Netizens have called out Fabindia for attempting to hurt religion and sentiments by putting up a ‘secular’ card on the Hindu festival of Diwali.
The controversy started when a tweet from the brand highlighted their latest festive collection ‘Jashn-e-Riyaz’. The collection was intended for festive wear for Diwali, but the use of Urdu words raised many questions about the brand’s sensibility.
Fabindia tweeted the collection on October 9, which read, “As we welcome the festival of love and light, Jashn-e-Rivaz by Fabindia is a collection that beautifully pays tribute to Indian culture.. “. The post featured men and women in festive, Indian ethnic clothing in a vibrant shade of red.
The tweet was followed by an uproar on social media in which Fabindia was accused of ‘harming the Hindu festival of Diwali’.
In no time, the hashtag #BoycottFabIndia started trending on Twitter, with users demanding an immediate boycott of the brand. Here are some tweets from users calling for the boycott:
Diwali is not Jash-e-Riyaz. This deliberate attempt to Abrahmatize Hindu festivals by depicting a model… https://t.co/OWtTKCZxce
— Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) 16345455020000
Our festival is Diwali but according to @FabindiaNews Diwali is called Jashn-e-Rivaz. So #BoycottFabIndia Now.A… https://t.co/AYCCS2xOMt
— Vandana Gupta (@im_vandy) 1634554978000
#BoycottFabIndia time, they are not worth our money
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) 1634553645000
Deepawali is not Jash-e-Rawaz… Duration!!! FabIndia seems to have deliberately done this to hurt Hindu sentiment.… https://t.co/xPitSmalv7
— prince MLA (@rajkumarmla1) 163455714000
“We at Fabindia have always stood to celebrate India’s innumerable traditions in all colours. In fact ‘Fabindia – Celebrate India’ is our tagline and also a wordmark. The present day capsule of our products under the name Jashn-e-Rivaz is a celebration of Indian traditions. The phrase means it, literally,” the company said in a statement to TOI.
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