Ethnic wear brand FabIndia has deleted a tweet with its recent advertisement for its festive collection amid calls by a section of social media to boycott it for its purported messaging.
Earlier this month, FabIndia had tweeted a link to an article about its collection, featuring five models in maroon Indian wear. “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 retailer had tweeted.
The tweet has been deleted.
FabIndia’s website now features the same photo minus the tagline “Jashn-e-Riwaaz”.
In a statement, FabIndia said its capsule of products under the name “Jashn-e-Riwaaz” is “not our Diwali collection of products” and that its yet-to-be-launched Diwali collection will have another name - “Jhilmil si Diwali”.
“We at Fabindia have always stood for celebration of India with its myriad traditions in all hues. In fact ‘Fabindia – Celebrate India’ is our tagline and also a wordmark. Our current capsule of products under the name Jashn-e-Riwaaz is a celebration of Indian traditions. The phrase means that, literally. The capsule is not our Diwali Collection of products. Our Diwali collection is called “Jhilmil si Diwali” is yet to be launched. Please do keep a look out. It is going to be beautiful,” a top official of the company said.
Targeting FabIndia, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Monday tweeted that “Deepavali is not Jash-e-Riwaaz” and that the brand “must face economic costs for such deliberate misadventures.”
His tweet set off a round of outrage and trolling as other Twitter users joined the chorus and called for boycotting FabIndia.
However, others condemned the “#BoycottFabIndia” campaign and said naming a collection in Urdu would not lessen the spirit of Diwali.
“Boycott Fabindia is trending because they’ve poetically named their Diwali collection - Jashn-e-Riwaaz. This is beyond ridiculous. How does naming a collection in Urdu lessen your Diwali for you?” author Shunali Khullar Shroff tweeted.
“Anyway, what does language have to do with religion,” another social media user tweeted.
“Tanishq, iD foods, Infosys, Fabindia, Unacademy. These are some of India's most valuable brands being held to ransom by vigilantes. The message is clear,” another user tweeted.
Last October, popular jewellery brand Tanishq faced massive social media trolling over an ad featuring an interfaith baby shower, forcing it to take down the ad.
FabIndia was founded in 1960 by John Bissell and started out as a firm exporting home furnishings.
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