The Indian Internet is no stranger to outrage. Sometimes it's about a cricketer's performance, sometimes it's a Netflix show and sometimes it's as trivial as an advertisement. In the latest outrage on Twitter, a popular jewellery brand has been mired in a social media controversy following their newly released advertisement. The advertisement is on a Hindu-Muslim couple.
In the jewellery brand's advertisement, a Hindu woman who is married into a Muslim family is set for her baby shower. Her in-laws are shown to have gone great lengths to make their Hindu daughter-in-law feel comfortable-- by performing Hindu rituals.
And just like everything else, the cancel culture brigade has come together-- they now want the jewellery brand to banned. Boycott Tanishq is now one of the top trends on Twitter.
The description of the Tanishq commercial reads: 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.
Tanishq has in recent years, rolled out television commercials to promote new jewellery designs often portraying the evolving facets of the modern Indian women. This, however, didn't go well with many Indian audiences.
The #BoycottTanishq group took to Twitter to trend the hashtag as they outrage alleging that the ad promotes ‘love jihad’ and was anti-Hindu in sentiments.
Shame on Tanishq. Stop showing shit and propaganda disguised as advertisement. If u haven't the balls to show reality, please refrain from such moral platitudes #BoycottTanishq
— মধুলিকা #Hindulivesmatter (@heartgoesboop) October 12, 2020
Why i see Hindu daughter in law everywhere....why dont you show Muslim daughter in law anywhere. Just Asking #BoycottTanishq
— Ranzy Singh (@ranzysingh) October 12, 2020
I will not buy a single Tata product here onwards for promoting Love Jihad. Tanishq(A Tata product) is a hatemongerer. #BoycottTanishq https://t.co/GNmJAY5tyA
— Doraemon (@SanghiDoremon) October 12, 2020
Some, however, defended the idea behind the commercial and said that the commercial is only trying to promote harmony and doesn't have any other intention behind it.
Let me flip the perspective to make you feel better.
Tanishq is a mainstream brand. They have come out with the ad. They have set the context. Ignore the haters, concentrate on the fact that the ad itself is a win.
— Natasha 🌈 نتاشا (@nuts2406) October 12, 2020
Am I the only one who doesn't see anything wrong in the Tanishq ad? What has this country come to?
— John Doe (@DamnWeirdGuy) October 12, 2020
Some fake bots in Twitter cannot tear your reputation and sales @TanishqJewelry . Keep going.!🌟
2 rupee bots commenting boycott Tanishq 😂😂!
— Shon (@_ShonJM) October 12, 2020
Don't know how long have you been following Tanishq. But in the past, Tanishq had launched entire collection based on Muslim weddings... And it was indeed the most beautiful jewelry collection that I had seen. May be they have launched many more collections before or after that
— Mansi Chandrakar (@ChandrakarMansi) October 12, 2020
The backlash Tanishq ad and Surf Excel ad receives serves to prove that it's the Hindu Muslim harmony that these people have problem with. The ads had NOTHING to do with love jihad.
— Aravind K N (@KnAravind) October 12, 2020
Love Jihad or Romeo Jihad is a conspiracy theory that alleges that Muslim men target women belonging to non-Muslim communities in order to convert them to Islam by feigning love and marrying them.
The commercial is a part of Tanishq’s current festive season's collection 'Ekatvam'.