A political party in Texas has aroused the ire of the Hindus in the US for an advertisement featuring Hindu deity Ganesha, it recently placed in an Indian-American newspaper with many calling it “offensive.”
The ad sponsored by the Fort Bend County Republican Party was printed in time for the Hindu festival Ganesh Chaturthi to persuade Hindus to vote for the Republican.
It carried a large image of the elephant-headed God in the center with many arrows pointing towards his various body parts symbolising different qualities accompanied by a block of text asking, “Would you worship a donkey or an elephant? The choice is yours.”
Upset over the ad, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) - an advocacy group based in the US issued a press release seeking clarification from the party over its intentions regarding the use of Lord Ganesha’s image.
“While we appreciate the Fort Bend County GOP’s attempt to reach out to Hindus on an important Hindu festival, its ad — equating Hindus’ veneration of the Lord Ganesha with choosing a political party based on its animal symbol — is problematic and offensive,” Rishi Bhutada, HAF board member said in the press release.
Seeking a ban on the ad, the group further demanded an apology from the party members and called upon the political parties in the area “to avoid religious imagery to explicitly appeal for political support.”
“The implication regarding the worship of animals as gods was also disheartening to HAF leaders, as that is a common misconception taught in US schools, which frequently ends up becoming a taunt used to bully Hindu students,” the HAF said.
Sri Preston Kulkarni, an Indian-American Democrat who’s contesting from the region also criticised the ad saying that “equating Hindus’ worship of Ganesh with a political party’s symbol is wrong and promotes inaccurate stereotypes about the Hindu-American community.”
Responding to the objections, the Fort Bend County Republican Party issued a statement apologising for the ad while maintaining that the idea behind the campaign was developed after consulting a few Hindus.
“This ad was created with input from those of Hindu faith so that we could properly pay respect to the sacred festival, “said Jacey Jetton, the Chairman of the Party.
It is however not the first time that an ad campaign depicting Lord Ganesha has offended the religious sentiments of the Hindu community.
Earlier in 2017, a TV commercial released by Meat and Livestock Australia promoting lamb meat had caused a widespread stir after it showed Lord Ganesha, who is widely considered to be vegetarian, eating meat while sitting down at a table for a meal with gods worshiped in different religions.
The controversy snowballed to an extent that the Indian government launched a diplomatic request to withdraw the advertisement.
While the commercial was later put off air, it quickly made way to YouTube where it continues to garner a lot of attention.
