Indian fashion brand, FabIndia, had to pull their Diwali ad after following the inclusion of the Urdu word in the title. The fashion brand had released the traditional collection for Diwali, however, were forced to take down the advertisement.
The brand was forced to delete the tweet, FabIndia, from Twitter. According to the now-deleted tweet, the brand highlighted India’s culture. “As we welcome the festival of love and light, Jashn-e-Riwaaz by Fabindia is a collection that beautifully pays homage to Indian culture,” read the post.
https://twitter.com/RWKashyap/status/1450050573546393606?s=20
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On Monday, the outrage against the brand gained momentum. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, FabIndia released the clarification that Jashn-e-Riwaaz was not a Diwali collection but a “celebration of Indian traditions”.
“Our Diwali collection is yet to be launched. It’s to be called Jhilmil-e-Diwali,” said a source in Fabindia. Several comments poured in on Twitter reacting and condemning the incident.
A Twitter user wrote that the brand attempted at “renaming and damaging Diwali” to “preaching secularism on Hindu festivals”.
Members of the Bhartiya Janata Party also reacted to the campaign. BJP leader Tejasvi Surya targeted the brand by saying that Deewali is not Jashn-e-Riwaj “Deepavali is not Jashn-e-Riwaaz,” he tweeted. “This deliberate attempt of abrahamisation of Hindu festivals, depicting models without traditional Hindu attire, must be called out.”
Meanwhile, some came in defense of the fashion brand. Author Shunali Khullar Shroff said, “Boycott Fabindia is trending because they’ve poetically named their Diwali collection – Jashn-e-Riwaaz. This is beyond ridiculous. How does naming a collection in Urdu lessen your Diwali for you?”
Boycott Fabindia is trending because they’ve poetically named their Diwali collection – Jashn-e-Riwaaz. This is beyond ridiculous. How does naming a collection in Urdu lessen your Diwali for you?
— Shunali Khullar Shroff (@shunalishroff) October 18, 2021
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This is not the first time any Indian brand has been targeted for secularism. Earlier, the Tanishq brand had been vilified for showing an inter-faith baby shower. The campaign was named Ekvatam. The ad was taken off air following massive backlash from the audience.