Gandhi image on liquor bottles of Maka Brewery in Israel courts controversy

Thiruvananthapuram: The use of Mahatma Gandhi’s image on beer cans and bottle by an Israel-based company has courted controversy as Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and India, Narendra Modi have been urged to take up the matter with the liquor manufacturer.

In a letter to the Prime Ministers of both the countries, Eby J Jos, Chairman of Mahatma Gandhi National Foundation, on Sunday said Maka Brewery in the Tefen Industrial Zone (Central Galilee) had made liquor bottles depicting historical leaders.

Terming it as an improper conduct from the manufacturer’s side, the Chairman of Pala-based Foundation in Kottayam in Kerala, said the image used in the liquor bottle has been designed by a person named Amit Shimoni.

“The image is a mockery of Gandhi wearing a cooling glass, a T-Shirt and an overcoat. On his website hipstoryart.com, there are many pictures and products of Gandhi being made a mockery,” Jos said.

Demanding immediate steps to remove Gandhi’s derogatory images from liquor bottles and websites, he said Mahatma Gandhi, known as the father of the nation, is the world’s most admired prophet of non-violence.

In the letter to Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu, he urged them to instruct Maka Brewery to withdraw the liquor bottle labeled with the image of Gandhi at the earliest.

He said Gandhi, who took tough stand against the consumption and promotion of alcohol, once said that at the event of him getting power, he would close all liquor manufacturing and sales in the country in one go. (UNI)