As the hashtag ‘What’s wrong with India’ gained traction on social media platform X, the Israeli embassy in India decided to join the viral trend with a humorous twist. “WHAT’S WRONG WITH INDIA? Listen to our diplomats spill the chai on #WhatsWrongWithIndia. Brace yourself for the unexpected twist at the end! Do you agree with their reasonings?” the Embassy posted on X.
The video begins with a question posed to Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon and other diplomats: ‘What’s wrong with India?’ Their responses are light-hearted, highlighting the country’s positive aspects. Ambassador Gilon humorously remarks, “You soft-landed on the Moon. We crashed,” referring to India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission. Other diplomats praise India’s beauty, culture, and diverse musical and culinary heritage.
“Too many beautiful places to visit,” “Oh My God, too many desserts, I love jalebi,” “Too many good songs to listen to,” “Many delicious food items,” “So many amazing Bollywood movies, I don’t know how to finish them all,” were some of the responses. However, towards the end, one diplomat cheekily answers, “Rakhi Sawant,” and points towards pictures of the actor-dancer pinned on his desk. “Why did you choose Adil (Sawant’s ex-husband Adil Khan Durrani), I am right here,” he jokes. The video concludes with a message that reads, “Everything’s good about India,” accompanied by the hashtag #IsraellovesIndia.
It’s worth noting that the hashtag trended online in response to attempts by foreigners to depict India negatively after the gang-rape of a Spanish tourist in Jharkhand. To counter this, Indians shared posts with the same phrase, but with a sarcastic twist. Indian users countered the negativity by highlighting the nation’s progress in several sectors, along with its strengths and achievements.
On Tuesday, the official handle of the citizen engagement platform of the government of India, @MyGovIndia, also participated in the trend. The X handle shared pictures of four news reports highlighting the country’s accomplishments in the last two years. These clippings mention how India “wiped out extreme poverty” and became the first country to successfully land on the moon’s South Pole, praised by the IMF chief for being the fastest-growing economy and other countries emulating India’s advancements in digital infrastructure.
