NEW DELHI (AP) — A popular Indian jewelery brand has withdrawn an advertisement featuring a Muslim man and his Hindu wife after a right-wing backlash on social media.
The Tanishq company withdrew the advertisement from TV channels and all its social media platforms on Tuesday following a backlash from Hindu nationalists, including members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, who said it promoted “love jihad.”
The term is used by radical Hindu groups to accuse Muslim men of converting Hindu women by marriage.
The withdrawal of the ad threw light on the growing religious polarization in India under Modi, whose party and supporters envision the country as a Hindu nation and are accused by critics of normalizing anti-Muslim sentiment.