'We are not amused', India on Der Spiegel's cartoon of world's most populous nation

Justified? Or a humour bypass, one of the perils of pomposity?

In 2000, a cartoon in The Times of India, one of India’s largest newspapers, showed a woman holding a letter. She explained: “I am just examining the stamp! The way the postal delays are becoming I shouldn’t be surprised if it is that of King George V!”

The cartoon is faintly topical because of the forthcoming coronation of another British monarch, Charles III, but also, for another reason. A cartoon in a foreign paper is on the minds of Indian officialdom and not because of its sparkling humour. In fact, Indians are taking a grim view of Der Spiegel’s portrayal of India’s huge population now that the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has confirmed India is the world’s most populous country.

India, UNFPA recently said, has more than 1.428bn people or about 3mn more than China. Another UN body, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, added that India probably overtook China some time this month.

Along came the Der Spiegel cartoon. It showed Indians cheering and waving a flag a…