Popular clothing brand Fabindia's ad campaign for the latest collection for Diwali landed in controversy after the brand called the selection 'Jashn-e-Riwaaz'.
In a tweet, that now stands deleted, the clothing brand said, “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 tweet had along with it pictures of models in sarees and kurta pyjamas.
Fabindia was slammed for bringing in Islamic ideologies to a Hindu festival, and #BoycottFabindia began trending online.
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya called it a "deliberate attempt of abrahamisation of Hindu festivals."
"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," he said in a tweet.
Padma Shri awardee and chairman of Manipal Global Education Mohandas Pai too hit out at the clothing brand, calling it an "attempt to take away our heritage and subvert it."
He tweeted: “Use of Alien terms for a Hindu festival is a deliberate attempt to take away our heritage and subvert it! You can use any brand name you want post Diwali but at this time, linking it to Diwali shows a perverted mindset!"