I was in India for a week: NYT journalist faces backlash over opinion on Delhi protests

India Today · India Today News Desk · 2026-10-27 10:50 UTC

The New York Times journalist Lydia Polgreen039s column on protests in New Delhi has drawn criticism from Indian commentators who questioned whether a brief visit and conversations at a couple of protest sites can support sweeping conclusions about the political mood of a country of 14 billion people

The New York Times journalist Lydia Polgreen's column on protests in New Delhi has drawn criticism from Indian commentators, who questioned whether a brief visit and conversations at a couple of protest sites can support sweeping conclusions about the political mood of a country of 1.4 billion people.

A week in New Delhi, two protest sites and a sweeping conclusion about India's political mood. US-based journalist Lydia Polgreen's opinion piece in The New York Times, arguing that protests in India should worry US President Donald Trump, has drawn sharp criticism from Indian commentators who question whether a brief visit to the national capital can capture the mood of a country of 1.4 billion people.

Polgreen's column in the NYT, published on October 26 (Monday), titled 'In India, I Saw Things That Should Scare Trump', argued that young, educated Indians were increasingly willing to challenge BJP-led central government. But critics of the column said that the demonstrations, while reflecting genuine grievances, do not necessarily point to a wider political shift.

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