Spanish Newspaper Uses Image Of Snake Charmer To Depict Indian Economy. Netizens Call It An 'Insult'

The image appeared on the front page of the October 9 edition of Spanish paper La Vanguardia. It has sparked a huge debate on social media.

Front Page Of Spanish Newspaper La Vanguardia On October 9

Source : Twitter/@PCMohanMP

A Spanish newspaper, La Vanguardia, is facing backlash online after it depicted the Indian economy using a caricature of a snake charmer. The image appeared on the front page of the Spanish paper's October 9 edition.

The newspaper's headline read, "The Hour of the Indian Economy", with netizens pointing out the irony of a "racist stereotype" being used on its cover page that acknowledged India's economic capabilities.

La Vanguardia one of the leading newspapers in Spain. It is headquartered in Barcelona.

PC Mohan, BJP Lok Sabha MP from Bengaluru Central, expressed his thoughts on Twitter. "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," PC Mohan tweeted.

"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. pic.twitter.com/pdXvF7n4N7

— P C Mohan (@PCMohanMP) October 13, 2022

Nithin Kamath, CEO of Zerodha, joined Mohan in criticising the graphic. He wrote on Twitter, "Quite cool that the world is taking notice, but the cultural caricaturing, a snake charmer to represent India, is an insult."

"The hour of the Indian economy," says La Vanguardia, a leading Spanish daily.
Quite cool that the world is taking notice, but the cultural caricaturing, a snake charmer to represent India, is an insult.
Wonder what it takes for this to stop; maybe global Indian products? pic.twitter.com/YY3ribZIaq

— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) October 13, 2022

Author Rajat Sethi wrote that India's economic prowess was being noticed globally, but its racist representation continued. Users on social media were also unimpressed with the portrayal.

"Stereotyping India is the favourite pastime of the west. No matter how good we become economically, they will be making jokes on our marriage systems, scams and a few other things like this. So it’s better to ignore these thing and focus on ourselves," a user said.

Another user tweeted, "European media houses are very racist towards India, thats not new."

"Westerners have a very limited understanding of Indian culture. The growing Indian economy and long-term development will encourage westerners to look beyond stereotypes. Enjoy the joke until then," a third user said.