The New York Times apologized for publishing a cartoon that many readers said mocked India for its space endeavors.
The cartoon showed a farmer with a bull knocking at the front door of a building called the “Elite Space Club,” with two tuxedoed men reading the newspaper on India’s Mars Mission. A caption read, “India joins the space club.”
The cartoon was published Sept. 28 alongside an article titled “India’s Budget Mission to Mars,” BBC News reported.
Andrew Rosenthal, editorial page editor of the New York Times, apologized for the cartoon in a Facebook post: “A large number of readers have complained about a recent editorial cartoon in The International New York Times, about India’s foray into space exploration. The intent of the cartoonist, Heng Kim Song, was to highlight how space exploration is no longer the exclusive domain of rich, Western countries.
“Heng, who is based in Singapore, uses images and text — often in a provocative way — to make observations about international affairs,” he said. “We apologize to readers who were offended by the choice of images in this cartoon. Mr. Heng was in no way trying to impugn India, its government or its citizens”.
Last month, India successfully put the Mangalyaan robotic probe into orbit around Mars. The mission was put at $74 million, making it one of the cheapest interplanetary space missions ever, BBC reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.