WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Republican party has apologised to the Hindu community, after a newspaper advertisement featuring Lord Ganesha, intended to win their support in Texas ended up offending them. The advertisement, on the occasion of the ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’ festival, included the image of Lord Ganesha with the text, “Would you worship a donkey or an elephant? The choice is yours”.
The elephant is the party symbol of the Republicans. The Indian-American community has described the political advertisement of the Grand Old Party as “offensive”. The party’s county unit, Fort Bend County Republican Party which published the ad, apologised and clarified that it “was not meant to disparage Hindu customs or traditions in any way”.
An advocacy group, the Hindu-American Foundation, called on the Fort Bend County Republican Party to apologise for the advertisement about the celebration of the ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’ festival.
“While we appreciate the Fort Bend County GOP’s attempt to reach out to Hindus on an important Hindu festival, its ad - equating Hindus’ veneration of the Lord Ganesha with choosing a political party based on its animal symbol - is problematic and offensive,” said Rishi Bhutada, HAF Board Member and Fort Bend County resident. Using religious imagery in order to explicitly appeal for political support should best be avoided by any political party, he said. “The implication regarding the worship of animals as gods was also disheartening to the HAF leaders, as that is a common misconception taught in US schools, which frequently ends up becoming a taunt used to bully Hindu students,” the HAF said.
Bhutada also called upon the Fort Bend County Republican Party to apologise for the offensive and inaccurate reference, not to run the advert again and for elected officials in the County
An advocacy group, the Hindu-American Foundation, called on the Fort Bend County Republican Party to apologise for the advertisement about the celebration of the ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’ festival.
“While we appreciate the Fort Bend County GOP’s attempt to reach out to Hindus on an important Hindu festival, its ad - equating Hindus’ veneration of the Lord Ganesha with choosing a political party based on its animal symbol - is problematic and offensive,” said Rishi Bhutada, HAF Board Member and Fort Bend County resident. Using religious imagery in order to explicitly appeal for political support should best be avoided by any political party, he said. “The implication regarding the worship of animals as gods was also disheartening to the HAF leaders, as that is a common misconception taught in US schools, which frequently ends up becoming a taunt used to bully Hindu students,” the HAF said.
Bhutada also called upon the Fort Bend County Republican Party to apologise for the offensive and inaccurate reference, not to run the advert again and for elected officials in the County
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