Racism Disguished as Press Freedom: PM Modi Shown as Snake Charmer in Norway Publication, Sparks Controversy

A newspaper of Norway, Aftenposten published a cartoon of PM Narendra Modi which depicts him as a snake charmer after his visit to Norway a few days back. This issue gained attention and created a massive backlash for the newspaper. The critics called the image depicting PM Modi as a snake charmer, image racist and accused the newspaper for promoting outdated colonial stereotypes. The cartoon of PM Modi appeared with a commentary piece in the newspaper during the time of Narendra Modi’s visit to Oslo.

The cartoon mentioned a headline which roughly translated as "A clever and slightly annoying man.” In the cartoon, Prime Minister Modi is depicted as a snake charmer. Also, a fuel-station filling pipe was shown as a snake in the cartoon. The snake charmer is used by the West to usually stereotype India as a exotic place. 

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Social Media Users Reacting on PM Modi’s Snake Charmer Cartoon:

Many users are reacting to the snake cartoon of PM Modi and calling it ‘Racists’ and calling out the newspaper, mentioning this is not Journalism.  It’s colonial-era racism dressed up as commentary. One user wrote on X that the mask slips every time whereas some other users described the published cartoon as xenophobic and disrespectful towards India’s Prime Minister and India itself. Another user added by mentioning “What also stands out is the irony.” 

See Also: PM Modi Fact-Checks CNBC-TV18 Report—Says No Restriction on Foreign Travel, Calls It ‘Totally False’

Controversy in MEA Presser:

A heated argument took place between the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary (West) Sibi George and Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng on May 18, 2026. They raised this issue and wanted the answer from the official of the MEA on why ‘India should be trusted and why PM Narendra Modi doesn’t take questions from the media. After that MEA stated the issue and answered it by mentioning that citizens of India have the right to change government, the right to vote.” Clearly this is not the first time that a snake charmer image has created ruckus and raised eyebrows on how the international media is covering India’s affairs. 

According to the Ministry of External Affairs official's answer, the Norwegian journalist Lyng had walked out of her room to get a cup of water only. As she was seen leaving the room midway while answering. It also created a different debate online, and she responded by mentioning “I just needed a cup of water” 

[AV]

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