Under pressure from trolls’ attacks, Fabindia has withdrawn the ‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz’ ad (File)
New Delhi:
Indian clothing brand Fabindia has been targeted by trolls after an ad for one of its clothing collections – called ‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz’ – stands accused of ‘defacing’ the popular festival by linking it to an Urdu term that the company said meant “celebrations of rituals/festive celebrations”.
The now-deleted social media post had this message:
“The rustle of silk… the gleam of zari. The sparkle of jewels… the fragrance of flowers in hair. The sweetness of mithai & the happiness of homecoming. Let the festivities begin with ‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz”
“As we welcome the festival of love and light, Jashn-e-Riwaaz by Fabindia is a collection that beautifully pays homage to Indian culture,” the brand’s advertising campaign read.
Fabindia has now deleted the advertisement from social media
Faced with the abuse though, Fabindia has now withdrawn the ad and issued a clarification.
NDTV has learnt that ‘Jashn-E-Riwaaz’ is not Fabindia’s Diwali clothing collection, and that the festival collection – ‘Jhil Mil se Diwali’ – has yet to be launched.
NDTV has also learnt that Fabindia “comes out with capsules of collection every month every 15 days.
Trolls’ attacks were spurred by a tweet from firebrand BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who complained about the “Abrahamisation of Hindu festivals”.
“Deepavali is not Jashn-e-Riwaaz. This deliberate attempt of Abrahamisation of Hindu festivals, depicting models without traditional Hindu attires, must be called out… and brands like Fabindia must face economic costs for such deliberate misadventures,” he declared.
Deepavali is not Jash-e-Riwaaz.
This deliberate attempt of abrahamisation of Hindu festivals, depicting models without traditional Hindu attires, must be called out.
And brands like @FabindiaNews must face economic costs for such deliberate misadventures. https://t.co/uCmEBpGqsc
— Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) October 18, 2021
Surya also attacked Fabindia because the models in the withdrawn ad were apparently not wearing “Hindu tradition of clothes”.
Information technology industry veteran TV Mohandas Pai re-tweeted Surya’s message, adding: “Yes very true, Fabindia is doing this deliberately and consumers must protest this misuse like they did for others.”
Yes very true, @FabindiaNews is doing this deliberately and consumers must protest this misuse like they did for others. https://t.co/Ip3t0Tov0u
— Mohandas Pai (@TVMohandasPai) October 18, 2021
Some Twitter users also demanded people boycott Fabindia.
Our festival is Diwali but
according to @FabindiaNews Diwali is called Jashn-e-Riwaaz.
So #BoycottFabIndia Now.
As if they have 3rd class collection pic.twitter.com/eHhSVwBjch— Vandana Gupta ???????? (@im_vandy) October 18, 2021
The call to boycott was backed by the BJP’s Kapil Mishra, against whom there have been demands to file a case for allegedly instigating last year’s Delhi riots.
Time to #BoycottFabIndia
They don’t deserve our money
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) October 18, 2021
A number of Twitter users defended Fabindia and slammed trolls for “ridiculous” remarks.
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
Bhakts are boycotting FabIndia because it used an Urdu phrase for the Diwali clothing line.
By that logic, they should boycott Diwali too, because it has Ali in it.
— Narundar (@NarundarM) October 18, 2021
Controversy over Fabindia’s new clothing collection comes almost exactly a year after Tanishq, a popular jewellery brand owned by the Tatas, was bombarded with abuse for an advertisement – the Ekavatam campaign – featuring an interfaith baby shower that trolls claimed promoted ‘love jihad’.
The brand was eventually forced to withdraw the ad and issue an apology, but only after it said it was doing so “keeping in mind… the well-being of our employees, partners and store staff”.
All Images/Sources/Credit By:- NDTV News
