Jewellery brand Tanishq said it was "deeply saddened with the inadvertent stirring of emotions", after withdrawing an advertisement portraying a Muslim family celebrating the baby shower of their Hindu daughter-in-law.
In a statement, Tanishq said that it withdrew the advertisement "keeping in mind the hurt sentiments and the well-being of our employees, partners and store staff".
Also read: What will hurt Tanishq more — the Ekatvam ad or its pull-back?
The commercial received backlash and trolling on social media, with some calling it "anti-Hindu" and others alleging that it promotes "love jihad".
The advertisement was meant to promote Tanishq's Ekatvam brand jewellery line. Several social media users who liked the advertisement were disappointed after it was withdrawn.
"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," the company said in the statement.
Some of the reactions to the commercial were "contrary to its very objective," Tanishq added.
On October 13, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor had come out in support of the ad and had slammed 'Hindutva bigots' for calling for a boycott of Tanishq jewellery as a consequence of the commercial adverstisement.
In a tweet he had said:
"So Hindutva bigots have called for a boycott of @TanishqJewelry for highlighting Hindu-Muslim unity through this beautiful ad. If Hindu-Muslim “ekatvam” irks them so much, why don’t they boycott the longest surviving symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity in the world -- India?"
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