Will remove religious signs from products, online firm assures DSGMC

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 17

The Redbubble, a global online marketplace for print-on-demand products based on user-submitted artwork, has decided to remove the religious signs and picture of Harmandir Sahib from women garments, particularly skirts, after the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president, Manjinder Singh Sirsa protested against it. The company also assured to get back all such products supplied in the market, a statement issued by the DSGMC said.

In a tweet reply to Sirsa's protest, the online marketing company said these signs were stuck on the garments by some other suppliers. Now all the company products will be taken back from the market and in future, no such sign will be used, the statement said.

The company has also thanked the DSGMC president for making the company aware of these issues.

In the statement, the DSGMC has appealed to the national and international companies not to publish the picture of Harmandir Sahib and religious signs of Sikhs, including "Ek Onkar and khanda and kripan, on their products. This hurts sentiments of the Sikhs.

Sirsa said he came to know through social media that Redbubble has printed the picture of Harmandir Sahib and signs of khanda and kirpan on the skirts. Thereafter, through tweet he protested against this, Sirsa said.

Reacting against his protest, the company said it was done by a supplier. The company also said all such products will be removed from the market, Sirsa said.

The DSGMC president also said, "For the past many years some companies are using religious signs on their advertisements. We condemn this also."

He said a few months ago Guuci Company and Naudstrom showed their company in the shape of dastaar and following protest, they removed dastaar from their advertisements.

I also appeal to all the Sikhs settled in India and abroad to be aware so that no company in future do this," he said.