New Delhi: Should an advertisement be allowed to hurt the feelings of millions of people in India? Is the purpose of the ads simply to sell goods or to affect people’s minds? The DNA report delves into this psychology to analyze the pattern that has divided the nation’s thought process on the basis of religion.
It began with an advertisement for a famous Indian jewelry brand, Tanishq, in which a Hindu girl was shown as the daughter-in-law of a Muslim family. The interfaith love sparked a furious backlash on social media with some accusing the jewelry brand of promoting ‘love jihad’, prompting the company to pull the film citing hurt feelings. People, on the contrary, were of the opinion that the story of this ad should have been reversed.
The 43 second commercial shows a pregnant woman being led to her bachelorette party, a Hindu custom called ‘godh bharai’ by a woman that viewers later realize is her mother-in-law. The young woman, wearing a sari and bindi, addresses the older woman, with a salwar kurta and a dupatta covering her head, like ‘Ma’ and asks her: “But you don’t celebrate this custom.” The mother responds kindly: “The tradition of keeping daughters happy is in every home.” In the background you can see the scene of a composed family, a woman in hijab, people in saris and a man with a hat.
Looking at the ad, the Muslim family appears to be very secular and respectful of all religions. Tanishq’s announcement sparked a furious reaction on social media, opening the floodgates for debate and sparking a flurry of tweets. Some angry and threatening, demanding a ban on the ad and a boycott of the brand, a Tata product. As the call for a boycott of Tanishq grew, many came out to support him.
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This is not the first time religion has been allowed to appear in an advertisement. You would have noticed that in the past 70 years, the sentiments of the majority population were barely taken into consideration while adequate precautions were taken to respect the sentiments of the minorities. This is the first incident in which the company was forced to withdraw the ad following the reaction of the majority.
Tanishq has issued a statement to clarify that the idea behind the Ekatvam campaign “is to celebrate the coming together of people from different walks of life, local communities and families during these challenging times and to celebrate the beauty of unity.”
“We are deeply saddened by the inadvertent stirring of emotions and we are withdrawing this film with the hurt feelings and well-being of our employees, partners and store staff in mind,” he added.
The removal of the ad sparked a new debate and several people called it unfortunate. Some have accused the company of giving in under pressure, saying this trend will endanger the secular fabric of India. The company, however, has respected the feelings of the majority, as well as the ideals of secularism, which also respects the feelings of the people.
Those who oppose the removal of the ad should clarify whether they would accept the ad showing a Muslim woman as the daughter-in-law of a Hindu family.
It is worth mentioning here that these secular voices kept quiet about the recent incident, on October 7, in Delhi, in which an 18-year-old Hindu boy named Rahul Rajput was brutally murdered simply because he was in love with a Muslim girl. living in your neighborhood. The girl, whose life is in danger due to her own family, remains in Nari Niketan.
In movies and advertisements, you would have noticed that the minority population is always peace-loving, physically strong, and true to its promise.
Real life, however, is different from the movies. An Ayesha, whose real name is Anjana Tiwari, set herself on fire in Lucknow today. She was married to an Asif Muslim who went to Saudi Arabia and allegedly her family started harassing Anjana. Despite several complaints, when the police failed to act, they took the drastic step out of the state assembly. She has been admitted to the hospital in critical condition.
On this prevailing secular trend, IIM Rohtak Professor Dhiraj Sharma conducted a study on films released between 1950 and 2010 and came out with a surprising revelation. According to the study, 74 percent of Sikh characters in movies are mocked; Fifty-eight percent of corrupt politicians’ last names indicated that they were Hindu Brahmins; 62 percent of corrupt merchants belong to the Vaishyas.
In contrast, 84 percent of the films portray Muslim characters as religious and honest. Hindi movies made in India are very careful about the feelings of the people in Pakistan, but they are less concerned with the sentiment of the majority.
Professor Dhiraj Sharma also investigated 20 such films that had Pakistan at their center and revealed that in 18 films, Pakistanis were shown to be very good-hearted and welcome Indians with open arms. The Indians, however, proved fanatical. This example can be seen in the ‘Bajrangi Bhai Jaan’ where the Hindu characters were radical with a narrow mind, while the Pakistani characters were warm-hearted and open-minded.
In South Indian movies, however, you will see that the heroes are proud Hindus. The greatest example of this can be seen in the mega movie Bahubali, whose main protagonist is not only a Hindu but also a great devotee of Lord Shiva.
Secularism is a trend in India where people show that they are modern with this epithet. You should know that when the Constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950, nowhere did it mention ‘Secular’, but this was added with the 42nd amendment to the Constitution in 1976.
The word Secular was imported from Europe, where it was introduced to end sectarian fighting. Since this concept came from the West, it is interesting to note that a new debate on secularism has begun in France.
France is one of the few countries in the world that has banned people from displaying or using religious symbols in public places, as it has faced bigotry in recent years.
The French government has decided to ban Islamic fundamentalists, asking the Muslim population to abide by French laws. He has also presented 4 proposals to the Muslim community living in France.
1. The financing of mosques in France will be investigated. If the money comes from abroad, it will be thoroughly investigated.
2. France has banned the teaching of children at home to ban madrasas. Approximately 50,000 children in France are homeschooled, and most of them are Muslim.
3. Imams from abroad will be prohibited from entering France. Foreign clerics have been accused of spreading fundamentalism in France. The French government will therefore train clergymen.
4. If any organization in France collects donations from individuals, it will have to declare it secular.
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