Amid ongoing row sparked during PM Modi’s visit to Norway, that has raised questions on Press freedom in India, a fresh controversy has broken out on the internet over a seemingly racist cartoon published by Aftenposten, depicting the Indian PM as a snake charmer.
The cartoon in the largest newspaper in Norway, written by veteran journalist Frank Rossavik appeared in the opinion section on Sunday night, just hours before the Indian PM landed on the Nordic nation for a bilateral summit.
Cartoon and online outrage
Titled “A sneaky and slightly annoying man”, the article opens with a commentary on how PM Modi tries to be friendly with as many (world leaders) as possible, underlining India’s long-proven strategy of non-alignment. The article also comments upon why Narendra Modi cares about a small group of Scandinavian nations, saying the expertise these countries hold in wind power, green technology, digitization, etc.
Now, the cartoon depicts a Modi sitting on a floor mat, wearing an unkempt dhoti and shirt, contrary to the Modi seen in public outings since he became the Prime Minister of India. He is seen playing a pungi, the snake charmers flute to a fuel pump nozzle, drawn in the shape of a snake, depicting the country’s vulnerabilities on the fuel and energy sector.
Strong outrage has broken out in the Indian social media space, criticizing the cartoon and the article that appeared in the newspaper from the country that stands first in the world press freedom index. A social media user marked “Decades-old stereotypes to portray India as ‘primitive’ are unacceptable & an insult to our identity. Unacceptable!” on X, reacting to the cartoon.
Netizens allege ‘Colonial Mindset’ over the depiction of the Indian PM as a snakecharmer, a trope that has been historically used by the Western media and cinema to depict India, largely during the late 20th century. Meanwhile Norway has not factually colonized any Asian or African nation in history, unlike many European nations like Britain, France, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, etc.
Debate over press freedom in India
The prime minister’s visit to Oslo has been subject to global media talk for rather different reasons than normal. On Monday, after concluding a joint press meet with the Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Støre, PM Modi had refused to answer the questions by the Nordic journalists. Helle Lyng Svendsen, working with Oslo-based newspaper Dagsavisen had asked why he would not take questions from “the freest press in the world”.
This had led to a debate on press freedom in India. In response, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) decided to conduct a press meet, especially inviting Helle Lyng Svendsen. The press meet on Tuesday was headed by MEA secretary (West) Sibi George and the MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. During the press meet, Helle Lyng Svendsen had asked how India can be ‘trusted’ by Norway, which had led to a tense verbal altercation between the woman journalist and Sibi George. The MEA secretary stated that many people misunderstand India after reading reports published by “ignorant NGOs” peddling false narratives.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
