Ukraine’s Defence Ministry Draws Flak For Posting Morphed Pic Of Goddess Kali On Twitter

Kyiv: The official account of Ukraine’s Defence Ministry on Sunday (April 30) posted a photo that appeared to depict the Indian goddess Kali morphed over fumes, infuriating Indian netizens who called it offensive and “Hinduphobic”.

The ministry captioned the image as a “Work of art”. The image resembled Sam Shaw’s iconic Marilyn Monroe “flying skirt” photo from 1954. Netizens were outraged at the Ukrainian ministry for allegedly mocking ‘Hindu culture’ with the caricature of the Hindu goddess. Soon after the backlash the ministry deleted the tweet.

Indian users took to Twitter to express their outrage at the mocking of the Hindu Goddess, and they also wrote on Ukraine Defense’s official page.

“I am absolutely appalled to see the Ukrainian defence handle mocking Maa Kali, a revered Hindu goddess. This is a gross display of insensitivity and ignorance. I urge them to take down the offensive content and issue an apology. Respect for all religions and beliefs is paramount,” Sudhanshu Singh, another, tweeted.

Many angry Indian Twitter users began tagging CEO Elon Musk and India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar, pleading with them to take strict action.