FabIndia removes Jashn-e-Riwaaz ad after backlash; will launch 'Jhilmil si Diwali' instead

A day after clothing brand FabIndia landed in controversy over its advertisement about the upcoming festive line for Diwali, the brand has removed the promotional capsule. The company was accused of "defacing" the Hindu festival by naming its new collection as Jashn-e-Riwaaz (celebration of tradition).

Claiming that it is not the festive collection, FabIndia said on Tuesday that its actual Diwali collection will be launched under the 'Jhilmil si Diwali' promo soon.

The ethnic garments retailer was heavily criticised on social media for some "unnecessarily uplifting secularism" in a Hindu festival, thus hurting their religious sentiments. 

On Saturday, October 9, FabIndia publicised their latest collection 'Jashn-e-Riwaaz' which has been featured by Vogue. FabIndia tweeted about the collection on Monday as a "homage to Indian culture." Irked by the advertisement, several social media users called for a boycott of the brand, making the brand's campaign one of the top trends. FabIndia deleted the tweet after the backlash.

"We at FabIndia have always stood for the celebration of India with its myriad traditions in all hues," a company spokesperson said. "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' (and) is yet to be launched, " he added.

FabIndia receives backlash over 'Jashn-e-Riwaaz' collection

BJP Yuva Morcha President Tejasvi Surya was among those who slammed the promo ad in a post on Twitter. 

"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 FabIndia must face economic cost for such deliberate misadventures," he tweeted on Monday.

Author Shefali Vaidya also accused the brand of 'defacing' Hindu festivals. Soon hashtag #BoycottFabindia began trending.

Chairman of Manipal Global Education, Mohandas Pai also slammed the brand for its choice of words. His tweet read, "Maan you do not get it! The use of Alien terms for a Hindu festival is a deliberate attempt to take away our heritage and subvert it! You can use any brand name you want post-Diwali but at this time, linking it to Diwali shows a perverted mindset!" 

(With inputs from Agencies)

Image: FabIndia/Twitter