German cartoon stirs row for mocking India's population: When caricatures turned controversial

Cartoons have been a way to depict harsh realities or highlight double standards. However, sometimes, the illustrations themselves exhibit double standards. A new cartoon published by the German magazine named Der Spiegel depicts India’s population overtaking China. The cartoon has elicited sharp reactions from Indians, who have dubbed it as “racist.”

German cartoon mocks India’s population In the cartoon from Der Spiegel, an overcrowded Indian train passes a modernised Chinese bullet train travelling on a parallel track with only two drivers inside. The passengers on top of the Indian train are holding the tricolour. India is on course to overtake China as the world’s most populous nation by July of this year, according to a UN report released earlier this month. While people on social media have been expressing their outrage about the inaccurate portrayal, some politicians and other authorities have also used Twitter to condemn the cartoon as “racist” and “derogatory.” Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar tweeted, ‘‘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.’’

Dear Cartoonist at @derspiegel

Notwithstanding ur attmpt at mocking India, its not smart to bet against India under PM @narendramodi ji 💪🏻In a few years Indias economy will be bigger than germany's 😁😁#NewIndia pic.twitter.com/Evzooqfc2J

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@RajeevRC_X) April 23, 2023

Senior adviser to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Kanchan Gupta, tweeted that the cartoon ‘‘caricaturing India in this manner has no resemblance to reality’’. He tweeted, ‘‘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.’’

👋🏽#Germany this is outrageously racist. @derspiegel caricaturing India in this manner has no resemblance to reality. Purpose is to show #India down and suck up to #China.
This is as bad if not worse than the racist cartoon in @nytimes lampooning India’s successful Mars mission. pic.twitter.com/z9MxcPQC7u

— Kanchan Gupta 🇮🇳 (@KanchanGupta) April 23, 2023

Well, this isn’t the first time, a cartoon has stirred controversy. Take a look. Also read: US papers drop comic strip 'Dilbert' after creator Scott Adams's racist remarks Der Spiegel’s Trump cartoon German weekly magazine Der Spiegel isn’t new to controversy. Earlier, it drew criticism with a front cover illustration of former US president Donald Trump beheading the Statue of Liberty, according to Reuters. The cartoon showed a figure of Trump with a bloodied knife in one hand and the statue’s head, dripping with blood, in the other. It carried the caption: “America First." [caption id=“attachment_12507922” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Der Spiegel’s front cover illustration of former US president Donald Trump beheading the Statue of Liberty. Reuters[/caption] The artist who designed the cover, Edel Rodriguez, a Cuban who came to the United States in 1980 as a political refugee, told The Washington Post: “It’s a beheading of democracy, a beheading of a sacred symbol.” The cover set off a debate on Twitter and in German and international media, with Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, a member of Germany’s Free Democrats (FDP) and vice president of the European Parliament, describing it as “tasteless." The cover followed a series of attacks on Berlin’s policies by Trump and his aides, marking a rapid deterioration in German relations with the United States. Chancellor Angela Merkel was the go-to European ally for former US president Barack Obama, who praised her as “an outstanding partner." Charlie Hebdo’s Turkey earthquake cartoon The controversial French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo released a caricature that appeared to be making fun of the earthquake victims in Turkey. No need to send tanks, read the artwork by Pierrick Juin, which featured tottering structures amidst mounds of debris. The cartoon drew harsh criticism on Twitter, with some users accusing it of being ugly, racist, and incredibly insensitive while others claimed it was making fun of the innumerable earthquake victims.

✏️Le dessin du jour, par #Juin pic.twitter.com/kPcEqZDocO

— Charlie Hebdo (@Charlie_Hebdo_) February 6, 2023

Omar Suleiman, an American Muslim academic and civil rights activist with the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, tweeted in response to the cartoon that it “dehumanises” Muslims as victims in “every way.” Many Turks criticising the magazine claimed that they had organised marches in support of “Je Suis Charlie” when its headquarters had been attacked in 2015 only to be punished in this way. Even the Turkish president’s spokesperson, Ibrahim Kalin, condemned the cartoon in a tweet that read, “Modern barbarians! Suffocate in your hatred and grudges.” Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cartoon When it published caricatures of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the French satirical publication enraged the Islamic Republic. The cartoon was created in support of Iran’s first-ever female-led rallies, which got underway in September of last year following the passing of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who had been imprisoned for “incorrectly” donning the hijab. Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian wrote on Twitter, “The insulting and indecent act of a French publication in publishing cartoons against the religious and political authority will not go without an effective and decisive response.” “We will not allow the French government to go beyond its bounds. They have definitely chosen the wrong path,” he added. Also read: Explained: How the American animated series South Park's new episode takes a dig at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle The 12 Prophet Muhammad cartoons The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published 12 caricatures along with an article titled “Muhammeds ansigt (The face of Muhammad)” on 30 September 2005. It stated that they were a critique of Danish media self-censorship. The following year, Charlie Hebdo published these caricatures. Following their initial publication, the cartoons drew criticism from all across the world for being blasphemous and feeding prejudices about Muslims as terrorists. They incited violent demonstrations throughout Asia and the Middle East, and many called for a boycott of Danish products. [caption id=“attachment_12507952” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A protester holds a poster reading ‘Stop Charlie’ during a demonstration against French publication Charlie Hebdo. The magazine has outraged the Muslim world time and again over its caricatures of Prophet Muhammad. AFP[/caption] The New Yorker magazine’s Obama cartoon Barack Obama’s campaign staff criticised The New Yorker magazine for a front-cover cartoon from 2008 that showed him dressed in traditional Muslim outfit and his wife as a terrorist, according to BBC. The cartoon by Barry Blitt, according to the publication, was meant to make fun of some of the exaggerated right-wing attacks on the Democratic senator. However, the cartoon was referred to as “tasteless and offensive” by an Obama campaign spokesperson. Tintin cartoon in the book According to BBC, in 2010, a Congolese citizen attempted to get a contentious Tintin book outlawed in Belgium, the nation that gave rise to the cartoon character. In Tintin in the Congo, Bienvenu Mbutu claimed that the “little (black) helper” of the ginger sleuth was seen as “stupid and without qualities”. Mbutu, a resident of Belgium, claimed that it “makes people think that blacks have not evolved.” Mbutu wasn’t the only person to criticise the book for its offensive racial stereotypes. The UK’s Commission for Racial Equality demanded that the book be outlawed on the grounds that it contained language and illustrations that displayed abhorrent racial prejudice. Jesus on Malaysian newspaper As per the report, in 2007, after publishing a picture of Jesus holding a cigarette and what appeared to be a beer can, a Malaysian newspaper came under pressure to close. The newspaper later apologised, stating that a graphics editor had unintentionally pulled the picture off the internet. Two magazines were shut down by the nation’s Muslim-dominated government the year before for publishing contentious Muhammad drawings. Aseem Trivedi’s anti-corruption cartoons  Aseem, a political activist and cartoonist, was detained after being charged with sedition for presenting anti-corruption caricatures at the Anna Hazare demonstration in November 2011, according to Scoop Whoop. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.