A Norwegian newspaper sparked outrage after publishing a cartoon depicting PM Narendra Modi as a snake charmer, triggering accusations of racism and colonial stereotyping.
New Delhi:
A Norwegian daily triggered a diplomatic row and cultural backlash Wednesday after publishing a cartoon depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a snake charmer. The imagery – which appeared in Aftenposten, Norway’s largest print publication – has been fiercely criticised as derogatory and an echo of dated colonial stereotypes.
The cartoon showed the Prime Minister playing a pungi, a traditional snake charmer’s instrument, to ‘charm’ a snake shaped like a fuel pump nozzle. The apparent reference was to recent petrol and diesel price hikes. The illustration accompanied an opinion article the title of which was translated from Norwegian to read – “A clever and slightly annoying man”.
Neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor the Indian government has officially responded so far. In a similar controversy in October 2022, Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia used snake-charmer symbolism while discussing India’s economic rise.
Responses on X condemned the publication and the cartoon as xenophobic and disrespectful towards India’s elected leader.
One user argued it twisted earlier remarks by the PM about foreigners seeing India as a “land of snake charmers”.
Speaking at Madison Square Garden in New York in 2014, the PM had said a country once associated with “snake charmers” had transformed into a technology-driven nation of “mouse charmers”, referring to India’s growing digital and IT capabilities.
“Unacceptable! Free speech cannot come at the cost of insulting anyone… Norway must act if it actually stands for anything it claims to be,” one X user wrote, while another said, “Norway’s ‘freest press’ still stuck in 19th-century colonial cartoons? Snake charmer? PM Modi is the man who made the whole world dance to India’s tune… they can’t digest our rise…”
However, others questioned the outrage over the cartoon and criticised sections of the Indian media.
“Don’t call yourself a journalist if a Norwegian cartoon triggers you as ‘racist’. Your job was to ask brutal, honest questions to this government. You didn’t… Now foreign media does what you were too cowardly or compromised to do, and you cry foul?”
The cartoon controversy follows a separate row involving Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng, who recently questioned why PM Modi did not take questions during a joint media appearance with Norway Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
The Indian government responded through senior diplomat Sibi George of the Ministry of External Affairs.
“People have no understanding of the scale of India. They read one or two news reports published by some godforsaken, ignorant NGOs and then come and ask questions,” he said. “You know how many stories are up here in India. We have a lot of breaking news coming every day in the evening. At least 200 TV channels in Delhi alone… in English, Hindi…”
George was also asked about efforts to address alleged human rights violations in India.
In response, the diplomat pointed to constitutional guarantees and democratic institutions, saying the Constitution ensured fundamental rights and provided legal remedies.
