New Delhi - The New York Times apologised on Monday for a cartoon that some readers said portrayed India in a bad light.
The cartoon shows an Indian farmer with a cow knocking on the door of a room marked Elite Space Club, inside which two men with bow ties sit reading a newspaper on India's Mars Mission.
“The intent of the cartoonist, Heng Kim Song, was to highlight how space exploration is no longer the exclusive domain of rich, Western countries,” Andrew Rosenthal, Editorial Page Editor of the New York Times, wrote in a Facebook post.
Last month, India became the first country in the world to put a spacecraft in orbit around Mars on its first attempt.
The cartoon ran alongside an article titled India's Budget Mission to Mars.
The mission cost around $74-million among the cheapest interplanetary space missions ever. Only the United States, Europe and the former Soviet Union have sent missions to Mars.
“We apologise to readers who were offended by the choice of images in this cartoon,” Rosenthal's post said.
“Mr Heng was in no way trying to impugn India, its government or its citizens. We appreciate that readers have shared their feedback, which we welcome,” he said. - Sapa-dpa