This Ad Showing Hindu-Muslim Harmony Was Taken Off After Trolls Accused The Brand Of Glorifying Love Jihad. What Have We Turned Into?
Whoever said TV is an idiot box was probably right. The crap they show these days (think prime time news, ridiculous Indian dramas and reality shows like Bigg Boss) can really make you smash your TV screens. I never thought I’d say this but commercials are possibly the only thing that’s making sense these days on the TV. There are ads that crack you up and then there are commercials that not only pull at the heartstrings (Tanishq did) but actually make you reflect upon the conventional ideas of the society.
While these ads are aimed at promoting the products of a certain brand, they are also capable of driving a social change as they reach a larger, impressionable audience. One brand that always comes up with progressive campaigns and heart-warming ad films is Tanishq. The leading jewellery brand has a flair for compelling the audience to think upon the conservative norms and they nail it every time.
Their latest ad for the new collection called Ekatvam (which means oneness) showed an interfaith baby shower and had a powerful message about unity among Hindus and Muslims. It’s a beautiful ad where a Muslim family throws a baby shower for their Hindu daughter-in-law. You’d think that it would be lauded for its strong social POV and the touching concept but let’s not forget we live in a country which loses it senses when it comes to religion.
It didn’t sit well with some seriously offended sections on the social media who accused the brand for promoting, what they felt was, love jihad. They had a problem with them showing a Hindu DIL and started the #BoycottTanishq trend.
Last I checked, India was a secular state and the only country where a large proportion of both communities live in absolute harmony. But I guess that is the thing of the past. This outrage is not only disturbing and disgusting but shows what we are turning into as a nation.
How sick and toxic a section of the society has become… these are sick people who opposed this beautiful ad and Tanishq did a wrong thing. #tanishq https://t.co/xp19xk7WWR
— ashutosh (@ashutosh83B) October 13, 2020
Also Read: This Hindu Bride Getting Married In A Muslim Locality During The Delhi Clashes Is A Story Of Hope We All Need To Hear!
The description on the Tanishq ad film for Ekatvam 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.” How can this hurt anyone’s sentiments is beyond me. All these people could take away from such a thoughtful commercial is why the girl was Hindu and it promoted love jihad.
Love Jihad is an alleged conspiracy theory against Muslims where it is believed that Muslim men target young women belonging to non-Muslim communities, reeling them in with the pretence of love and get them converted to Islam. This was the reason Tanishq faced vicious backlash – for creating an innocent ad about interfaith marriage, which then converted into our national sport- taking offense.
What’s worse is that because of the nature of the backlash and certainly wanting to stay away from controversy, Tanishq took down the ad from all their social media platforms. This is so sad.
#BoycottTanishq got divided response from the netizen where some even defended the brand and condemned the regressive mindsets of the trolls. Shashi Tharoor tweeted, “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?” Author Karthik Srinivasan wrote, “Tanishq has officially withdrawn their ad after being trolled viciously. Here’s why this is a very sad state of affairs, and context from other such ads that were trolled (and some, withdrawn).”
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
Some people suggested that Tanishq should reverse the ad and show a Muslim DIL in a Hindu family following Islamic customs and traditions for her but think about it, would that really help? Would it not trigger these people even more? Who knows they’d find a Hindu family buckling to Muslim customs and ceremonies even more offensive?
Our country is being branded a rape capital, economy is dwindling and our farmers are killing themselves but hey, let’s target a jewellery brand for promoting love jihad because they showed unity in their commercial. How dare they?
