Bharat Matrimony receives backlash for its Holi ad; here’s what happened

Bharat Matrimony, an online matrimonial platform, has received severe backlash from social media users for its latest Holi ad. Twitter users have asked the matrimonial site to take down the ad which they deem is anti-Hindu. They have also demanded the company to issue an apology.

“This Women's Day & Holi, let's celebrate by creating safer and more inclusive spaces for women. It's important to acknowledge the challenges that women face in public spaces and create a society that truly respects their well-being - today & forever. #BharatMatrimony #BeChoosy,” tweeted the matrimonial site. 

Bharat Matrimony’s Holi ad shows a woman whose face is coloured with Holi gulal. She then proceeds to clean her face with water. As she cleans her face, bruises and wounds – signs of domestic abuse – appear. The juxtaposition of the bright, coloured face and the bruised face was an attempt by the site to highlight domestic abuse. 

“Some colours don’t wash away easy. Harassment due to Holi leads to immense trauma. Today a third of women who’ve faced this trauma, have stopped playing Holi. This Women’s Day let’s choose to celebrate Holi in a way that is safe and inclusive for women,” run across the screen as the ad ends. 

The Bharat Matrimony Holi ad received a lot of backlash, with one user asking them to take down the ad or face a campaign by Hindus. “I promise I will never recommend your portal to anyone! I will show this post to them, and I am sure they will be convinced why not to use this website! (sic)” said a user, while another said, “It's disappointing to see that you’re equating our festivals with harassment. Let's celebrate diversity and respect each other's culture and faith. Let's spread love, not hate (sic).”

“How dare you link a social message with the Hindu festival of Holi. What has domestic abuse got to do with Holi?” said a user, while another said, “Women harassment is not a festival linked activity but companies like you unnecessarily link such things to Hindu festivals. Stop such gyan on Hindu Festivals.”

This comes on the heels of another Holi ad that received severe criticism and was taken down. Food delivery unicorn Swiggy came under fire recently for a billboard that stated the correct usage of an egg is for an omelette and sunny side-up and not on someone’s head. It had also used the hashtag ‘bura mat khelo’ (don’t play bad), a play on ‘bura mat maano, Holi hai’ (don’t feel bad, it is Holi). The food delivery platform took down the billboard as #HinduPhobicSwiggy trended on social media.

Also read: #HinduPhobicSwiggy takes Twitter by storm ahead of Holi; here’s what happened

Also read: Swiggy takes down controversial 'Holi egg' billboards

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