Why Delhi Auto Walas Are Saying Happy Birthday America!
The posters are being placed in a way that makes it easy for them to be used as a canopy and provide shade from the exhaustive heat, something that would’ve normally cost the auto walas in the summer season.
New Delhi: Around 100 auto-rickshaws in the capital city bear the “Happy Birthday America!” poster with US President Donald Trump’s face or a picture of the Statue of Liberty on them. In a recent campaign called the ‘Freedom Fleet’ by Sergio Gor, the U.S. ambassador to India, it is part of a bigger push to celebrate and signify 250 years of American Independence. The U.S. Embassy posted on social media last month, "Freedom is on the move ... literally!"
The posters are being placed in a way that makes it easy for them to be used as a canopy and provide shade from the exhaustive heat, something that would’ve normally cost the auto walas in the summer season. This campaign holds little to almost no meaning to the auto walas, as even after refusing to put them up, they were offered free tea bags and sachets. Some had torn hoods, and the canopy was necessary to drive around. A lot of them recognize the face of the US President and connect it to the ongoing war in West Asia and rising fuel prices.
Washington is seeking to stabilize its relations with India after Trump’s tariffs, and this is part of the bigger campaign that has come under fire online, labeled as “propaganda” by Indian netizens.
Days after a US strike killed three Indian sailors in Oman, people were seen tearing down the posters part of the “Fredom250” campaign. The incident has added more strain to the relationship between the two countries. Auto drivers are seen pulling them down to crowd cheers and urging others to do the same. The unusual campaign that was intended to be celebratory has now turned into public anger.
This article is written by Hannah Judith Johnson, a student of Tezpur University, interning with Deccan Chronicle.