Face2News/Nevada (USA)
Dallas (Texas) headquartered luxury fashion retailer “Neiman Marcus”, which removed Hindu deity Ganesha shaped cufflinks in April 2021 after Hindus protested calling these “highly inappropriate”, is again selling these cufflinks.
These $940 Made in USA “Ganesha Cufflinks” were available for purchase at “Neiman Marcus” website, when searched today.
Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, who spearheaded the protest in 2021, in a statement in Nevada today, said that Lord Ganesha was greatly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to secure the cuffs of dress shirts, misused as a fashion statement, thrown around loosely, etc.
Ganesha Cufflinks, “sterling silver plated with rhodium”, are claimed to be “hand painted in a process that takes 7 hours”. Neiman Marcus Group, with history going back to 1907; conducts integrated store, online and catalog operations under the Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Last Call, and Horchow brand names; which includes 43 brick-and-mortar stores.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged Neiman Marcus to immediately withdraw Ganesha Cufflinks from sale and offer formal apology to the Hindu community.
Neiman Marcus, which claims to be “in pursuit of the extraordinary since 1907”; should not be in the business of religious appropriation, sacrilege and belittling sacred Hindu deity. It was deeply trivializing of immensely venerated Lord Ganesha to be flaunted like this; Rajan Zed indicated.
Zed emphasized that inappropriate usage of sacred Hindu deities or concepts or symbols or icons for mercantile greed or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.
Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.2 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken frivolously. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled; Rajan Zed noted.
Zed further said that Hindus were for free artistic expression and speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing it were painful to the followers, Zed added. Rajan Zed was of the view that insensitive handling of faith traditions sometimes resulted in pillaging serious spiritual doctrines and revered symbols.
In Hinduism, Lord Ganesha is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking.
Ganesha Cufflinks, “sterling silver plated with rhodium”, are claimed to be “hand painted in a process that takes 7 hours”. Neiman Marcus Group, with history going back to 1907; conducts integrated store, online and catalog operations under the Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Last Call, and Horchow brand names; which includes 43 brick-and-mortar stores.