Bengaluru (South) MP Tejasvi Surya on Monday, October 18, lashed out at Indian apparel brand Fabindia for calling its new festive collection ‘Jashn-E-Riwaaz’ (celebration of tradition). Taking to Twitter, Tejasvi alleged ‘abrahamisation’ of Diwali, and said Fabindia should face economic costs for its “deliberate misadventures.”
“Deepavali is not Jash-e-Riwaaz. This deliberate attempt of abrahamisation of Hindu festivals, depicting models without traditional Hindu attires, must be called out. And brands like @FabindiaNews must face economic costs for such deliberate misadventures,” Tejasvi Surya tweeted, quoting a Fabindia tweet about the collection, which now stands deleted.
Deepavali is not Jash-e-Riwaaz.
— Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) October 18, 2021
This deliberate attempt of abrahamisation of Hindu festivals, depicting models without traditional Hindu attires, must be called out.
And brands like @FabindiaNews must face economic costs for such deliberate misadventures. https://t.co/uCmEBpGqsc
Earlier, Fabindia had announced their new festive collection in a tweet, with a link to a Vogue India article profiling the collection. “As we welcome the festival of love and light, Jashn-e-Riwaaz by Fabindia is a collection that beautifully pays homage to Indian culture.”
According to the Vogue India article, ”Jashn-e-Riwaaz by Fabindia is a collection that beautifully pays homage to Indian culture; a collection that embraces the colour, chaos, and individuality of the country. And this Diwali, more so than ever, we are all grateful to be surrounded by friends and family.”
“Jashn-e-Riwaaz by Fabindia offers a peek into every vertical of the Indian aesthetic, be it fashion, art, or even philosophy,” the collection’s description on Vogue India adds.
Shortly after Tejasvi’s tweet, many right-wing handles also began to tweet in protest, calling for a boycott of Fabindia and its products and soon, #BoycottFabindia was trending on Twitter.
“Very shameful statement by @FabindiaNews on Deepavali! This is a Hindu religious festival just as Christmas and EID is for others! This kind of statement shows a very deliberate attempt to subvert a religious festival!” tweeted Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Manipal Global Education.
Following the backlash, Fabindia took down the tweet announcing the collection. However, the official website has the collection under the banner ‘festive special.’ The YouTube advertisement which was based in Rajasthan and showcased the designs and apparel which were part of the collection has also been made private and is unavailable to users in India. Fabindia has not issued an official statement on the controversy.