May 2 Comprehensive Report: Recently, the pictures released by the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine on Twitter caused an uproar in India.
According to RIA Novosti, the Hindustan Times, and other media. The tweet released by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence on April 30 contained two pictures. The first is the smoke column rising after the plane attack. The other is a cartoon created based on the first one. In the thick smoke of the explosion, there is an additional female image. She poses in a pose similar to that of Marilyn Monroe, covering her skirt. And the female figure itself bears a resemblance to the Hindu goddess Kali. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence described the image as a “work of art”.
The “Hindustan Times” stated that this picture is considered to vilify the Hindu goddess. And is “disrespectful to Hinduism”, and the tweet “received strong opposition” and “hurt the feelings of Indians”. Some Indian netizens even called on Indian officials to intervene in this matter. At present, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine has deleted the tweet.
According to RIA Novosti, Gupta, a senior adviser to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India. Also expressed strong dissatisfaction with this. He reposted the screenshot on Twitter and wrote, “Recently, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine asked India for support in New Delhi.” Behind this fake picture is the real face of the Ukrainian government. The Hindu goddess Kali is satirically drawn on a propaganda poster. This is an attack on the feelings of Hindus all over the world”.
Gupta also stated that the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence “mocked the goddess Kali in a way that no other country or foreign government has ever done”. And this move was to convey “shameless hate speech”.
On social media, netizens also commented, “Shocking! The official account of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence actually used an insulting posture to depict the goddess Kali.” Netizens said, “This is not a work of art. Our beliefs are not used as a joke; please remove them and apologise.”
Religious beliefs
Some people thought this move was a “rude display of insensitivity. And ignorance” and asked to delete the post to apologise, “respect for all religious beliefs is very important. And @Ukrainian President Zelensky.
According to foreign media reports, since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis. India has not joined Western countries in condemning or sanctioning Russia. And has maintained close economic and diplomatic ties with Russia.
There is a Twitter netizen who tweeted, “Please pay attention to this slanderous post that slanders the goddess Kali. Please remember this next time Ukraine seeks help and support at the United Nations.”