Spanish newspaper portrays India's economic growth with image of a snake charmer; Netizens call it an 'insult'

Amid talks of global recession, India has been the lone bright spot in the world economy. Global agencies like International Monetary Fund (IMF) has termed India as a bright star among the global gloom. Growth in Indian economy now keep making global headlines across the world. However, in a disappointing portrayal on Indian economic growth story, a Spanish news paper has stoked a controversy by painting the India's economic ascent using a 'racist stereotype'.

The Spanish newspaper, La Vanguardia, published a caricature on October 9 with the headline, "The hour of the Indian Economy", using a snake charmer's image while depicting the Indian economic growth. La Vanguardia is a leading newspaper in Spain's autonomous community Catalonia.

Social media users have heavily criticised the newspaper's portrayal of Indian economy. Twitter and LinkedIn users pointed out that the western media is still caught with the colonial hangover and said that the usage of a "racist stereotype" is an insult.


Zerodha Chief Executive Officer Nithin Kamath was among the first who criticised the Spanish daily. Quite cool that the world is taking notice, but the cultural caricaturing, a snake charmer to represent India, is an insult," he 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," said PC Mohan, BJP Lok Sabha MP from Bengaluru Central.


Spain is currently the world's 15th largest economy as per a GDP of around $2 trillion while India is the world's fifth largest economy with a GDP of around $3.5 trillion.

As per the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) World Economic Outlook, India will overtake Germany in 2025-26 to become the world's fourth largest economy and by 2027-28 India will achieve the $5 trillion mark to become the third largest economy leaving behind Japan.

The IMF has projected 6.8 per cent growth for India in 2022 at a time when countries in Europe like Germany and Italy are staring at recession next year.