Hindus urge Czech brewery to not use Ganesha image on beer bottles

Upset Hindus are urging Náchod (Czech Republic) based award-winning Primator brewery to not use Hindu deity Ganesh’s image on its IPA beer bottles, calling it highly inappropriate.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts or symbols for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, indicated that Ganesh was highly revered in Hinduism and he was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be used in selling beer. Moreover, linking a deity with an alcoholic beverage was very disrespectful, Zed added.

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 frivolously. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Rajan Zed noted.

In Hinduism, Ganesh is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking.

Primator IPA, with 6.5% abv, claimed to be top-fermented Anglo-American style golden brown beer with a characteristic bitterness, has won four awards and is available in three sizes.

Primator brewery, whose history goes back to 1871, makes its beer using water coming from the Adršpašsko. Besides Czech Republic; it reportedly has dealers in USA, Brazil, Israel, Russia, South Korea, France, Spain, Great Britain, Sweden, Italy, etc. Josef Hlavatý and Petr Kaluža are Director and Master Brewer respectively.

Náchod, known for its magnificent castle, is a town in the Hradec Králové region of Czech Republic.

Source : From Our Correspondent