Clarks has apologised and ordered its staff to cover up the names on the shoeboxes. They were not meant to offend anyone''. Keery said that the complaints had come from Hindu organisations rather than from customers, but they were concerned not to cause any offence. The Christian equivalent would be to name a line of shoes after Jesus and the Virgin Mary. I am very concerned and have written to Clarks for an explanation.
Mistakes happen and it is a part of human life.
The fact that products are named after gods does not affect the status of the gods.''Clarks is the second shoe company to find itself in difficulties with the men of god. The sports goods manufacturers, Nike, was criticised for using a symbol of Allah on a range of training shoes. And India's former cricket captain, Mohammad Azharuddin, was in trouble with a section of Muslims for autographing a range of Reebok shoes, since he not only associated the name of the prophet with the shoe, but actually inscribed it on the shoe. The ever vigilant Hindus of Leicester have, in the past, protested against other businesses who appear to be showing disrespect to their gods. In 1992, in Leicester, they demanded that a French waste management company remove its initials, SITA, from the sides of its garbage vans, as this spelt the name of a Hindu goddess.