Republican party in Texas apologises after Ganesha Chaturthi ad ‘offends’ Hindu community

The ad that was published in a local paper, the Indian Herald, had been placed by Fort Bend County Republican Party. Following the backlash, the party has now apologised.

By: Trends Desk

New Delhi | Updated: September 21, 2018 05:31 PM IST

3 min read

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'Lalbaugcha Raja' the most famous Sarvajanik Ganapati's first look and photoshoot was organised for media by Lalbaug Sarvajanik Ganeshostav mandal in Mumbai today on 1st September 2016 in Mumbai. The preparations are in full swing and lakhs of people are expected to come to take darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja Ganapati. Express photo by Prashant Nadkar, 01 September 2016, Mumbai

A controversial Ganesh Chaturthi ad in a Texas paper sparked outrage, leaving the Hindu-American community in Houston miffed. The advertisement depicted an image of Ganesha and asked, “Would you worship a donkey or an elephant? The choice is yours”. The ad that was published in a local paper, the Indian Herald, had been placed by Fort Bend County Republican Party. Following the backlash, the party has now apologised.

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) had sought a clarification from the party.

“While we appreciate the Fort Bend County GOP’s attempt to reach out to Hindus on an important Hindu festival, its ad — equating Hindus’ veneration of the Lord Ganesha with choosing a political party based on its animal symbol — is problematic and offensive,” Rishi Bhutada, Board Member and Fort Bend County resident, was quoted as saying on the HAF website.

In a letter, chairman Jacey Jetton of the Fort Bend Republican party responded with an apology. “The ad was not meant to disparage Hindu customs or traditions in any way. We offer our sincerest apologies to anyone that was offended by the ad. Obviously, that was not the intent,” he wrote.

“This ad was created with input from those of Hindu faith so that we could properly pay respect to the sacred festival. This highlights the difficulty in outreach that can be positive for one group but not for another in the same community,” Jetton wrote.

“The implication regarding the worship of animals as gods was also disheartening to the HAF leaders, as that is a common misconception taught in US schools, which frequently ends up becoming a taunt used to bully Hindu students,” the HAF said. The organisation said that not only was the ad “offensive”, but it had “inaccurate reference”.

On Twitter, Sri Preston Kulkarni, the Democratic candidate for the US Congress from District 22 in Texas, called the ad ‘offensive’ in a tweet.

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The ad, which was originally a creative for Zomato and was made way back in 2013, listed out the various qualities of the Hindu god.

Many on Twitter were upset and said that no political party should use any imagery that could hurt religious sentiments.

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