By Rahael Mathew

A few months back, Rihanna was seen donning a Lord Ganesha pendant in a topless photo shared on her social media platform. This stirred many Indians leading to mass retweets and even police complaints . The celebrity took a lot of heat from fans around the world who condemned the choice of the accessory.  As Lord Ganesha is a deity, wearing such a pendant and being topless hurt religious sentiments and led to much uproar. 

While many of us thought we could bury the hatchet, yet another celebrity uploaded a photo wearing a religious symbol as an accessory. Kim Kardashian was known for her bold looks and unique fashion views up until now. But as of today, her fashion choices are being criticized. Her new photoshoot images show her wearing ‘OM’ earrings as a fashion accessory. Many netizens have already begun to tweet their disapproval. 

‘OM’ is a sacred syllable that is deemed as one of Hinduism’s sacred mantras. It is said to be also known as the sound of the universe. It is not surprising that such a misuse of this religious symbol prompted a response from the president of Universal Society of Hinduism. News articles state that Rajan Zed, President,  disapproved of such behaviour and called it ‘hurting’. Symbols like OM are often words used in reverence and submission to the faith and religious context of worship. Using it as a fashion statement is considered a direct insult to religious sentiments. 

Netizens and millennials have also taken to social media condemning the use of religious symbols as fashion accessories. And it is not just Hindu’s but a majority of Indians also disagreed calling for the need for cultural appropriation. 

Let’s hope that moving forward celebrities become more conscious of their choices in fashion accessories especially when the symbolism can hurt the sentiments of cultures.