Brands are learning that sermonizing on Hindu festivals is now not looked at too kindly by India’s general populace.
South Korean Electronics major LG yesterday sent out an unusual Holi wish. “This Holi, lets share shades of joy by colouring the clothes, not the faces, as LG Washing Machines has (sic) got you covered. Spread happiness around and share the message, Iss Holi, #ChehreNahinDilRango (Don’t colour faces, colour hearts),” LG said.
It was an exceedingly strange tweet — as it started off, it appeared to encourage people to apply colours on clothes instead of their faces. Anyone who’s ever played Holi knows that it would be very awkward — and perhaps impossible — to first target clothes, and leave people’s bodies untouched by Holi colours . But in the second half of the tweet, LG seemed to suggest that playing Holi was bad altogether, and said that people should colour each others’ hearts instead.
Netizens immediately picked up on how LG’s Holi tweet was in stark contrast to the wishes it had sent out on other festivals. On Eid and Christmas, LG had simply extended its wishes, and not asked people to modify how they celebrate their festivals.
This hypocrisy — and open Hindu hatred — offended many people, who said that LG was singling out Hindu festivals for its supposed social service messages. “This Holi I am going to buy a front loading washing machine. But not LG,” wrote a user in reply to LG’s tweet.
Another person too said that they were not going to buy LG washing machines. “I was planning to buy @LGIndia Washing machine this Holi but after seeing this Hypocrite tweet against Hindus I will never ever buy @LGIndia Washing Machine. Will exchange my newly bought LG fridge with some other brand. So pathetic LG is. Why you people against hindus LG?” they asked.
Soon users began calling for the boycott of LG.
And others said that they’d had enough of the preaching, and wouldn’t buy any LG products.
At this point, LG seemed to decide that its businesses interests were more important that running its Hindu-hating agenda, and deleted the tweet.
This isn’t the first time that celebrities and brands have been targeting Hindu festivals, but now there’s a twist — instead of directly asking people to not celebrate a festival, the exhortation is to now celebrate it in a ‘spiritual’ way. A few days ago, Sonu Sood had asked people to not forward Lord Shiva’s pictures Mahashivratri, but to help people; now LG is asking people to colour each others’ hearts instead of their faces. This is a cloaked attempt to eventually kill of Hindu culture and traditions, but as LG’s deleted tweet shows, India is slowly waking up to this propaganda.
