As debates around press freedom and human rights continue during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Norway visit, a cartoon published by the country’s leading newspaper portraying the PM as a snake charmer has gone viral.

The cartoon appeared in Norwegian daily Aftenposten alongside an opinion piece whose headline translates to “A clever and slightly annoying man”. It showed PM Narendra Modi as a snake charmer, with a fuel-station pipe depicted as the snake.

The “snake charmer” imagery has long been criticised as a colonial and xenophobic stereotype used by sections of Western media to portray India and Indians. The cartoon surfaced on social media shortly after PM Modi arrived in Oslo and received sharp reactions online.

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The controversy also revived memories of a similar incident in 2022, when Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia faced criticism for using a snake charmer illustration while reporting on India’s economic growth.

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Press freedom debate during Modi’s Norway visit

The picture went viral soon after a video shared by Norwegian commentator Helle Lyng on X showed PM Modi leaving a joint statement venue with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store without taking questions from journalists.

“Prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, would not take my question, I was not expecting him to,” she wrote while sharing the clip. In the video, she can be heard asking loudly, “Why don’t you take some questions from the freest press in the world?”

The issue later spilled into a briefing by India’s Ministry of External Affairs after Lyng questioned why Norway should “trust” India, referring to alleged human rights concerns.

Responding to the remarks, Indian diplomat Sibi George defended New Delhi’s credibility and cited India’s civilisational history as proof that the country can be trusted as a global partner.

The debate gained further traction online as Norway currently ranks first on the World Press Freedom Index, but India recently slipped from 154 to 157 in the rankings.

Social media calls cartoon “racist” and “colonial”

Social media users strongly criticised the cartoon, accusing the newspaper of disrespecting India and reinforcing colonial-era stereotypes.

“Shocking. Racist. Derogatory. Norway’s largest broadsheet newspaper Aftenposten brazens it out with a shocking cartoon depicting Indian PM @narendramodi as a Snake Charmer with the headline: “A sneaky and slightly annoying man”. They can’t digest India’s rise and success. Pity!” a user posted.

Another user wrote, “So this is what the so-called “world’s freest press” looks like? Norway’s largest newspaper Aftenposten publishes a cartoon portraying PM Modi as a snake charmer during his Oslo visit, alongside the line “a clever and slightly annoying man”. Imagine the outrage if an Asian or Indian newspaper caricatured a Western leader using colonial stereotypes like this. Disrespecting the democratically elected PM of 1.4 billion people and hiding behind “press freedom” is not journalistic superiority. It only exposes the hypocrisy and prejudice within sections of Western media.”

A third reaction read, “Stereotyping Indians. The snake charmer trope. Norways largest newspaper Aftenposten and the byline ‘a clever and slightly irritating man’ @Aftenposten What a disgrace. As I said earlier their contemptuous colonial mindset is so deeply entrenched they cant help themselves.”