Online shopping platform Meesho is facing backlash for selling a T-shirt depicting Lawrence Bishnoi as a ‘hero’. The listing has sparked outrage among social media users who are criticizing Meesho for selling products that glorify criminal figures on its platform.
The issue was first highlighted by film maker Alishan Jafri @alishan_jafri who shared a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) with images of the Lawrence Bishnoi t-shirt listing on Meesho. He wrote “People are literally selling gangster merchandise on platforms like @Meesho_Official and Teeshopper. This is just one example of India’s latest online radicalisation.”
He shared photos of the T-shirt with Lawrence Bishnoi’s picture, with some including the word “gangster.” One such photos read “The Real Hero”. These t-shirts are selling for price as low as Rs 166.
Take a look at the Meesho’s Lawrence Bishnoi ‘hero’ t-shirt here
In a series of posts, the user showed a listing of other t-shirts with notorious people’s photos on them. In one such post, he wrote “apart from Lawrence, you can also buy Durlabh Kashyap t-shirts.” “At a time when the police and NIA are struggling to stop youths from joining gang crime, social media influencers are making quick money by promoting gang content and glorifying gangsters,” he added.
What social media users said
Commenting on the post, one user said “Shame on Meesho and similar websites. Shame.” Another user commented “So Meesho loves gangsters and promotes them on kids’ apparels. Wow!”.
“This should be stopped, we can’t encourage the younger generation to think of this gangster as heroes,” commented a third.
Another replied “Meesho should be de-platformed.” Another user said “This gangster culture will destroy India”.