India Post News Service
CHICAGO: Indians across the globe have strongly pitched with Sheffield (England) headquartered giftware wholesaler Ancient Wisdom for immediate withdrawal of socks carrying images of Hindu deity Lord Ganesha; calling it highly inappropriate.
The protest is led by Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism He said that Lord Ganesha is highly revered in Hinduism meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to adorn one’s feet-ankles-legs. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts or symbols or icons for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees, he observed
Zed has also urged Ancient Wisdom Marketing Limited and its CEO to offer a formal apology, besides withdrawing Lord Ganesha socks from its website, warehouses and showroom.
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 noted.
In Hinduism, Lord Ganesha is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking.
Ancient Wisdom, established 1995, claims to stock about 10,000 product lines; importing from India, Indonesia, Nepal and China; and delivering across the United Kingdom and Europe.
Its website states about these socks: Socks with a pattern depicting Ganesha, the Hindu god. He is considered the god of wisdom and intellect, and the god who opens the door to success
