Why did social media call for a boycott of jewellery brand Tanishq?

#BoycottTanishq was trending over the weekend on Twitter with users calling for a total boycott of the jewellery brand over an ad.

The latest brand to draw social media's ire is the jewellery brand Tanishq. An ad for their 'Ekatvam' collection titled 'The Confluence' has drawn criticism for its portrayal of inter-faith harmony.

The contrast the ad portrays is unmissable. The woman in a white saree wears a bindi and jasmine flowers whereas, the woman accompanying her, presumably her mother-in-law is seen wearing a salwar suit and a shawl over her head.

The ad does not show any religious markers apart from this and does not take place in the context of a religious festival celebration. (Remember Surf Excel's Holi ad from 2019?)

The latest Tanishq ad is being caled 'Anti-Hindu' on social media and appears to have offended the religious sentiments of quite a few people. The ad unfortunately, comes at a time when the news of Rahul Rajput's murder case surfaced. Rajput was an 18 year old boy from Delhi who was killed by two men (allegedly, his Muslim girlfriend's brother)

Tanishq jewellery's 'Ekatvam' series' ad projects a fictional 'interfaith' union, a Muslim family, a Hindu daughter-in-law being allowed to do a Hindu ritual.

Nothing but promotion of love jihad on the same day Rahul Rajput was killed #BoycottTanishq https://t.co/QD46Sa32fB

— Sanjay Dixit ಸಂಜಯ್ ದೀಕ್ಷಿತ್ संजय दीक्षित (@Sanjay_Dixit) October 12, 2020

.@TanishqJewelry :

Why are you showing a Hindu "daughter in law" to a muslim family and glorifying it?

Why dont you show a Muslim daughter in law in your ads with a Hindu family?

Look like you are promoting #LoveJihad & favouring a particular Faith only...#BoycottTanishq

— khemchand sharma #IStandWithFarmersBill (@SharmaKhemchand) October 12, 2020

Some users pulled up older campaign creatives of Tanishq that featured actress Deepika Padukone, stating that Tanishq's association with her was one more reason to boycott the brand. Padukone has been caught in the controversy surrounding Sushant Singh Rajput's death and has been criticised for allegedly consuming drugs.

One more reason to boycott #BoycottTanishq pic.twitter.com/tWrmcYfrQx

— Anurag Bisht (@ianuragbisht) October 12, 2020

However, the most liked tweet was a mic-drop moment from a user named Sandeep Singh, who pointed out that the users who are making the hashtag trend may not be able to buy from the brand on a regular basis.

People are trending #BoycottTanishq as if they buy jewelry from them on daily basis.

— Sandeep Singh (@sandeep90s) October 12, 2020