Jawed Habib said:”My only religion is scissors. Sentiments have been hurt and I apologise.”

Renowned hair stylist Jawed Habib has apologised for a newspaper advertisement allegedly insulting Hindu Goddess Durga which was published in Kolkata two days ago. In a video posted on a micro blogging site, Twitter, Habib said, “One of our partners released the advertisement in Kolkata without our permission. I have been working for 25 years. My only religion is scissors. Sentiments have been hurt and I apologise.” The advertisement featured a cartoon of Hindu Gods sitting in a salon with a caption: “Gods too visit Jawed Habib saloon,” as per The Indian Express.

Earlier this morning, an angry mob attacked a Jawed Habib salon in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh and vandalised the property over the use of Hindu gods’ caricature in one of his advertisements. Police said the mob was led by workers of the Hindu Jagran Manch, who attacked the beauty salon in Motinagar in the district neighbouring the state capital. As the mob vent its ire on the salon, some customers were trapped inside, as per IANS. Regional Secretary of the Hindu Jagran Manch, Vimal Dwivedi said that ‘sacrilege of Hindu gods wouldn’t be tolerated,’ as per Hindustan Times.

Watch the video in which Jawed Habib apologised:



A case was also registered against the hair stylist Saidabad police station. A complaint under IPC section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) was registered based on a complaint by an advocate K K Sagar. Police said a complaint was lodged against Habib and his chain of salons for issuing an advertisement that allegedly insulted Hindu Gods.

Here is the apology note of Jawed Habib :

K Sattiah, an Inspector, has said they would consult experts to seek legal opinion, if necessary, send a notice to Habib. He said, “I came to know Habib has already issued an apology in writing and also posted a video online apologising for the advertisement. We will take legal opinion and see how to proceed,” as per IE.

Jawed Habib Hair and Beauty Limited also posted a note on social media stating: “We never ever intended to hurt the sentiments of any community. It was done without knowledge of the company by some local people in West Bengal. We undertake to remove all such advertisement material from the media. If our ad campaign had inadvertently hurt anyone’s sentiments we apologise for that to the public at large.”