Germany’s ambassador to India, Philipp Ackermann, on Thursday criticised the German publication Der Spiegel, for a cartoon the magazine had published recently, in which it had a sarcastic take on India’s population overtaking that of Asian giant China.
“In my personal opinion, the cartoon was neither funny nor appropriate. I would like to invite this cartoonist to come on a metro ride with me in Delhi. I think many metros in Germany are not as good as the Delhi Metro and the same goes for the train system. He should inquire a little more about India and know how state-of-the-art their railway system is,” Ackermann was quoted as saying by news agencies.
Soon after the announcement that India’s population had overtaken China’s, the now viral cartoon attempted to depict a comparison of “development levels” between the two countries.
The spoof showed an overloaded Indian train with swarms of passengers both inside and on top of it overtaking a “sophisticated” Chinese bullet train with two drivers inside. The drivers of the Chinese bullet train were astonished by the sight of the crammed Indian train, which annoyed some people who pointed out that the West’s portrayal of India is not accurate.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar also joined people in condemning the German publication ‘Der Spiegel’ for its blatantly racist overtones in depicting India as the world’s most populated country, followed by China.
“Notwithstanding your attempt at mocking India…,” the minister stated, sharing the caricature that has been extensively circulated on social media for a few days.
“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,” the minister tweeted in a scathing retort.