new 'State of World Population' report India's population will hit 1.4286 billion, compared to China's 1.4257 billion by the middle of this year. However, nearly half the population of India (650 million people) is below the age of 25 - meaning the country won't be hitting its peak until 2065.

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The share of Indians who are 65 and older is likely to remain under 20 per cent until 2063 and will not approach 30 per cent until 2100, under the UN’s medium variant projections. Meaning India will be easily able to outpace the likes of Germany in the economic race.

(With inputs from agencies)

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