NEW DELHI: Clothing brand Fabindia withdrew its recent promotional advertisement of a new festive collection on Tuesday, after it created a social media uproar for allegedly ‘tarnishing’ the festival of Diwali. Titled Jashn-e-Riwaaz (celebration of traditions), the ad showcased men and women in festive attire in various shades of red. It was slammed on Twitter for using an Urdu phrase to describe a Hindu festival. Netizens also called for a complete boycott of the brand, while right-wing groups claimed such an ad “hurt Hindu sentiments”.
On Monday afternoon, BJP Yuva Morcha president Tejasvi Surya took to Twitter to criticise the ad, posting: “Deepavali is not Jash-e-Riwaaz. This attempt of abrahamisation of Hindu festivals, depicting models without traditional Hindu attires, must be called out. And brands like @fabindiaNews must face economic cost for such deliberate misadventures.” BJP spokesperson and advocate Gaurav Goel called FabIndia “anti-Hindu”. “I used to buy Kurtas from there, but now I and my friends will boycott such Anti Hindu Company. #BoycottFabIndia” he tweeted.
Fabindia’s tweet dated October 9 promoting its festive collection read: “As we welcome the festival of love and light, Jashn-e-Riwaaz, by Fabindia is a collection that beautifully pays homage to Indian culture….” After #BoycottFabIndia started trending, the Delhi-based sartorial label deleted their tweet.
When contacted for a response, a Fabindia spokesperson said Jashn-e-Riwaaz is not a Diwali collection, and their Diwali line is yet to be launched. “We at Fabindia have always stood for celebration of India with its myriad traditions in all hues. ‘Fabindia – Celebrate India’ is our tagline and also a wordmark.
Our current capsule of products under the name Jashn-e-Riwaaz is a celebration of Indian traditions. The phrase means that, literally. The capsule is not our Diwali Collection of products. Our Diwali collection is called Jhilmil si Diwali is yet to be launched. Please do keep a lookout. It is going to be beautiful.”
Author Anuja Chauhan called the outrage invalid, saying, “Jashn-e-Riwaaz means a celebration of tradition. This is the festive season for all religions. This (flak the brand has received) is rubbish.”