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| Gandhi-Bot Beer .indiatoday.in |
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| Gandhi-Bot Beer ranklinliquors.wordpress.com |
Mahatma Gandhi, remembered across the world as an apostle of peace, simplicity and moral discipline, is often invoked in Indian political debates and controversies. Yet one of the strangest and most unexpected controversies involving his name occurred not in India, but in the United States. A small brewery in Woodbridge, Connecticut, called the New England Brewing Company, produced a highly hopped beer and named it “Gandhi-Bot”. The beer can displayed a computer-generated caricature of Mahatma Gandhi with one hand raised, as if blessing the drinkers. What made the matter more sensitive was that Gandhi had always opposed consumption of alcohol and preached strict self-restraint and moral strength. Associating him with an alcoholic drink appeared to many as an insult to his ideals, his legacy and the sacrifices he made during India’s struggle for independence.
The brewery had introduced the beer nearly five years before the controversy erupted. As part of their marketing line, they claimed that the drink was fully vegetarian and “an ideal aid for self-purification and the seeking of truth and love”. They described Gandhi-Bot as an intensely hopped “double India Pale Ale” made with a blend of three American hops, a style originally created to satisfy British settlers in colonial India who longed for beer that could withstand long journeys. Although the brewery was a respected craft beer maker on the American East Coast, and one of the few to sell beer in cans, the marketing strategy was seen by many as insensitive and commercially exploitative.
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| Gandhi-Bot Beer indiatvnews.com |
It was only in late 2014 that Indian-origin residents in the United States noticed Gandhi’s image on the beer cans. Indo-American activists, including Nevada-based community leader Rajan Zed, issued public statements condemning the brewery for trivializing a global icon of peace. Words such as “disrespectful”, “hurtful” and “in poor taste” appeared frequently in newspaper reports and petitions. Many argued that Gandhi never preached violence, did not drink, and devoted his life to moral upliftment and national freedom. Families of freedom fighters and Indian community organisations wrote letters to the company urging them to stop using Gandhi’s name and caricature.
The matter soon reached India, where a petition was filed in a Hyderabad court. The complaint argued that using Gandhi’s image on alcohol cans violated the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, and provisions of the Indian Penal Code related to inflammatory or offensive representation. Faced with legal challenges, growing protests and widespread disapproval, the New England Brewing Company issued a public apology. They insisted that no disrespect was intended, but out of sensitivity to public sentiment, they eventually withdrew the name from the market and announced that the beer would be renamed. The controversy showed how deeply Gandhi’s image is protected and revered, and how commercial use of national icons can quickly cross boundaries of cultural respect. US brewery finally rebranded ale after outcry over use of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi's name and image though Gandhi-bot beer might have touched the heart and soul of Yankees and southern dudes.
