December 5, 2013
American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD), sponsored by World Hindu Council of America (VHPA) has launched a protest campaign against “Whip In” a restaurant and bar in Austin, TX, USA for caricaturing Hindu deities to sell alcohol.
AHAD has found the imagery and labels used by Whip In to brand its ales,
- Saraswatisaison
- Lakshmi Hefe
- Parvati Pale Ale
- RadhakrishnaWit
- the Ganesale
- the Kalidurgale
- the Gayatribrews
- Gayatrigrowlers
to have direct connotation to the names of the most sacred Hindu deities (representation of Hindu God and Goddess), Saraswati, Parvati, Gayatri, Kali and Durga, Rama, Krishna and Ganesha. The images used on the alcohol bottles as depicted on your website indicate that you clearly intend to make this connection.deplores the use of Hindu images and sacred names to sell a product that is irrelevant to Hindu spiritual practices. This caricature of Hindu deities to promote alcohol is abusive commercial use of Hindu deities and symbols and scriptures. It denigrates the Hindu dharma and hurts the sentiments of its practitioners.
AHAD invites the Hindu community to register its protest by signing the petition to the bar and restaurant owner at:
Ajay Shah, Director of American Hindus Against Defamation said, “We strongly request that Whip In remove the Hindu images and names from its branding immediately and apologize to the Hindu community for hurting their sentiments.”
Abhaya Asthana, President of World Hindu Council of America invited Hindu organizations, temples and individuals to sign on to the petition to protest Whip In, “Hindu community has endured abusive use of its Gods, Goddesses and sacred symbols for too long. I request Hindus from across the world to sign on to this protest,” stated Shree Asthana. AHAD is the world’s first and foremost organization to take up issues pertaining to Hindu defamation. AHAD has successfully worked to stop abuse of Hindu images and symbols in music albums, movies, television shows, events, product branding etc.
VHPA is of one of the oldest umbrella Hindu organizations in North America. For more information about VHPA, please visit vhp-america.org