A tweet posted by Defence of Ukraine’s official account seemingly depicting Indian goddess Kali morphed over a blast fume outraged netizens in India who have deemed it to be offensive and “Hinduphobic”.
“Work of art,” the official Twitter account posted the picture on Sunday showing the Indian goddess having an upskirt moment similar to Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe.
The official account of Ukraine’s Defence Ministry on Sunday (April 30) posted a photo that appeared to depict the Indian goddess Kali morphed over fumes, infuriating Indian netizens who called it offensive and “Hinduphobic”. The ministry captioned the image as a “Work of art”.
The image resembled Sam Shaw’s iconic Marilyn Monroe “flying skirt” photo from 1954. Netizens were outraged at the Ukrainian ministry for allegedly mocking ‘Hindu culture’ with the caricature of the Hindu goddess. Soon after the backlash the ministry deleted the tweet.
The Indian users were livid with Ukraine for mocking the Hindu culture for the caricaturish depiction as it bore a resemblance to the revered Hindu deity with its blue skin colour, tongue sticking out pose and a wreath of skulls around the neck.
Indian users took to Twitter to express their outrage at the mocking of the Hindu Goddess, and they also wrote on Ukraine Defense’s official page.
“This is why you guys are not getting any support from India. And getting your ass kicked,” a twitter user who goes by the name Mohan Sinha replied to the tweet.
“I am absolutely appalled to see the Ukrainian defence handle mocking Maa Kali, a revered Hindu goddess. This is a gross display of insensitivity and ignorance. I urge them to take down the offensive content and issue an apology. Respect for all religions and beliefs is paramount,” another one, Sudhanshu Singh, tweeted.
An angry user Monica Verma tweeted, “Shocking! Official handle of Ukraine Defense Ministry is portraying Maa Kali in a demeaning pose. This is not a work of art. Our faith is not a matter of joke. Take it down and apologise @DefenceU.
Meanwhile, Kanchan Gupta, who is senior advisor to the Ministry of Broadcast and Information, has reacted on the issue saying, “Recently Ukraine Deputy Foreign Minister was in Delhi soliciting support from India. Behind that fakery lurks the real face of the Ukraine government. Indian goddess Ma Kali has been caricatured on a propaganda poster. This is an assault on Hindu sentiments around the world.”
Many angry Indian Twitter users began tagging CEO Elon Musk and India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar, pleading with them to take strict action.
Russia invaded Ukraine in a so-called special operation on 24 February 2022. So far, thousands of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers and civilians have been killed or injured in over one-year long war. Ukraine has since asked India to support its cause many a times, and India has offered all its sympathies to its government.
However, by publishing such highly objectionable and anti-Hindu tweets, Ukrainian government is showing their evil intentions. Amid such a situation, when Ukraine is trying to gather worldwide support, how they even think about mocking someone’s religious sentiments? This is utterly shameful.
