Spain Newspaper's Front Page Uses Snake Charmer To Portray India's Economic Growth, Sparks Debate

Spanish newspaper, La Vanguardia has stoked a controversy by using a snake charmer caricature to report the Indian economy. The newspaper published the 'racist stereotype on its front page on October 9. The headline of the newspaper read, "The hour of the Indian Economy".

The newspaper has come under the scanner after its portrayal of the Indian economy. The snake charmer graphic has invited criticism.

PC Mohan, BJP Lok Sabha MP from Bengaluru Central took to Twitter to express his views. "The hour of the Indian economy" is the top story of a Spanish weekly. While India's strong economy gets global recognition, portraying our image as snake charmers even after decades of independence is sheer stupidity. Decolonising the foreign mindset is a complex endeavour.

Not just Mr Mohan, Nithin Kamath, CEO of Zerodha also called out the publication. He tweeted, "Quite cool that the world is taking notice, but the cultural caricaturing, a snake charmer to represent India, is an insult."

Check out the tweet here: 

Author Rajat Sethi also pointed out the racist representation by the newspaper. "While the world is taking notice of India's economic prowess, their racist caricaturing of Indian snake charmer continues unabated," he said.

Social media users were also not impressed with the portrayal. A user wrote, "How shameless they are.. Whatever they are trying to project, India will grow and prosper irrespective of western sarcasm." Another user commented, "Doesn't matter. We will rise irrespective of what they think about us."

Third expressed, "The Westerners have very limited knowledge of the Indian culture. The rising Indian economy and sustainable development will motivate westerners to look beyond the stereotypes. Till then enjoy the joke."