Upset Hindus are urging Santa Venera (Malta) based “Malta’s leading Home Decor E-Commerce site” Maltashopper for immediate withdrawal of socks carrying images of Hindu deity Lord Ganesha; calling it highly inappropriate.
Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that Lord Ganesha was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to adorn one’s feet-ankles-legs, “keep your feet cozy and dry”, “prevent sweat and odor”, etc. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts or symbols or icons for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, also urged Maltashopper and its CEO to offer a formal apology, besides withdrawing Lord Ganesha socks from its website and stock.
Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.2 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken frivolously. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Rajan Zed noted.
Zed further said that such trivialization of Hindu deities was disturbing to the Hindus world over. Hindus were for free artistic expression and speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing it was painful for the followers, Zed added.
In Hinduism, Lord Ganesha is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking.
They “are a statement of eco-conscious fashion”, Maltashopper claims about Ganesha socks, which were priced at €6.95. Maltashopper also states on its website: Ganesha, the Hindu deity known as the remover of obstacles, symbolizes wisdom, prosperity, and good fortune.
Maltashopper, started in 2011, “was established to fill a gap in the furniture and home decor sector in Malta and Gozo”. It sells IKEA, Casa, Bliss, Bricocenter, etc., products.
