Calling it blasphemous, Delhi Gurudwara committee President and Politician Manjinder Singh Sirsa has called out the Chinese-based website for using an image of one of the holiest Sikh shrines, the Golden Temple, in the backdrop of an image of shoes in an advertisement.
Sirsa threatened the company with legal consequences if the advertisement wasn’t taken down immediately.
Questioning the obligation of using the image of the Sikh shrine in the advertisement, the politician has also asked Shein India to render a public apology for hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community.
Blasphemy in the name of marketing! What is the reason of showing Gurdwara Sahib in the background of a shoe @SHEIN_official ?
— Manjinder S Sirsa (@mssirsa) November 13, 2019
Such promotions hurt Sikh sentiments. We would take legal action against you if you do not remove it immediately and render a public apology for the same pic.twitter.com/IuXPzX1FSO
Some netizens who use the shopping website were quick to slam it and asked the company to remove the advertisement.
#Shame @SHEIN_official
— NIKKIkapur (@IkapurNikk) November 13, 2019
I'm #shocked feeling #Disgusted
How could you be #SoHungry for #Sale that you end up being a #Disaster in all #Sensibilities
As a @SHEIN_official customer I'm extremely #Sad & #Disappointed
☹️😖
Shameful this shopping site should be permanently banned
— SK🇮🇳Hindu🇮🇳Indian 100% FB (@iamskIndian) November 13, 2019
Shame shame
Mr Sirsa kindly make a team of cyber cell who can stop this nonsense well prior to the incidents by either blocking or not allowing kind of software to let this happen by these shit people in the community
— Gary Singh (@GarySin52648229) November 13, 2019
Heights of stupidity by the shoe company. 👎🏿
— m.s (@exbombaysapper) November 13, 2019
Earlier, India’s top governing body of Sikh shrines, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), slammed an event management company for replicating the “Golden Temple” as a Durga Puja marquee in the Indian state of West Bengal.
On Tuesday, the Sikh community across globe celebrated the biggest and most important festival, Guru Purab. Hundreds of devotees thronged brightly-lit Sikh temples, langar – community kitchen – services were set up, and devotees paid obeisance to Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak, who was born in 1469 into a Hindu family at Nankana Sahib in Pakistan.
