Heng/New York Times

The NYT cartoon sketched by Singaporean artist Heng Kim Song takes stock of India's successful Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) - albeit, in a rather condescending manner.

While we concede that there are still many cattle-rearing citizens in our country, you'd be hard pressed to find any at the Indian Space Research Organization - the space agency that launched MOM.

India still counts as the first nation to have successfully made it to Mars in its maiden attempt - and to have done it at a fraction of the cost incurred by other countries.

And so dhoti and turban clad or not, we're still teaching a thing or two to the 'elite space club', who judging by this photo, appear to be a bunch of stodgy, xenophobic fogeys.

Twitter users were indignant about the depiction of India and Indians in the cartoon.

The West's pitiable condescension, and its growing nervousness, about the rise of Asia https://t.co/60nlXcb7r2 — Abhijit Majumder (@abhijitmajumder) September 29, 2014

Some condescension from the NYT to brighten up your morning. Don't miss the cow, that most original of India motifs! pic.twitter.com/T6U4CxRrVd — Samanth Subramanian (@Samanth_S) September 29, 2014

Not everyone believed the outrage was justified.

On the NYT cartoon: If you sell a Mars mission as a triumph of jugaad, you can't complain when Orientalists use images of peasants and cows. — Mihir Sharma (@mihirssharma) September 29, 2014

People getting offended at the New York Times Mars Mission cartoon: You're telling me you've never seen a cow in a busy city street here? — Utsav Chakraborty (@SatanBhagat) September 29, 2014

What do you think of the cartoon? Is it cause for outrage or is this just a harmless observation by the cartoonist? Let us know in the comments section.