As Tanishq reportedly removed an advertisement promoting its jewellery line called ‘Ekatvam’ in the wake of boycott calls, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday came out in support of the “beautiful ad” by the Titan Group’s popular jewellery brand.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said that if Hindu-Muslim “ekatvam” irks “Hindutva bigots” so much, “why don’t they boycott the longest surviving symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity in the world — India?”
Meanwhile, a former member of the National Commission of Women, Shamina Shafiq, also came out in support of Tanishq, saying: “Thank you for making us notice the beautiful #tanishq ad dear trolls !”
So Hindutva bigots have called for a boycott of @TanishqJewelry for highlighting Hindu-Muslim unity through this beautiful ad. If Hindu-Muslim “ekatvam” irks them so much, why don’t they boycott the longest surviving symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity in the world — India? pic.twitter.com/cV0LpWzjda
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 13, 2020
Meanwhile, Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut took to Twitter to express her opinion over the Tanishq ad, which has divided the social media. “The concept wasn’t as much a problem as the execution was, the fearful Hindu girl apologetically expressing her gratitude to her in-laws for the acceptance of her faith, Isn’t she the woman of the house? Why is she at their mercy? Why so meek and timid in her own house? Shameful,” tweeted Ranaut, who is known for her no-holds-barred approach.
In another tweet, the Queen actor said she found the advertisement wrong on many levels, saying that it not only promotes ‘love jihad’ but also sexism.
Tanishq ad controversy
The advertisement, which was released last week, is about an interfaith baby shower. While a section of social media criticised the advertisement, saying it “promoted love jihad”, another group slammed the bigotry.
#BoycottTanishq was one of the top Twitter trends on Monday. The advertisement features a saree-clad pregnant woman being escorted by an older woman, apparently her mother-in-law, to a baby shower ceremony.
In the video, the pregnant woman asks the older woman: “But this ceremony is not held at your home…”.
The lady replies: “Isn’t it a tradition for every home to keep daughters happy?”
The video is no longer available on Tanishq’s YouTube channel. Earlier, the description of the 43-second video on YouTube read, “She is married into a family that loves her like their own child. Only for her, they go out of their way to celebrate an occasion that they usually don’t. A beautiful confluence of two different religions, traditions, cultures.”
Source: Times Now
