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Swarajya Staff
Oct 29, 2020, 12:47 PM | Updated 12:47 PM IST
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HBO India earned the wrath of Social Media users after it asked people which 'Indian cults' ranging from Aghori Babas to Bhrahma Kumaris are people most afraid of.
"From Aghori Babas to Brahma Kumaris, which Indian cult sends a chill down your spine", tweeted HBO India with a graphic which read "Which Indian cult are you most afraid of".
This tweet by HBO India was posted as part of its promotion for Stephen King's movie Doctor Sleep.
This tweet soon drew sharp reactions from prominent social media users who termed it an outright case of Hinduphobia.
HBO is one of the biggest names in global entertainment.
— Abhishek (@AbhishBanerj) October 29, 2020
HBO tweets asking people which Indian cult they are most afraid of: from Aghoris to Brahma kumaris!!
Can you imagine such extreme prejudice from a global network against any other community?
This is outright Hinduphobia.
Dictionary for you @HBO:
— Smita Barooah (@smitabarooah) October 29, 2020
Machinations: When you pick on benign groups & shift focus from those we should fear
Hinduphobia: Deliberate targeting & maligning of groups who haven't done any harm.
Cowardice: Act with impunity as you know there's no danger of bombs or beheadings pic.twitter.com/g57Co6ZbrK
Noted author and economist Sanjeev Sanyal criticised HBO India and termed its actions as deliberate targeting which violates freedom of religion.
This depiction of a religious group is deliberate targeting. It violates violates freedom of religion enshrined in our Constitution. pic.twitter.com/ndIYmgDcme
— Sanjeev Sanyal (@sanjeevsanyal) October 29, 2020
Following the outrage, HBO India proceeded to delete its tweet but it is yet to issue a statement on the controversy.
Incidentally this episode comes a few days after Eros Now shared a series of obscene posters and messages denigrating the revered Hindu festival of Navratri, as part of its advertisement campaign.
Jewellery brand Tanishq had shared an advertisement depicting an interfaith family with a Hindu Bride in a Muslim family, which was termed by many as a promotion of Love Jihad.