Hindus are upset at the depiction of the image of Goddess Lakshmi on swimwear reportedly displayed at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW) held in Sydney, earlier this month.
Hindu activist Rajan Zed, in a statement from his base in Nevada, said that it was disturbing to see goddess Lakshmi, who was highly revered in Hinduism, on a swimwear displayed by a model at a fashion show. Lakshmi was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not for pushing swimwear in fashion shows for mercantile greed of an apparel company, Zed argued.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, asked the manufacturer Lisa Blue Swimwear and RAFW organizers to publicly apologize and immediately recall all swimwear which showed Hindu Goddess Lakshmi. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.
Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken lightly. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Rajan Zed stressed.
Lakshmi is the goddess of good fortune and beauty in Hinduism and is also known as ‘world-mother’.
Lisa Blue Swimwear claims to represent “the girl of the future who can be sexy, beautiful, powerful and environmentally aware at the same time”.
RAFW, held this year against the spectacular backdrop of Circular Quay, is claimed to be Australia’s premier fashion industry event providing a platform for designers to showcase their wholesale collections to the world’s most influential buyers and media. Australian Government, New South Wales Government, Hewlett-Packard, and Intel were some of its partners.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal  in India also condemned the prints of Hindu goddess on bikinis and said they will stage a protest.
The group said it will also submit a memorandum to the Australian  High commission, “demanding immediate action against those involved in the designing and conducting the fashion show”.