Tanishq Ad Stirs Controversy; Outrage on Social Media

A massive outrage broke over various social media platforms with users calling for the boycott of the jewellery brand Tanishq for their latest advertisement, which showcases a Hindu woman married into a Muslim family, preparing for her baby shower. Heeding to criticism, the controversial advertisement that was accused of promoting ‘love jihad’ has been pulled down from YouTube.

Earlier today, the company faced a severe backlash from social media users, who accused the organisation of glorifying and promoting ‘love jihad’ through its latest commercial. #BoycottTanishq was amongst the top trending items on microblogging website Twitter as netizens called for boycotting the brand for peddling soft bigotry.

The ad released on October 9 shows a pregnant Hindu woman walking with her mother-in-law, who distinctly belonged to the Muslim faith. The Muslim mother-in-law then leads the Hindu daughter-in-law to the garden area, where the god-bharai ceremony has been set up according to Hindu traditions.

Shocked, the daughter-in-law asks the mother-in-law why the ceremony was set up in that manner since “these things are not followed in the house”. To that, the smiling mother-in-law tells her that while this might not be their tradition (since they are a Muslim family), making daughters happy is a universal tradition.