Tanishq was forced to withdraw his ad promoting religious harmony after right-wing forces in India incessantly harassed him on social media.
Incessant social media tracking by right-wing forces has forced a popular jewelry brand in India to withdraw its ad with an interfaith partner.
The 40-second commercial, released by Tanishq last week, showed a pregnant Hindu bride attending a baby shower hosted by her Muslim in-laws.
“She is married to a family that loves her like their own son. Just for her, they go out of their way to celebrate an occasion that they normally don’t. A beautiful confluence of two different religions, traditions and cultures, ”read the YouTube description of the ad.
If anyone has a problem with this beautiful ad, please don’t look at it and share it.
pic.twitter.com/w6zGf6emTp– Ravi Nair (@t_d_h_nair) October 13, 2020
The ad was part of Tanishq’s latest jewelry line called “Ekatvam,” a Sanskrit word for unity, and was launched before the festival season marked by Durga Puja and Diwali, two of the most important festivals in the Hindu religion.
But many social media users accused the company of promoting “love jihad,” a right-wing campaign that accuses Muslim men of luring Hindu women into marriage and converting them to Islam.
However, interfaith marriages in India are frowned upon and rare.
On Monday, the #BoycottTanishq hashtag was trending on Indian social media, with a barrage of posts and comments on the YouTube video accusing the company of “hurting” the religious sentiments of the Hindu majority and demanding an apology.
Tanishq has officially withdrawn its ad after being controlled viciously. Here’s why this is a very sad state of affairs and the context of other similar advertisements that were checked (and some, withdrawn) https://t.co/Nb0cSiTPHX pic.twitter.com/sn3IMBqdmC
– Karthik (@beastoftraal) October 13, 2020
On Tuesday, Tanishq withdrew the announcement from social media platforms, although the company has yet to release any statement on the matter.
“So Hindutva fans have called for a boycott of @TanishqJewelry to highlight Hindu-Muslim unity through this beautiful advertisement. If the Hindu-Muslim ‘ekatvam’ bothers you so much, why don’t you boycott the oldest symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity in the world: India? Congress party member of parliament Shashi Tharoor tweeted.
Bollywood actress Divya Dutta, who had lent her voice to the announcement, regretted her withdrawal. “It’s sad that they took it off the air. I loved it, ”he tweeted.
Yes, it is my voice. It’s sad that it came off the air. I loved https://t.co/uWyPzbfHUd
– Divya Dutta (@ divyadutta25) October 13, 2020
Many on social media also expressed solidarity with Tanishq, a brand owned by Titan and promoted by the Tata Group in collaboration with the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, and wished the company had not given in to the harassment.
Journalist Barkha Dutt posted a tweet, referring to an Indian company that has refused to advertise on Indian news channels promoting religious hatred and asked why Tanishq did not stand up.
Last week, auto giant Bajaj Auto and Parle Products, India’s largest cookie maker, said they were removing advertising from news channels that endorsed toxicity and hate speech.
“Rajiv Bajaj [promoter of Bajaj Auto] on the one hand and the surrender of Tanishq on the other. Difference between column and supine ”, published Dutt.
