[PICTURES] 'Offensive' Kartarpur fashion shoot causing controversy

[MenInG]

A clothing brand recently came under fire after an alleged photo shoot at the Kartarpur Corridor. The shoot was pointed out by prominent Indian Sikh journalist, Ravinder Singh Robin. In the aforementioned shoot, a model can be seen bareheaded, posing for the camera, compromising the sanctity of the place.

"Modelling bareheaded for ladies' attire, in the premises of Gurdwara Sri Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan, by a Lahorite woman," the journalist tweeted. "[This] has several hurt the religious sentiments of Sikhs. Further, the pictures were uploaded on social media." Ravinder went on to tag PM Imran Khan and the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Pakistan.

The furore over the pictures soon took over social media as many called out the brand and the models for being insensitive towards Sikhs.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa, the President of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management committee, too, condemned the act. "Modelling at Sri Kartarpur Sahib is desecration. Pakistan court issued arrest warrant of star who did dance video at Mosque; same must be done against this woman from Lahore as an example of treating all religion at par." He added, "Otherwise, any talk of respect for Sikhism is hollow."

In another tweet, he Manjinder commented, "Such behaviour and act at the pious place of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji is totally unacceptable! Can she dare to do the same at her religious place in Pakistan? Imran Khan and the government of Pakistan should take immediate action to stop this trend of treating Sri Kartarpur Sahib as a picnic spot by Pakistani people."

Another user wrote, "Extremely disappointed not only me but the whole Sikh community at this kind of clothing brand shoot inside Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib."

An editor at India Today shared, "[Is] Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara just a prop for the Pakistanis? Is this the following of rules? Pakistani model without her head covered with her back to Gurdwara Sahib?"

"This is unacceptable. These unethical practices will not be tolerated. Sometimes, it's their Tiktok stars and the other times it's their fashion industry," said another user.

"Apologies, sir. In Pakistan, these social media stars and influencers have lost their minds. They have disrespected several other religious places (including Faysal mosque) like this," penned another one. "I hope the government takes notice of this. No one should be allowed to disrespect anyone’s religious places."

Soon after the backlash, Asher Mashwani, Focal person to CM Punjab, addressed the matter and wrote, "Forwarded to concerned authorities for legal action."

The clothing brand has now issued a clarification on the matter. The Instagram page has since taken down the controversial posts and released a statement.

"The pictures posted on our accounts are NOT part of any shoot done by Mannat Clothing. These pictures were provided to us by a third-party (blogger) in which they were wearing our dress. Please note that Mannat has absolutely NO role in deciding how and where the pictures were taken," the statement read. "However, we accept our mistake that we should not have posted this content and we apologise to every single person who was offended by this. All the holy places are very sacred to us."

The statement concluded, "The pictures and posts have been removed from all our media channels. Again, we apologise wholeheartedly for hurting the public sentiment. Believe us when we say we had no such intention."

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2331585/offensive-kartarpur-fashion-shoot-irks-many

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Punjab Police are investigating all aspects related to this incident and strict legal action will be taken against responsible. Management of concerned brand & model are being investigated. Worship places of all religions are equally respectable.<a href="https://twitter.com/MashwaniAzhar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MashwaniAzhar</a> <a href="https://t.co/HLqwRKmOKY">https://t.co/HLqwRKmOKY</a></p>— Punjab Police Official (@OfficialDPRPP) <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficialDPRPP/status/1465266008986374147?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[reversehook]

These people should always look carefully into what they are doing and are endorsing knowingly or unknowingly.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Prob shouldn't have but she's hardly naked. More important things in the world to worry about for Sikhs.

 

[MenInG]

Prob shouldn't have but she's hardly naked. More important things in the world to worry about for Sikhs.

Would you like this in front of The Kaaba?

 

[Giannis]

Disrespectful of Sikhism.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Would you like this in front of The Kaaba?

Is it comparable?.

This is blasphemy and there was near silence

https://www.opindia.com/2021/10/pak...for-shooting-a-song-at-wazir-khan-mosque/amp/

 

[James]

Kartarpur Sahib photoshoot row: India summons Pakistani Charge d’Affaires, highlights 'lack of respect' for other faiths.

MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi concluded saying it was further conveyed that India expects Pakistani authorities to sincerely investigate this matter and take action against those involved.

New Delhi: India on Tuesday summoned Pakistani Charge d'Affaires to convey its deep concern over the controversial photoshoot at the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.

During a press briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated, "Pakistani Charge d’Affaires was summoned today to convey our deep concern at the incident of desecration of the sanctity of Gurudwara Shri Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur by a Pakistani model and a clothing brand."

He said the Pakistani side was conveyed that this reprehensible incident has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Sikh community in India and worldwide.

"Such incidents of desecration and disrespect of places of religious worship of minorities in Pakistan highlight the lack of respect for the faith of these communities," he added.

Bagchi concluded saying it was further conveyed that India expects Pakistani authorities to sincerely investigate this matter and take action against those involved.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan model, Sauleha issued an apology to people for unintentionally hurting their sentiments after facing backlash over her bareheaded photo at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.

On her Instagram account, she wrote, "Recently I posted a picture on Instagram that was not even a part of a shoot or anything. I just went to Kartar Pur to learn about the history and know about the Sikh community. It was not done to hurt anyone sentiments or anything for that matter."

"However, if I have hurt anyone or they think that I dont respect there culture. I am sorry. And I just saw people taking pictures and I took a lot of Sikh pictures too there. I wouldn't have done it at the first place," she wrote further.

For the unversed, on Monday, Sauleha received a lot of flak on social media after her pictures posing without a headcover inside the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara went viral.


Source: TimesNowNews.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Pakistan stumping themselves with their one-upmanship

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Just a dumb woman trying her utmost best to get attention.

Internet is giving it to her.

 

[PakLFC]

Totally ignorant and foolish woman who should be heavily fined for such an insensitive act. What makes me even angrier is she then apologises saying she did not know it would hurt the feelings of the Sikh community, of course she knew this. Now if a few Sikh's did this in front of some Masjid in India such cheap models would start crying foul play and the Mullah's would start burning cars!.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Totally ignorant and foolish woman who should be heavily fined for such an insensitive act. What makes me even angrier is she then apologises saying she did not know it would hurt the feelings of the Sikh community, of course she knew this. Now if a few Sikh's did this in front of some Masjid in India such cheap models would start crying foul play and the Mullah's would start burning cars!.

I'm sure they do. This isn't a story

 

[street cricketer]

I'm sure they do. This isn't a story

Well the Kartarpur shrine is not any shrine for the Sikhs. It is the 2nd or maybe even the holiest shrine in Sikh belief. The equivalent would be a non muslim woman doing a fashion shoot before the mosque in Mecca or Prophet's mosque in Medina.

Well we aren't going to see that happening anytime soon because as far as I know, non muslims are prohibited from entering those sites.

 

[Itachi]

People just need to respect the sentiments of others whether be it religion or other sectors. Some rules won't be written but it's just a common sense.

The ad agency wanted publicity and it got one. It may well be intentional. Any publicity is a good publicity.

 

[PakLFC]

Well the Kartarpur shrine is not any shrine for the Sikhs. It is the 2nd or maybe even the holiest shrine in Sikh belief. The equivalent would be a non muslim woman doing a fashion shoot before the mosque in Mecca or Prophet's mosque in Medina.

Well we aren't going to see that happening anytime soon because as far as I know, non muslims are prohibited from entering those sites.

...and rightly so. I'd have no problem if people from other faith's disallowed non believers to enter their most revered sites too.

 

[street cricketer]

...and rightly so. I'd have no problem if people from other faith's disallowed non believers to enter their most revered sites too.

Well in this case, the shrine is under the control of the "non believer" and it's upto the non-believer to ban themselves from visiting the shrine.

 

[RajBan]

This is not a big deal at all as long as she has not broken any rules. The sensitivity is always subjective and we can't let that rule our thoughts or influence law and order. As long as she is not explicitly making a disrespectful gesture or comment, people can cry all day long but it hardly matters. There is always some individuals who is uber sensitive unless it matches with their way of living.

However she is likely dumb or maybe cunning enough to make a marketing out of this outroar. As some posters rightly pointed out she probably also lacks the moral courage to do something similar infront of a popular mosque in Pakistan(again it should not be a big deal ideally if the mosque is on the backdrop of a photoshoot) as she knows very well the right wing in that region will take her life .

 

[cricketjoshila]

Will this attract blasphemy laws?

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Will this attract blasphemy laws?

How and why?. She's not posing undressed!

 

[JaDed]

This is not a big deal at all as long as she has not broken any rules. The sensitivity is always subjective and we can't let that rule our thoughts or influence law and order. As long as she is not explicitly making a disrespectful gesture or comment, people can cry all day long but it hardly matters. There is always some individuals who is uber sensitive unless it matches with their way of living.

However she is likely dumb or maybe cunning enough to make a marketing out of this outroar. As some posters rightly pointed out she probably also lacks the moral courage to do something similar infront of a popular mosque in Pakistan(again it should not be a big deal ideally if the mosque is on the backdrop of a photoshoot) as she knows very well the right wing in that region will take her life .

She did break the rule of not covering her head, photoshoot probably isn’t an issue its the head covering.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

She did break the rule of not covering her head, photoshoot probably isn’t an issue its the head covering.

Who paid for the marble and is she stepping on the supposed place of sanctity?

 

[KingKhanWC]

Would you like this in front of The Kaaba?

Plenty take photos in the front of the Kaaba.

Sikh women themselves take photos in front of this place of worship.

India to call Pakistani commissioner is pathetic and another weak attack on Pakistan. While India troops are abusing girls in Kashmir.

 

[JaDed]

Plenty take photos in the front of the Kaaba.

Sikh women themselves take photos in front of this place of worship.

India to call Pakistani commissioner is pathetic and another weak attack on Pakistan. While India troops are abusing girls in Kashmir.

Without covering their heads?

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Without covering their heads?

You can't force non adherents of your belief to follow them!

 

[PakLFC]

Well in this case, the shrine is under the control of the "non believer" and it's upto the non-believer to ban themselves from visiting the shrine.

This is because Pak is a non Sikh country. I believe it is the Pak Sikh's who control the shrine too.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Without covering their heads?

Is it mandatory to cover ones head in the Sikh religion?

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Is it mandatory to cover ones head in the Sikh religion?

Inside the premises of Gurudwara yes.
For both males and females. If you don’t they will request you and if you don’t have anything to cover your head they will give you a head cloth as well.

 

[street cricketer]

You can't force non adherents of your belief to follow them!

It's why it's best to limit the non believers from entering their holiest shrine like muslims do in Mecca.

Otherwise you will always have this issue - why should I follow your religious belief, you can't force me to do it, etc etc..

 

[JaDed]

Is it mandatory to cover ones head in the Sikh religion?

In gurudwaras yes, usually it’s always put outside the building(entrance) along with covering available most often for free outside the gurudwara . (for men and women)

Not sure how she was even allowed to enter ,I have in my entire life never seen this happen in a Gurudwara.

 

[JaDed]

You can't force non adherents of your belief to follow them!

True I agree.. but then why go there?

 

[James]

<b>Pakistan rejects India's 'mischievous spin' given to Kartarpur photoshoot.</b>

— MOFA says an Indian diplomat was summoned to convey that incident was swiftly addressed and clarified.

— Says it was conveyed that Pakistan accords highest primacy to the rights of the minorities, sanctity of religious places, revered sites.
Pakistan urged Indian authorities to focus on ensuring effective protection of their own minorities and places of worship.

—Pakistan has summoned a senior diplomat from the High Commission for the Republic of India to convey the "categorical rejection" of India's response to the recently surfaced incident involving a Pakistani model who posed bareheaded at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Pakistan "categorically rejects the mischievous spin given by India" to the matter.

It was conveyed to the Indian diplomat that the incident was swiftly addressed and clarified, stating that the "Government of Pakistan accords the highest primacy to the rights of the minorities. Sanctity of religious places and revered sites of every community is ensured in the country”.

"Given its systematic marginalisation and brutalisation of minorities, India has no locus standi to even feign concern for minorities elsewhere."

Pakistan urged the Indian authorities to focus on ensuring effective protection of their own minorities and places of worship from repeated instances of desecration, hate crimes and mob lynching in the country.

On Tuesday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had issued a statement, saying that Pakistan's second senior-most official was summoned to covey "deep concern at the incident of desecration of the sanctity of Gurudwara Shri Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur by a Pakistani model and a clothing brand."

"This reprehensible incident has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Sikh community in India and worldwide. Such continued incidents of desecration and disrespect of places of religious worship of the minority communities in Pakistan highlight the lack of respect for the faith of these communities," The News reported the statement as saying, citing an India-based news agency.

Meanwhile, the clothing brand and the model issued separate apologies over the matter.

The clothing brand responded by deleting the pictures that had sparked outrage from its social media handles.

"The pictures posted on our accounts are NOT part of any shoot done by Mannat Clothing. These pictures were provided to us by a third-party (blogger) in which they were wearing our dress. Please note that Mannat has absolutely NO role in deciding how and where the pictures were taken. However, we accept our mistake that we should not have posted this content and we apologise to every single person who was offended by this. All the holy places are very sacred to us. The pictures and posts have been removed from all our media channels. Again, we apologise wholeheartedly for hurting the public sentiment. Believe us when we say we had no such intention," an Instagram post by the designer said.

"Recently, I posted a picture on Instagram that was not even a part of a shoot or anything. I just went to Kartarpur to learn about the history and know about the Sikh community. It wasn’t done to hurt anyone’s sentiments or anything for that matter,” the Pakistani model was quoted as saying in media reports.

“However, if I have hurt anyone or they think that I don’t respect their culture, I am sorry,” she added.

Source: Geo TV.

 

[KingKhanWC]

In gurudwaras yes, usually it’s always put outside the building(entrance) along with covering available most often for free outside the gurudwara . (for men and women)

Not sure how she was even allowed to enter ,I have in my entire life never seen this happen in a Gurudwara.

Inside the premises of Gurudwara yes.
For both males and females. If you don’t they will request you and if you don’t have anything to cover your head they will give you a head cloth as well.

Interesting, wonder why Sikh women don't cover their head outside. Can you show me some holy texts or verdicts regarding dress code for women?

 

[PakLFC]

Where are the Mullah brigade now? No condemnation when it comes to desecrating non Muslim places of worship. They will say the "kafir's" deserve this.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Where are the Mullah brigade now? No condemnation when it comes to desecrating non Muslim places of worship. They will say the "kafir's" deserve this.

What does that even mean?

 

[PakLFC]

What does that even mean?

Simple. It means that why do the Madrassa students never stand up for minorities? Where are these great people when some Sri Lankan is burnt to death in Pakistan?

 

[NishanKonar]

Interesting, wonder why Sikh women don't cover their head outside. Can you show me some holy texts or verdicts regarding dress code for women?

Ideally all Sikh ( and Hindu ) women should keep their head covered whenever they are in any public place. Its called ghoonghat

But of course most women do not follow these rules outside temples / gurudwaras - especially the younger generation

 

[KingKhanWC]

Ideally all Sikh ( and Hindu ) women should keep their head covered whenever they are in any public place. Its called ghoonghat

But of course most women do not follow these rules outside temples / gurudwaras - especially the younger generation

Most don't follow it yet this girl should?

Do you have any evidence from scripture regarding dress code for Sikh women?

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Most don't follow it yet this girl should?

Do you have any evidence from scripture regarding dress code for Sikh women?

I thought it was love for all yet imposes dress code on non adherents in their own land?

 

[KingKhanWC]

I thought it was love for all yet imposes dress code on non adherents in their own land?

It was only a couple of years ago, Sikh women were allowed to sing hymns in the Golden Temple. Before they were banned.

 

[Dingolfy]

Most don't follow it yet this girl should?

Do you have any evidence from scripture regarding dress code for Sikh women?

Don’t most Muslim women shun from covering their head especially in the West?
Personally, I believe all these rules are silly in this modern age.

 

[street cricketer]

Ideally all Sikh ( and Hindu ) women should keep their head covered whenever they are in any public place. Its called ghoonghat

But of course most women do not follow these rules outside temples / gurudwaras - especially the younger generation

Goonghat isn't a part of south indian culture. I have mostly seen it being observed in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and surrounding regions. I did read somewhere that it came into practice only during the islamic rule, but not sure how authentic that was.

 

[mustang]

Ideally all Sikh ( and Hindu ) women should keep their head covered whenever they are in any public place. Its called ghoonghat

But of course most women do not follow these rules outside temples / gurudwaras - especially the younger generation

Been to multiple temples (and churches but irrelevant here) in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka during my short time in India. Never saw women cover their heads in temples in South India. I think what you type is a North Indian version of Hinduism/cultural practice which in turn could have been influenced by Muslim/Arab/Persian cultures given that North India was under muslim rule for much longer than South India which was almost never under any muslim rule (thus maybe a purer strain of Hindu practices in the South).

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

She apologized. And its not like she was in a Bikini or mini skirt, she just did not have a headscarf. Hardly a matter which should involve govt officials getting involved.

 

[RajBan]

She apologized. And its not like she was in a Bikini or mini skirt, she just did not have a headscarf. Hardly a matter which should involve govt officials getting involved.

Should not have been an issue even she was in mini skirt. It is her will. As long as she is not violating any norms of a private property(dresscode within premises, tresspassing etc) , there should not be an issue at all regardless of the backdrop.

 

[Major]

Knowing the Pakistani culture, it is understandable why she committed the mistake.

Anyways she has apologised

 

[Itachi]

Ideally all Sikh ( and Hindu ) women should keep their head covered whenever they are in any public place. Its called ghoonghat

But of course most women do not follow these rules outside temples / gurudwaras - especially the younger generation

Ghoonghat is a localized tradition. In north east region, never seen anyone in Ghoonghat. The women will just bow like Japanese do while addressing elders.

 

[Major]

Plenty take photos in the front of the Kaaba.

Sikh women themselves take photos in front of this place of worship.

India to call Pakistani commissioner is pathetic and another weak attack on Pakistan. While India troops are abusing girls in Kashmir.

Many people might not be aware of this, but alot of people do their Bridal Shoots in Faisal Masjid. Not that it is a bad thing, but as the whole area of the Mosque is made using white marbles, thus if you wear the right color clothes the bridal shoot looks great. Plus, there is a section of the mosque that gives a good background views of the mountains of Islamabad.

One of the reasons why many people of Islamabad get their Nikkahs done in Faisal Masjid is because of the photoshoot there

Yet there are many that will find issue with and from time to time there is a social media outrage.