An Indian jewellery brand, Tanishq came under fire for an advertisement promoting an interfaith marriage and was made to remove the ad campaign after receiving threats on social media.
The brand has been known for its slightly unconventional ad campaigns. This particular advertisement showed a Muslim family preparing a traditional Hindu baby shower for their pregnant Hindu daughter-in-law. According to the company, the ad shows “a beautiful confluence of two different religions, traditions, cultures.”
The Hindu nationalists on social media were outraged by the advertisement and #BoycottTanishq was trending on Twitter as most Indian viewers said it “promoted love jihad”. “Why are you showing a Hindu ‘daughter-in-law’ to a Muslim family and glorifying it,” Khemchand Sharma, a member of the country’s governing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, asked on Twitter.
Why are you showing a Hindu “daughter in law” to a muslim family and glorifying it?
Why dont you show a Muslim daughter in law in your ads with a Hindu family?
Look like you are promoting #LoveJihad & favouring a particular Faith only…#BoycottTanishq
— khemchand sharma #IStandWithFarmersBill (@SharmaKhemchand) October 12, 2020
However, as outrage against the ad grew, the jewellery brand officially removed the video from all their platforms. “We are deeply saddened with the inadvertent stirring of emotions and withdraw this film keeping in mind the hurt sentiments and well being of our employees, partners and store staff,” the company said in a statement shared on Twitter.
— Tanishq (@TanishqJewelry) October 13, 2020
The company said that the idea behind the campaign was to “celebrate the coming together of people from different walks of life, local communities and families during these challenging times.”
Some of the Indian activists and journalists criticised the brand’s move of removing the ad and said that this was the right time to take a moral stand and shut down the culture of disharmony in the country.
