The Indian High Commission in Ottawa has urged Canadian authorities to withdraw the “disrespectful depiction of Hindu gods” in the ‘Under the Tent’ project at Toronto’s Aga Khan Museum.
In a press release, the Indian High Commission in Canada said, “We urge the Canadian authorities and the event organizers to withdraw all such provocative material.”
The Indian High Commission also informed that it has conveyed its concerns to the organizers of the event. “Our Consulate General in Toronto has conveyed these concerns to the organizers of the event. We are also informed that several Hindu groups have approached authorities in Canada to take action. We urge the Canadian authorities and the event organizers to withdraw all such provocative material,” read the release.
Please see a Press Released issued by @HCI_Ottawa @MEAIndia @IndianDiplomacy @PIB_India @DDNewslive @IndiainToronto @cgivancouver pic.twitter.com/DGjQynxYJS
— India in Canada (@HCI_Ottawa) July 4, 2022
A Delhi-based lawyer on Monday (July 04) filed a police complaint against Manimekalai over the controversial smoking poster. He said that the objectionable video clip and photo must be banned and removed from the internet on an immediate basis considering the defamatory impact and enrage it would cause to Hindus as it has disparaged the religious beliefs of a particular community.
The controversy began after the poster of Leena Manimekalai’s documentary titled ‘Kaali’ was unveiled. The poster depicted the titular Hindu goddess of destruction smoking a cigarette and clutching the rainbow flag, the international symbol of LGBT.
The All India Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra reacted to the controversy over the movie poster showing Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette. “Kaali to me is a meat-eating, alcohol-accepting goddess. You have the freedom to imagine your goddess. There are some places where whiskey is offered to gods and in some other places it would be blasphemy,” Moitra said.
Kaali, the documentary film at the center of the row, is going viral for all the wrong reasons. Netizens have alleged that the movie’s poster is an insult to the Hindu goddess and hurts religious sentiments.
