Following a strong resentment, Tata Westside apologises, withdraws clothes line hurting Jain sentiments in Mumbai, bowing to the religious emotion of the community.
The development came after diamond trader Dharmesh Jhaveri and others shot off angry emails to Tata Westside, taking umbrage at the printing of the revered ‘Navkar Mantra’ on its ladies kurti-suits.
“It’s shocking and disgusting on part of business giant like Tata to fall for such a cheap mindset of printing ‘Navkar Mantra’ kurtis to sell a product to earn,” wrote Jhaveri, who lives in Ville Parle in Mumbai.
It has hurt the sentiments of millions of Jains, he said and demanded an immediate written apology from the company, besides destruction of all stocks of the offensive new clothes line, the launch of which coincided with the ongoing holy ‘Paryushan’ festival.
Tata Westside admitted that they had received complaints pertaining to the ‘content’ of the kurti-suits. “Any sentiments hurt on account of the said kurtis is purely inadvertent and unintended. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused,” an official email from the company said.
The company also announced that it had “forthwith withdrawn” the kurtis from its retail stores.
– Apparel and Textile News, Apparel Talk, Indian Apparel
