Upset Hindus are urging Shein, Singapore headquartered “global online fashion and lifestyle retailer”, to apologize and immediately withdraw the multipurpose blanket-bedspread carrying image of Hindu deity Lord Ganesh; calling it highly inappropriate.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was shocking to visualize that Shein, for its mercantile greed, was apparently persuading the world to sleep on the image of Lord Ganesh, which Hindus worshipped.

Hindu deity Lord Ganesh, whose image was depicted on Ganesh Multipurpose Blanket Bedspread sold at Shein website, was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not for covering feet and body, eating on, putting feet on, reclining, sitting, sleeping, using as pet bedding, utilizing as beach mat and ground cover, etc.; as was the case for a multipurpose blanket-bedspread. Inappropriate usage of sacred Hindu deities or concepts or symbols or icons for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees; Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, indicated.

Rajan Zed also urged Shein Group and its CEO Xu Yangtian and Executive Chairman Donald Tang to offer a formal apology; besides withdrawing Ganesh Multipurpose Blanket Bedspread.

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, Zed noted.

Rajan Zed further said that such trivialization of Hindu deity was disturbing to the Hindus world over. 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 hurt the followers, Zed added.

Mission of Shein, which serves customers in 160+ countries, is “make the beauty of fashion accessible to all”. Besides Singapore; it also has offices in Los Angeles, São Paulo, Dublin, Guangzhou, Paris, Washington DC, and London. This Ganesh Blanket Bedspread at Shein comes in six sizes and was priced at $10.19-$19.80.

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