Tanishq has issued a statement following the huge controversy created by its ad normalising Love Jihad. The statement said that the ad was withdrawn considering the sentiments that were hurt due to it. It maintained, nevertheless, that its objective was to “celebrate the beauty of oneness”.
Tanishq said in its statement, “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.” It also said, “This film has stimulated divergent and severe reactions, contrary to its very objective.”
Earlier, a Tanishq showroom in Gujarat had condemned the ad and apologised profusely to the Hindu community for the sentiments that were hurt. A massive outrage broke over various social media platforms after people called for the boycott of the jewellery brand Tanishq for their latest advertisement. In its advertisement for ‘Ekatvam’ collection, Tanishq showcased a Hindu woman married into a Muslim family, preparing for her ‘god-bharai’ (baby shower). Following the outrage, Tanishq had removed the video from YouTube.
Tanishq ad
The ad released on October 9 showed a pregnant Hindu woman walking with her mother-in-law, who distinctly belonged to the Muslim faith. The Muslim mother-in-law then leads the Hindu daughter-in-law to the garden area, where the god-bharai ceremony has been set up according to Hindu traditions.
When the surprised daughter-in-law wonders about the ritual in ‘their family’, the mother in law smiled and said how ‘keeping daughter happy’ is a universal ritual. Unfortunately, in reality, there have been innumerable cases where Hindu women are forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men.