Neiman Marcus, the luxury fashion retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, has resumed selling cufflinks shaped like the Hindu deity Ganesha, according to the President of the Universal Society of Hinduism, Rajan Zed.
These cufflinks, priced at $940, were previously discontinued in April 2021 following protests from the Hindu community, who deemed them “highly inappropriate.” Zed, who led the 2021 protest, issued a statement on December 25th from Nevada, expressing disappointment over the product’s reintroduction.
Zed emphasized that Lord Ganesha is a deeply revered figure in Hinduism, worshipped in temples and home shrines, and should not be trivialized as a fashion accessory. Lord Ganesha is meant to be worshipped, not used to “secure the cuffs of dress shirts or misused as a fashion statement,” he stated.
Zed called on Neiman Marcus to immediately withdraw the “Ganesha Cufflinks,” from sale and issue a formal apology to the Hindu community. He noted that these Made-in-USA cufflinks, described as “hand-painted in a process that takes seven hours” and “sterling silver plated with rhodium,” were available for purchase on the retailer’s website.
The Hindu leader also criticized Neiman Marcus, which claims to be “in pursuit of the extraordinary since 1907,” for engaging in what he termed “religious appropriation, sacrilege, and belittling a sacred Hindu deity.”
While affirming Hindus’ support for free artistic expression and speech, Zed underscored the sanctity of faith and the pain caused by its trivialization. “Inappropriate usage of sacred Hindu deities, concepts, symbols, or icons for mercantile greed or other agendas is not okay, as it hurts the Hindus,” he explained. In Hinduism, Lord Ganesha is worshipped as the God of wisdom and the remover of obstacles, traditionally invoked before significant undertakings.
