Maltashopper removes Lord Ganesha socks after protest - IndiaPost NewsPaper

Source: IndiaPost NewsPaper

CHICAGO: Santa Venera (Malta) based "Malta's leading Home Decor E-Commerce site" Maltashopper withdrew socks carrying images of Hindu deity Lord Ganesha; which were deemed "highly inappropriate".

David Thake, Chairman of Maltashopper Limited said: " "Recognizing the significance of Lord Ganesh in Hinduism and understanding the inappropriateness of depicting such a revered figure on socks, we have removed the controversial socks from our platform and do not hesitate to issue an apology to you and the Hindu community, and any others affected by this oversight...We are committed to learning from this incident and making the necessary adjustments to our operations...".

Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism thanked Maltashopper for understanding the concerns of Hindu community, which thought that the image of Lord Ganesha on such a product was insensitive.

Rajan suggested that companies should send their senior executives for training in religious and cultural sensitivity so that they had an understanding of the feelings of customers and communities when introducing new products or launching advertising campaigns.

Lord Ganesha is 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.

Hinduism is 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 had noted.

Lord Ganesha is worshipped as God of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking.

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.