Tanishq is a jewellery brand funded by Titan group in India. Recently, Tanishq released an ad showcasing an interfaith baby shower between a Hindu-Muslim family and the ad received tremendous hate that on twitter. #boycottanishq was trending, people on social media bashed Tanishq as they felt that it promoted “love jihad”. The outrage led to Tanishq withdrawing the video from all their platforms.
Are Interfaith Marriages Illegal In India?
India’s ‘Special Marriage Act 1955‘ deals with interfaith marriage for the people of India and all Indian nationals in foreign countries, irrespective of the religion followed by either party. Marriages formalised under the Special Marriage Act are not governed by personal laws, so technically inter-religion or interfaith marriage is legitimate in our country.
The legality of advertisement isn’t questionable, but the question here is why can’t people accept the fact that it’s neither illegal nor disparaging? Under Article 21 of Indian constitution, every citizen of this nation has the right to life and liberty, moreover, a democratic nation should not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, or any other thing. For liberalism and development of India, we need to think beyond these mere things.
My Opinion On The #BoycotTanishq Incident
By observing these type of incidents, all I can conclude is that people of our nation are so sensitive about their religion that a mere objection or difference of opinion can make them intolerant and and odious. Bashing and defaming ‘Tanishq’ is not a courteous or logical step and it will not cease interfaith marriages. I think that ‘Tanishq’s advertisement’ was just promoting religious harmony and peace. We should also aid the ideology of live and let live. As a matter of religion, one can’t constrain others through coercion into following religious norms and practices.
