In the past, the New York Times has chosen to mock India through the medium of political cartoons. The esteemed publication had earlier mocked India’s successful Mars mission with a cartoon that depicted India as still being a country of farmers even after pulling off one of the most technical space missions in history on a significantly small budget.
In a similar manner, the New York Times had run a cartoon depicting India as an elephant blocking a train representing the Paris Climate Accord. The cartoon was a clear criticism of India’s (as well as other developing nations’) stance on the Green Climate Fund where it was felt that developing countries would be expected to pay a large amount towards ensuring sustainable development while developed countries like the United States and the UK retained the right not to. The concerns of India and other developing nations was valid but the countries nonetheless remained committed to the Paris Climate Accord.
That was in 2015. Fast-forward to 2017, and it was the New York Times’ turn to be mocked, thanks to a certain US President’s sudden decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord completely. And the mockery came from one of India’s renowned cartoonists Satish Acharya. Acharya used the same imagery as the New York Times cartoon, but this time the elephant had the resemblance of Donald Trump who had just dumped on the Paris Climate Accord’s path.
The Indian version of NYT cartoon on Paris Climate Accord! #trumpclimate #Parisclimateaccord #NYTimes pic.twitter.com/obAVZGuPKO
— Satish Acharya (@satishacharya) June 3, 2017
As India continues to improve its stature on the global stage, the international media should probably change its perception of India as a backward country. Otherwise, they may just get left behind.