The elephant is the party symbol of the Republicans in the US and on the occasion of the ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’ festival, an advert appeared which included the image of Lord Ganesha with the text, “Would you worship a donkey or an elephant? The choice is yours”. The ad did not go well with the Indian-American community who described the political advertisement of the 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”.
Republican Party Apologises For “Offensive” Ad Featuring Lord Ganesha “We offer our sincerest apologies to anyone that was offended by the ad”, the party later said. An advocacy group, the Hindu-American Foundation (HAF) of Houston, called on the Fort Bend County Republican Party to apologise for the advert 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. “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.
In a letter, chairman Jacey Jetton, the first Korean-American to lead the Fort Bend County Republican Party said: “The ad was meant to be part of the celebration to acknowledge the ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’ festival of September 13”.
“This ad was created with input from those of Hindu faith so that we could properly pay respect to the sacred festival. This highlights the difficulty in outreach that can be positive for one group but not for another in the same community.
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