‘Racist’, India Hits Out At Germany For Der Spiegel’s Cartoon

In this YouTube video, we discuss the controversial cartoon published by Der Spiegel, a German magazine, titled 'Population: India overtakes China.' The cartoon depicts an overloaded Indian train with people spilling out, moving ahead of a sleek Chinese bullet train. Many have deemed the cartoon racist, belittling India's technological advances and highlighting China's modern infrastructure. The United Nations Population Fund's report estimates that India's population will surpass China's, reaching 1.4286 billion by mid-2023. The cartoon sparked strong reactions from union ministers, senior officials, and political leaders, who called it racist. Many netizens believe that the cartoon exposes the nervousness and insecurities of the West. In addition to the cartoon, Der Spiegel also published an article on India's rising economic growth. However, the magazine has been criticized for racism and neo-colonialism by Padma Rao, a former longtime Asia correspondent. Moreover, Der Spiegel journalist Claas Relotius was found to have falsified stories in at least 14 out of 60 articles, raising questions about the magazine's journalistic integrity.