A store of popular jewellery brand Tanishq was attacked in Gujarat amid row over an advertisement that has been withdrawn after vicious trolling on social media. The store manager was reportedly made to write an apology letter by the mob, sources said. The incident was reported from Gandhidham in the state.
Tanishq is a jeweler with branches all over India and has big names like Titan and Tata Group behind it. The brand value allows the jeweler to command a price premium over local counterparts and smaller companies.
The company launched an interfaith advertisement. Our nation is secular and the governments go out of their way to promote interfaith and intercaste marriages with financial incentives. The advertisement which caused the storm features the religion of Hinduism and Islam.
A Hindu woman marries a Muslim man, and now the woman is having her baby shower. The husband’s family accommodates the woman and has the celebrations as per her religion.
The participants of various social media online have taken strong offense at the advertisement.
The most common response has been the assigning the advertisement as a promotion of something called “Love Jihad” which means a Muslim man marrying a Hindu woman and making her convert to Islam against her will.
Another common reaction is a question if the company will be willing to reverse the role of the man and the woman i.e. a Muslim woman and a Hindu husband.