Earlier today, the official X handle of the citizen engagement platform of the Government of India, @MyGovIndia came up with a curious tweet with the caption, “What’s wrong with India?” and shared pictures of 4 news reports highlighting the recent achievement of the country.
What's wrong with India? pic.twitter.com/uOfvXOcBYH
— MyGovIndia (@mygovindia) March 12, 2024
These clippings showcased India’s achievement in eradicating ‘extreme poverty’, being the first country to successfully land on the moon’s south pole region, receiving accolades from the IMF chief for being the fastest growing economy, and other nations emulating India’s advancements in digital infrastructure.
But what was the trigger behind one of the Government of India’s X handles listing down the country’s achievements with a seemingly contradictory caption?
Foreign social media accounts trend ‘What’s wrong with India?’ on X to malign India
The Indian government’s response was part of a burgeoning X trend to hijack a malicious online campaign run by foreign social media accounts to show India in a negative light, targeting and ridiculing it for prevalent social and civic issues such as disregarding lane discipline and traffic signals, breaking rules and queues, public urination, food habits, the presence of homeless beggars on crowded streets, instances of eve teasing, drunk driving, fraud, corruption, drug trafficking, and drug users loitering in dimly lit corners of the streets, among others—issues that plague most of the countries around the world but were used specifically by detractors against India to paint a negative image about the country and discredit giant strides it is making, especially in the past 10 years.
While it is yet to be ascertained who started the trend ‘What’s wrong with India’ on X, according to many social media users, the trend first emerged after many seemingly social media users from around the world attacked the street food in India and called it unhygienic. Gradually, as per these X users, the trend covered other issues such as women’s safety, crime, and corruption, as a raft of online users started using ‘OMG, What’s wrong with India?’ and ‘OMG, What’s wrong with Indians?’ as a part of a systematic campaign to malign India and Indians on X, formerly known as Twitter.
OMG!! WHAT'S WRONG WITH INDIA??
— Anurag (@LekhakAnurag) March 12, 2024
Indians #hijacked anti-India algorithms at work and showed the world how every country has its own problems. Hey, trolls! It is a lesson you should not target #India! pic.twitter.com/ipfp5OVuF7
Indian netizens hijack ‘What’s wrong with India?’ trend to highlight flaws in other countries
As disparaging posts with ‘What’s wrong with India?’ started trending on X, the Indian social media users quickly took charge of the situation to shed a glaring light on the serious questions raised regarding the criticism India faces from Western or developed countries worldwide, especially when similar issues are prevalent in their nations as well. Using the key phrase, ‘What’s wrong with India?’, X users shared videos from outside India to illustrate how no country is perfect and each of them is facing a unique set of challenges defined by their socio-economic conditions, historical traditions, and social ethos.
@effucktivehumor shared a video depicting homeless individuals under the influence of drugs on a street. The video appears to have been filmed outside of India, though the exact location is not specified in the post.
😭OMG!! WHAT’S WRONG WITH INDIA 🇮🇳
— Mikku 🐼 (@effucktivehumor) March 12, 2024
Why tf are they living in trash and eating leftovers from a trash can? Disgusting pic.twitter.com/N4PKbEIxrg
Another X user shared a picture from inside a metro train outside India. The video shows a man massing urine inside a train at a station. “OMG!! WHAT’S WRONG WITH INDIA. These Indians literally pee anywhere? Ewww,” the sarcastic post read, taking a dig at the anti-India detractors running an online propaganda against India.
OMG!! WHAT’S WRONG WITH INDIA. 🇮🇳 These Indians literally pee anywhere? Ewww 🤢pic.twitter.com/oqXU7TduHk
— rae (@ChillamChilli) March 12, 2024
“What’s wrong with India so much garbage and homeless people living on streets..” an X user tweeted along with a video from a seemingly western country where hundreds of people still live in wretched poverty in shanties and make-shift tents on the curbside of prominent thoroughfares.
What's wrong with India 🇮🇳 so much garbage and homeless people living on streets.. pic.twitter.com/q9HMyR3BAF
— SR ⁶⁹ (@ultimate__d) March 12, 2024
Yet another X user shared a video of a man taking a bath inside a metro train. The video is from out of India, though the location is not mentioned in the tweet.
OMG what's wrong with india, a subhooman taking bath in metro cause there are no bathrooms, truly a 3rd world country. pic.twitter.com/q3w1C22My9
— ᴀʙʜɪꜱʜᴇᴋ 🇵🇸 (@ArtofWenger) March 12, 2024
How the online campaign belies the remarkable growth story India has scripted in the last decade
While these social media users have managed to hijack the malicious ‘What’s wrong with India?’ trend, the videos of flaws present in foreign countries emphasises that regardless of geography, nations across the globe are embattling problems unique to them, and targeting any one country because of pathological hatred towards it and its political establishment does little to address the issue at hands. It also reflects a new India, that refuses to take bullying, online or otherwise, which is best exemplified by India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar, whose acerbic retorts to the West’s patronising platitudes, underpins the Centre’s ‘nation first’ policy and its refusal to be gamed by foreign institutions, moralities, and online algorithms.
Such concerted online campaigns targeting India also understate the remarkable transformation across various sectors, from advancements in technology and education to improvements in the standard of living, the country has witnessed in recent years, most notably since 2014. India’s achievements, ranging from ISRO’s successes in space technology to the impressive growth of start-ups, have undeniably left a lasting impression on the global stage.
India has leapfrogged to replace the United Kingdom to become the fifth-largest economy in the world, poised to become the third-largest economy by 2027-2028. In 2023 alone, India has proudly achieved numerous milestones, filling every Indian with a sense of pride on the international stage. From the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission by ISRO, Mumbai-based filmmaker Kartiki Gonsalves becoming the sole Indian director to win an Academy Award, and Neeraj Chopra securing gold at the Asian Games, to the ‘Natu Natu’ song making its way to the Oscars and the visually impaired Indian Women’s Cricket Team clinching gold at the IBSA, India’s ability to turn every opportunity into a significant achievement is soaring high.
