German magazine's cartoon on India is actually a tribute to the country's uniqueness

The choice of the vehicle itself is significant. Indian trains are a microcosm of our social life. (Image: Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas)

A recent cartoon published by German magazine Der Spiegel on the occasion of the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) latest report stating that India’s population has crossed that of China, has raised the ire of many Indians who find it racist in tone. Yet, why the cartoon which shows an Indian train packed to the gills with people merrily waving the tricolour while a bullet train, presumably Chinese, trails on a parallel track, should offend anyone is surprising.

To me the train represents the essence of India’s uniqueness with all its hustle and bustle and encapsulates our pluralistic ethos.

The cartoon published by Germany's Der Spiegel magazine.

The choice of the vehicle itself is significant. Indian trains are a microcosm of our social life. For generations of Indians, they represent holidays with family and friends, meals shared with strangers, friendships, even matrimonial matches, made for life. Sure, they were often uncomfortable, dirty, dusty and overcrowded. But they got us where we wanted, and the ensuing journeys were always full of adventure and romance.

Far from belittling India, I think the cartoon is a celebration of the hubbub of India’s democracy, its inclusiveness and its amazing ability to cobble heterogeneous elements into a workable homogeneity. It also perfectly sums up where China finds itself today, thanks to the draconian One Child rule of the 1980s which led to decades-long declines in the country’s fertility rates. Current United Nations estimates show China's total population falling by up to 100 or 200 million by 2050 with a drastic impact on the size of its working age population. The economic ramifications of that haven’t even been computed yet. Thankfully, India’s own oppressive family planning program of the 1970s based on coercion and forced sterilizations, was abandoned soon after to be replaced by one that used communication and education to make people aware of contraception and the benefits of smaller families. Thanks to that there’s been no falling off the cliff in India; the decline in population growth has been much more gradual.

The split of demographics shows how this has left India far more favourably placed than China. Currently, 40 percent of India’s population is below the age of 25, with the median age estimated to be 28 against 38 in the US and 39 for China. And while China struggles with the burden of its aging population, the number of Indians who are 65 and older is likely to remain under 20 percent until 2063, according to a Pew Research Centre report.

Numbers apart, look carefully at the cartoon and what you see is loads of cheerful Indians, quite clearly enjoying themselves even as they hang on to every bit of the train. By contrast, the only two visible faces in the bullet train look glum and dour, whether because they are being overtaken by a humble passenger train or from the nature of their job. Before safety and correctness overtook our public transport, we often hung on to the steps of a bus just to feel the wind in our face and the rush of speed. In the pre-Vande Bharat era, train doors were often opened partially for the same reasons.

Surveys may say Indians are among the unhappiest people in the world but a journey in a less fancy Indian train will tell you how Indians have an innate ability to party even in the midst of difficult conditions. Music, sometimes accompanied by a bit of awkward dancing, food, sleep, arguments about whether Virat Kohli should retire now or not, endless games of cards, vendors expertly timing rounds of coaches at scheduled halts, it’s all a part of the ride. Indeed, the train is a metaphor for India: we get there eventually, much to the surprise of the rest of the world.

Reading too much in the Der Spiegel cartoon is downright silly. For one, cartoons aren’t meant to be taken too seriously. They are meant to draw a laugh and evoke a sense of fun. For another, it is time we stopped apologizing for ourselves, which is what being quick to take insult tantamounts to.

Instead let’s just say it with pride - we are like that only.