KitKat bars with Hindu gods on the wrappers are withdrawn

KitKat bars with Hindu gods on the wrappers are withdrawn after sparking fury in India at the idea their gods would end up thrown in the bin

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•  A backlash among Hindus in India has forced Nestle to discontinue a range of KitKat bars covered by wrappers with Hindu gods on them
• The range raised concern that the chocolate bars adorned with the images of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Mata Subhadra would inevitably be thrown away in bins and on the streets
• The wrappers were introduced to “celebrate the culture” said Nestle 
• The company has since issued an apology and withdrawn the bar range

A furious backlash in India has forced Nestle to discontinue a range of KitKat bars covered by wrappers with Hindu gods on them. 

The range has sparked worries that the chocolate bars adorned with the images of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Mata Subhadra would inevitably be thrown away in bins and on the streets. 

“Kindly remove the pictures…they might even get stepped on unintentionally,” one Twitter user stated on social media. 

The bars were introduced to “celebrate the culture”, according to Nestle. The company has since issued an apology however, and withdrawn the bar range.  

“We wanted to encourage people to know about the art & its artisans. We do understand the sensitivity of the matter and regret if we have inadvertently hurt people’s sentiments,” Nestle commented on the controversy in a statement. 

The Kitkats that proved offensive to the Hindu population were originally circulated in Odisha, an Eastern province of India where Hindu nationalist sentiment has been growing recently.

The Pattachitra tradition is an art form known for its colourful and vivid adornments and imagery  and often depicts Hindu gods and goddesses

Images like the ones used on the wrapper is part of the Pattachitra tradition, an art form known for its colourful and vivid adornments and imagery. 

Nestle is the latest in a string of companies that have had to apologise to the Hindu community amid growing religious and nationalst sentiment.   

Indian jewellery brand Tanishq issued an apology and withdraw its ad featuring an apparent Hindu daughter-in-law of a Muslim family in 2020. 
  

As India is seeing some of the fastest economic growth in the world, the countrys ruling party BJP seems to become increasingly wary of freedom of expression, commentators have pointed out. 

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