Perturbed Hindus ask for immediate recall of 'Kali Mints'

Upset Hindus have asked for the immediate withdrawal of 'Kali Mints' sold by a Washington-based firm, calling it inappropriate.

A Hindu leader, Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devout.

Zed, who is president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, stressed that the goddess Kali is revered highly in Hinduism and is meant to be worshipped in temples and not used for selling mints.

Hinduism is the oldest and third largest religion in the world with about a billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken lightly, Zed said.

Symbols of any faith, large or small, should not be mishandled, he said.

Meanwhile, Bhavna Shinde of the Forum for Hindu Awakening has termed such usage of Kali as "upsetting and denigrating".

She urged the company that after recalling Kali Mints, it should not make such products which trivialise sacred symbols of faith.