Australian ad showing Ganesha eating meat seems to have been taken down in India
A controversial ad showing the vegetarian Hindu god tucking into meat had sparked outrage among Hindu groups.
An Australian advertisement that outraged Hindu groups for depicting Ganesha enjoying lamb meat at a dinner party appears to have been taken down in India.
The advertisement was part of a campaign by Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) to promote lamb meat. In the ad, Ganesha tucks into lamb meat with other religious figures including Jesus, Moses, Buddha, Zeus, Aphrodite, Obi Wan Kenobi and Scientology founder Ron Hubbard. Hindu groups in Australia had protested against the ad, for depicting the vegetarian Ganehsa as eating meat and enjoying it.
Indian Society of Western Australia spokesman Nitin Vashisht had called the ad insensitive, saying, “I don’t think they realise how revered a God Ganesha is within the Hindu community and by and large the Indian community.”
The video can no longer be accessed in India. Clicking on a YouTube link for the video throws up a message: “This content is not available on this country domain due to a legal complaint from the government.”
However, it is still accessible in other countries, as verified by HT.
Following outrage amid the Hindu community as well as on social media, the Consulate-General of India in Sydney took up the matter directly with MLA and urged them to withdraw the advertisement.
“High Commission is taking note of the protests of Indian community in Australia, have made a demarche to Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Department of Communication and Arts and Department of Agriculture bringing to their notice an offensive advertisement by Meat and Livestock Australia that hurt the religious sentiments of the Indian community,” the Indian High Commission in Canberra had said in a statement.
The MLA had responded saying the ad promoted unity and diversity. “Our intent is never to offend, but rather acknowledge that lamb is a meat consumed by a wide variety of cultures and capture how the world could look if people left their differing views at the door and came to the table with open arms, and minds,” they had said in an official statement.