PM Narendra Modi Depicted as Snake Charmer in Norwegian Daily, Sparks Outrage

New Delhi: A big Norwegian newspaper published a cartoon about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, over which a big controversy has now arisen. In the newspaper, PM Modi was shown as a snake charmer. People expressed strong displeasure over this cartoon on social media and called it racist.

How was PM Modi shown in the cartoon?

In a cartoon published in the Norwegian newspaper 'Aftenposten', an object like a petrol pipe was shown in PM Modi's hand, which was given the shape of a snake. This cartoon was published along with an opinion article. Many said it promoted the old Western mindset of India being a “land of snake charmers”.

How did people react on social media?

After the cartoon surfaced, people's anger erupted on social media. Many users described it as “open racism”. People said that the media of western countries still looks at India from the old colonial perspective. Some users wrote that India has now progressed in technology and innovation, but still such thinking is being shown.

What other controversies happened during PM Modi's visit to Norway?

The controversy escalated further when journalist Helle Ling tried to ask questions to PM Modi during a press event in Norway. The journalist asked why questions from the media were not taken in the press conference and also raised questions about the freedom of the press in India. However, PM Modi did not give any answer on this.

What was the response from the Indian government?

While answering these questions, senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs, Sibi George, defended the strength of India's democracy and media. He said that it is not right to understand a big country like India on the basis of some reports. He said that there are hundreds of news channels and strong democratic institutions in India, which give full right to the people to express their views.

Has such a controversy arisen before?

This is not the first time that a foreign media organisation has been accused of showing India in an old conservative perspective. Even in the year 2022, a Spanish newspaper had used the image of a “charmer” in news related to India's economic progress, which caused a lot of controversy. PM Modi has also said many times in his speeches that earlier the world used to call India a “country of snake charmers”, but now India has become a country of “mouse charmers” i.e. a country that is moving ahead in technology.