Indian jewelry brand removes ad for depicting interfaith marriage

An Indian jewelry brand has withdrawn its television commercial after netizens announced to boycott the brand as it depicted interfaith marriage.

The jewelry brand in the advertisement showed a baby shower of a pregnant Hindu woman arranged by a Muslim family. The YouTube description of the ad read,

“She is married into a family that loves her like their own child. Only for her, they go out of their way to celebrate an occasion that they usually don’t. A beautiful confluence of two different religions, traditions, cultures.”

The video recieved mixed reactions from the netizens, some appreciated the efforts as the ad highlighted India’s religious harmony, on the other side, many people bashed the television commercial and said it “promoted love jihad”

However, the jewelry brand had removed the video and apologized to all people who got hurt by it.

“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,” the statement read.

Although the main idea behind the campaign was “celebrate the coming together of people from different walks of life, local communities and families during these challenging times”.

“This film has stimulated divergent and severe reactions, contrary to its very objective,” the statement added.