Missing oneness

Tatas should have stayed firm on the Tanishq ad

The furious backlash on social media that forced Tanishq, the jewellery brand of the Tata-owned Titan Company, to withdraw an advertisement from YouTube, is a sad reflection of the intolerant times Indians live in. The ad, a part of Tanishq’s “Ekatvam”, or “oneness” collection, showed a Muslim family organising a baby shower for their daughter-in-law, presumably Hindu. The delighted but confused young woman turned to her mother-in-law and said, “but that’s not your tradition.” The mother-in-law lovingly replied that keeping daughters happy was a tradition in every home. This portrayal of interfaith harmony, depicted sensitively, was however trolled heavily, with