DNA Exclusive: Can 'secular' advertisements be allowed to play with Hindu sentiments?

New Delhi: Should an advertisement be allowed to hurt the sentiments of crores of people of India? The purpose of advertisements is merely to sell goods or affect the minds of people? The DNA report delves deep into this psychology to analyse the pattern that has divided the nation's thought process on the basis of religion. 

It began with an advertisement of a famous jewellery brand of India, Tanishq, wherein a Hindu girl was shown as the daughter-in-law of a Muslim family. The interfaith love triggered a furious backlash on social media with some accusing the jewellery brand of promoting 'love jihad', prompting the company to withdraw the film citing hurt sentiments. People, on the contrary, opined that the storyline of this advertisement should have been inverted.

The 43-second commercial shows a pregnant woman being led to her bridal shower, a Hindu custom called 'godh bharai' by a woman who viewers later realise is her mother-in-law. The young woman, in a sari and bindi, addresses the older one, in a salwar kurta and a dupatta covering her head, as 'Ma' and asks, "But you don't celebrate this custom". The mother responds with a gentle, "The tradition of keeping daughters happy is there in every home." Setting the scene of a composite family, a woman in a hijab, people in saris, and a man in a skullcap can be seen in the backdrop.

Looking at the advertisement, the Muslim family appears to be very secular and respectful of all religions. The Tanishq ad triggered a furious backlash on social media, opening the floodgates of debate and trolling with a flurry of tweets. Some angry and threatening, demanding a ban on the advertisement and a boycott of the brand, a Tata product. As the boycott call for Tanishq grew, many came out in its support.

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This is not the first time that religion has been allowed to enter into an advertisement. You would have noticed that in the past 70 years, feelings of the majority population were hardly taken into consideration while adequate precautions were taken to respect the sentiments of the minorities. This is the first incident when the company was compelled to withdraw the advertisement in the wake of the majority backlash.

Tanishq has issued a statement to clarify that the idea behind the Ekatvam campaign "is to celebrate the coming together of people from different walks of life, local communities, and families during these challenging times and celebrate the beauty of oneness". 

"We are deeply saddened with the inadvertent stirring of emotions and withdraw this film keeping in mind the hurt sentiments and well being of our employees, partners and store staff," it added. 

The removal of the ad led to a fresh debate with several people terming it unfortunate. Some people have accused the company of buckling under pressure saying this trend will endanger India's secular fabric. The company, however, has respected majority sentiments as well as the ideals of secularism, which also respects people's feelings.

Those who are opposing the withdrawal of the ad should clarify if they would accept the advertisement with a Muslim woman being shown as the daughter-in-law of a Hindu family?

It may be mentioned here that these secular voices remained tight-lipped over the recent incident, 7th October, of Delhi, in which an 18-year-old Hindu boy named Rahul Rajput was brutally murdered simply because he was in love with a Muslim girl living in his neighborhood. The girl, whose life is in danger because of her own family, is kept in Nari Niketan. 

In films and advertisements, you would have noticed that the minority population is always shown to be peace-loving, physically strong, and faithful to their promise. 

The real-life, however, is different from films. One Ayesha, whose real name is Anjana Tiwari, set herself on fire in Lucknow today. She was married to a Muslim man Asif who went to Saudi Arabia and his family allegedly started harassing Anjana. Despite several complaints, when the police failed to take action, she took the drastic step outside the state assembly. She has been admitted to the hospital in a critical condition.

On this prevailing secular trend, Professor Dhiraj Sharma from IIM Rohtak conducted a study on films released between 1950 and 2010 and came out with a startling revelation. According to the study, 74 percent of Sikh characters in films are mocked; 58 percent of corrupt politicians' surnames indicated them to be Hindu Brahmins; 62 percent of corrupt merchants belong to the Vaishyas. 

On the contrary, 84 percent of the films portray Muslim characters as religious and honest. Hindi films made in India are very careful with the feelings of people in Pakistan, but they are least bothered about the feeling of the majority. 

Professor Dhiraj Sharma also researched 20 such films that had Pakistan at its center and revealed that in 18 films, Pakistani people were shown to be very good at heart welcoming Indians with open arms. Indians, however, were shown to be fanatic. This example can be seen in the 'Bajrangi Bhai Jaan' where Hindu characters were radical with a narrow mindset, while Pakistani characters were good-hearted and open-minded.

In South Indian films, however, you will see heroes are proud Hindu. The biggest example of this can be witnessed in mega film Bahubali, whose chief protagonist is not only a Hindu but also a great devotee of Lord Shiva.

Secularism is a trend in India, where people prove them to be modern with this epithet. You should know that when the Constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950, it nowhere mentioned 'Secular', but this was added with the 42nd Constitution amendment in 1976.

The word Secular was imported from Europe, where it was introduced to put an end to sectarian clashes. Since this concept came from the West, it is interesting to note that a new debate about Secularism has started in France.

France is one of the few countries in the world that has prohibited people to show or wear any religious symbols in public places, as it confronted fanaticism in the last few years. 

The French government has decided to ban Islamic fundamentalists, asking the Muslim population to conform to the French laws. It has also put forth 4 proposals to the Muslim community living in France.

1. Funding to mosques in France will be investigated. If the money is coming from abroad it will be thoroughly probed. 

2. France has prohibited the teaching of children at home to put a ban on Madrasas. About 50,000 children in France are taught at home, and the majority of them are Muslims.

3. Imams from abroad will be prohibited from entering France. Foreign clerics have been accused of spreading fundamentalism in France. The French government, therefore, will train clerics.

4. If any organization in France will collect donations from people, it will have to declare it to be secular.