German envoy to India Philipp Ackermann on Thursday slammed the cartoon published by German magazine Der Spiegel, about India’s population overtaking China. “In my personal opinion, the cartoon was neither funny nor appropriate. I would like to invite this cartoonist to come on a metro ride with me in Delhi. I think many metros in Germany are not as good as Delhi Metro and same for the train system. He should inquire a little more about India and know how state-of-the-art their railway system is,” he said, news agency ANI reported.

#WATCH | In my personal opinion, the cartoon was neither funny nor appropriate. I would like to invite this cartoonist to come on a metro ride with me in Delhi. I think many metros in Germany are not as good as Delhi Metro and same for the train system. He should inquire a little… pic.twitter.com/OFThD5eOR2

— ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2023

Following the announcement that India’s population has overtaken China’s, the viral cartoon attempted to depict a comparison of “development levels” between the two countries. It showed an overloaded Indian train with swarms of passengers both inside and on top of it overtaking a “sophisticated” Chinese bullet train with two drivers inside. The drivers of the bullet train were astonished by the sight of the crammed Indian train, which enraged some users who shared the wider feeling that the West’s portrayal of India is far from accurate.

Earlier, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar also  condemned the German media organisation ‘Der Spiegel’ for its racist tone in a cartoon presenting India as the world’s most populated country, overtaking China. “Notwithstanding your attempt at mocking India…,” the union minister stated, sharing the caricature that has been extensively distributed on social media for a few days.

“Dear Cartoonist at @derspiegel…Notwithstanding your attempt at mocking India…its not smart to bet against India under PM @narendramodi ji….In a few years India’s economy will be bigger than Germany’s,” the minister tweeted.