We live in a country in which taking offence is the favourite pastime of people.
This time it was the Muslims in Hyderabad who protested against Pampers and burned the nappies because they believe that the cartoon cat on the packet resembles the word ‘Mohammed’.
The people claim that the whiskers, nose, mouth and left eye of the cat on the packet resemble the Prophet’s name in Urdu/Arabic.
Calling out the company for insulting Muslim sentiments, the demonstrators burned the nappies in protest.
Activists from the Islamic group Darsgah Jihad-o-Shahadat filed a complaint against Pampers, an American brand of baby and toddler products owned by Procter & Gamble, at Dabeerpura Police Station in Hyderabad.
The protesters also submitted a letter complaining that the US brand of baby products has ‘hurt the feelings’ of the Muslim community and demanded the product to be banned with an immediate effect.
Procter and Gamble, however, has denied all these claims. A statement released by the company says that the illustration on the packet shows ‘an innocent animated representation of a cat’ and that they would never offend any person or religion intentionally.
A spokesman for Pampers’ owner Procter & Gamble said:
The design on the Pampers Baby Dry Pants shows an innocent animated representation of a cat. It shows a cat’s mouth and whiskers like it is commonly portrayed in drawings and cartoons across the world, especially by little children. The intent behind the use of this cartoon is completely innocent and we would never intend to offend any person, religion or cultural belief.
Come on, India. We have better things to worry about.