Stocking stuffers for the Orissa government

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The opposition Orissa Congress Party is pissed off and they ain’t going to take it no more. Surely I am referring to some local matter (perhaps involving bauxite), right? Nope. They are pissed off at the online (mostly T-shirt) store CafePress and want to lodge a formal complaint with the United States government so as to put a stop to the highly offensive insanity I am about to describe. We’ve heard this all before from American Hindus, but this one just escalates the absurdity to a whole new level:

Is that a Nehru in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?

Insensitivity towards foreign cultures and sentiments has plumbed new depths. A US-based online shop has kicked up a storm by printing images of the Tricolour, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru on undergarments.

The Orissa Congress on Saturday condemned the “cheap publicity stunt.” “This is stupid on the website’s part to malign a world leader like Gandhi and a great national icon like Nehru in such a disgraceful fashion,” Opposition leader, J B Patnaik, said, adding, “They should be told through proper channels to stop it. Since the website is US-based, I urge Indians there to lodge strong protests…” [Link]

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p>Did you hear that? “They should be told…to stop it.” I beseech you my fellow Indian Americans to heed the call of this nobody politician from Orissa and demand that we protest against the First Amendment of these United States. If you remain unconvinced then I must point out that the reputations of Gandhi, Nehru, and the Indian Flag are not the only ones at stake. There is far greater disrespect involved here:

Youth also protested against the derogatory portrayal of Bollywood icons, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, on similar products. Now, it’s the turn of freedom fighters to air their grievances against the “offensive attacks on national leaders”. [Link]

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p>I just can’t understand why anyone would be offended by an Indian Flag on a thong?? I guarantee you that any man that uncovers one in the proper context will spontaneously break out in a rendition of Jana Gana Mana (even though I don’t know the lyrics I could hum them). And on the flipside, what girl wouldn’t want to see me strut in a pair of these?

Baby is that Bachchan on yo drawz? That’s hot.

I wonder, perhaps, could it be that there is an election close at hand in Orissa? Let me tell you something politicians of Orissa. This here is America, where freedom rules and our crotches are free to be decorated in any manner we choose. If I choose an aging Bollywood star to adorn my manhood, thats my right! America, F*ck yeah, freedom is the only way!

107 thoughts on “Stocking stuffers for the Orissa government”

  1. What about the image of Jesus on sanitary pads and toilet tissue? Strange how that never strikes someone as fitting a neat market niche? This guy talks about some “nobody politician” in Orissa (a state with a larger population than, say, Louisiana, where students get murdered in broad daylight), but what do you think a famous guy like BAAAAbby JindAAAAl would say about the products suggested in the first sentence of my comment? What would you say, Abhi babay of the land of milk and honey?

    Svaha: We in the US have the right to abuse religious symbols and we regularly do so. India has a law against “hurting religious sentiment” and does not respect free speech. Abhi already pointed out that the same shop that Orissa is protesting has this Jesus stuff. We have shows in the US like Southpark where the creators regularly make fun of Jesus and other religious figures without any civil disturbance. So the Orissa government can protest over the fact that we in the US have an iconoclastic sense of humor, but they should be aware that we don’t have any stupid laws against “hurting religious sentiment” that we can use to give them the “justice” they seek. And what point are you making about lawlessness in the US ? Do you really think violent crime doesn’t happen in India ? Do you contend that the justice system works better in India ? BTW, as much as I dislike Jindal you are going out on a limb suggesting that he should show special consideration for these victims just because they are Indian. This is the job of law enforcement, his job is to give them the funding they need. I am happy that the police in this country are not the hired goon squad of the ruling party as they are in India

  2. Why are Indians so insecure about anything and everything? Are our leaders and icons so frail that they need us to constantly defend them whenever some idiot fashion designer chooses to “defile” them?

    I second that.

    Our deities, leaders, and icons will be worthy of admiration or worship regardless of what people say about them. In the end, who is going to be remembered… random designers and CafePress or Ganesha and Gandhi?

    Reacting like small children doesn’t exactly prove your maturity. If anything, flying off the handle for little things like this, while ignoring cases like the Anjana Mishra case, makes you appear remarkably unworthy of any sort of power.

  4. ndian fieldsman Wasim Jaffer watches a streaker wearing the Indian flag being escorted from the field by police during the first day of the first Test match at the MCG in Melbourne, 26 December 2007.

    I was there 😉 and boy was it fun especially after India had Australia on the ropes.

  5. “I was there 😉 and boy was it fun especially after India had Australia on the ropes.”

    lucky you! i was tempted to call it a night at the lunch break but fortunately i stuck it out to see india make a match of it.

  6. What? An Indian politician is actually voicing an objection publicly to something he finds upsetting? Ridicule/scorn/laugh at/question the enlightenment of/ that corrupt/lazy/ineffectual/cynical/ignorant man.

  7. i m a fashion designer , and as adesigner i want to say , this is a offensive work , a person before designing these type product , which hurts somebody & is not hurting a single person , its a whole nation , is not a fair work.