Chinese, UK Cos, Japanese car dealers also ‘celebrated’ Kashmir Day in Pakistan; Why Hyundai singled out?

Sanjeev K Ahuja On Feb 8, 2022

NEW DELHI: While a South Korean automobile brand in India and Pakistan was caught in the eye of the storm on Sunday for its controversial Twitter post about remembering the “sacrifices of our Kashmiri brothers” on Sunday, some of the companies from China, and the UK, as well as Japanese car dealers and distributors also committed the similar blunder in Pakistan.

But, surprisingly, these companies, dealers, and distributors escaped the social media fury and boycott call by the Indian people. Only Hyundai was caught in the massive crossfire on social media in India. So, why Hyundai only?

These companies included bus and truck manufacturers from China, designer, manufacturer, and supplier of turnkey solutions from the UK, and Suzuki dealers and Isuzu exclusive distributor based in Pakistan.

Some Japanese car dealers immediately brought down their posters after the social media outrage irrupted in India against Hyundai India and Pakistan and escaped the backlash as they swiftly acted before getting noticed by the Indian people’s sharp eyes.

However, despite all this the Japanese automobile company ISUZU’s Trucks, Buses & D-MAX Pickup’s exclusive distributor in Pakistan, Ghanadhara Industries did not remove its post from its official Twitter handle Isuzu Pakistan @IsuzuPakistan till Monday.

“75 years is a long time to realize the importance of freedom and stand up against the struggle of innocent people in Kashmir. #kashmirday #kashmirsolidarityday #pakistan #Kashmir #ISUZU #DMAX #ToTheTop #Toughness #Matchless #IsuzuPakistan #Speed #CarsOfInstagram,” it posted on Twitter on February 5.

Also, some of the audacious Chinese companies like FAW Trucks Pakistan did not remove its controversial Facebook post and continued to carry it even after entire India stood up against this pro-Pakistan stance.

“Together we express our solidarity with the people of Kashmir and always we stand behind the rights of every single Kashmiri.#fawtruckspakistan #KashmirDay,” read its Facebook post.

FAW Trucks, a subsidiary of FAW Jiefang – a truck manufacturing company headquartered in Changchun, Jilin, China, and the largest manufacturer of heavy trucks in China, flashed a Kashmir Solidarity Day’ poster on the intervening night of February 4 and 5 at 12.27 am and continued to maintain it despite large-scale backlash in India.

These Pakistan-based companies of foreign origin and network of dealers not only got special posters made supporting ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’ that Pakistan celebrates on February 5, but they also used the flag of the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which is known as Azad Kashmir in Pakistan.

The famous slogan “Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan” was given by the father of Pakistan and Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, along with hashtags #Kashmir, and #Pakistan, #SolidarityDay were mentioned in the posters.

Hyundai Motor India, as well as the senior diplomats of the Republic of Korea including the Embassy of South Korea in New Delhi, are in a state of shock, and wondering why only Hyundai was being targeted and others escaped the social media outrage.

Sensing the trouble Hyundai Motor India with its headquarters in Gurugram on Sunday issued a statement condemning the controversial post by its Pakistan arm.

“Hyundai Motor India has been committed to the Indian market for more than 25 years now and we stand firmly for our strong ethos of respecting nationalism. The unsolicited social media post linking Hyundai Motor India is offending our unparalleled commitment and service to this great country. India is second home to the Hyundai brand and we have zero-tolerance policy towards insensitive communication and we strongly condemn any such view,” stated a Hyundai Motor India statement.

“As part of our commitment to India, we will continue our efforts towards the betterment of the country as well as its citizens,” it added.