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Ajit Solanki / AP
Indians walk past a shop named "Hitler" in Ahmadabad, India, on Aug. 29, 2012. According to reports, the owner has decided to change its name after sparking a controversy.
The owner of a clothing store in western India who sparked a row for naming his shop "Hitler" has decided to change its name, according to reports.
Rajesh Shah, whose store opened last month in Ahmedabad city in the western state of Gujarat, had claimed he only recently learned why the name would offend people.
Shah told The Indian Express newspaper that he decided on Monday to change the shop's name because he was "getting political pressure" to do so.
'Hitler' clothing store in India sparks row
"We received at least 10 calls every day from the U.S., the U.K., Dubai, Germany and Israel," Shah said according to the Express. "It was getting very annoying, as many of these people called at odd hours."
Israel's consul general in Mumbai also asked Indian state officials to intervene, The Associated Press reported.
Shah has said the idea for the shop's name came from a nickname for one of his business partner's grandfather, who was known for his "strict nature."
"It was only recently that we read about Hitler on the Internet," Shah told The Times of India newspaper last week.
Many people in Ahmedabad believe the shop's name was a marketing gimmick, the AP said.
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Leave a Comment:
I agree what the report says at the end...
Come on... The man claims he had no clue about Hitler or what occurred?? I think everyone knows Hitler & what happened!! He claims that the name "came from a nickname for one of his business partner's grandfather." Really??? Did that man's grandfather dot his nickname with a Swastika?? LOL!! I doubt it. I believe it was NOTHING MORE THAN A MARKETING SCHEME!! And it WORKED!!
WHAT exactly worked about it? People now know to avoid being patrons of this store no matter what the name changes too? That's the most idiotic marketing ploy I've ever heard of...
Names can be vilified as long as people remember like Sanduskies Daycare Service or Dahmers Meats.
The swastika is an extremely powerful symbol. The Nazis used it to murder millions of people, but for centuries it had positive meanings. The swastika is an ancient symbol that has been used for over 3,000 years. Until the Nazis used this symbol, the swastika was used by many cultures throughout the past 3,000 years to represent life, sun, power, strength, and good luck. So blame it all on the Nazi's!
Amazing that he also incorporated a swastika into the shop name. I guess his grandfather was also known for his love of ancient cross shapes.
So, this guy didn't know who Hitler was? I don't want to hear anymore crap about how bad American schools are anymore...
Here's one I got a 19 yo neice came to visit and did not know what the Alamo was. What's that about American Schools that I pay a Tax to every year.
I would think American History would be an important part of her school curriculum. Then again, *I* use to read the Encyclopedia for fun. Some people just aren't interested in knowledge, but that isn't just an American trait. It seems to be the MO for the current/upcoming generation.
Free press? Now his store is known through out the world. Not bad for a small store in India. :P
Now his store is known throughout the world?...As a place NOT to shop! And he's known throughout the world as "that freak idiot who opened the Hitler store". You're right...not bad for a small store in India.
Buster2010
denko95
Yes Muslims did fight with Hitler and so did Jews. Six of Hitlers generals were Jews and there were also two full divisions of Jews that fought for Hitler. So learn a little history before saying something is wrong with someones brain.
Buster what history books have you been reading. The government issue of: "World History according to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Islamic Republic of Iran?" or the Aryan Brotherhood's "Annedotes From the Good Old days written by Hienrich Himmler?"
That's got to be the dumbest comment I've seen on one of these forums in a long time. Next you'll be saying the jews ran their death-camps during world war 2.
He must have had plenty of free time on his hands to answer all those phone calls. I can't imagine he had much business. Oh, and if it was some type of marketing ploy, he needs to fire his marketing people ASAP! What an idiot.
hitlers henchmen should have killed hitler.hitler had a lot of health issues and had dark hair,dark eyes and was bowlegged...so much for the aryan race leader...man is not like a plant..that stays where it's put...man moves all over the planet and intermarries and changes names ,countries and allegiances...if you wanted to create a pure race...you'd pretty much have to destroy everyone and start over..there is a lot of recessive genes being carried around out there.,eventually one or two negative ones would pop out.
For anyone with even a little education in todays world not to know who Hitler was and not realize how offensive naming your business after him (complete with the swasticker - although Hitler made it a bad symbol; it does have sanskrit roots and until the Natzi's, never had evil meanings/connotations) would be to any thinking person is beyond me - just goes to prove idiots are idiots - and the owner came across even stupider (if thats possible) by his explanation of why he so named the store - give your partners father our regards, you fool.
(And you have the brass balls to complain about the calls you got - boy, you are stupid - but you are doing wonders to bust the steriotype that all Indians are intelegent - b/c you are a dummy)
Some Eastern Indians are very adept at acting stupid when it behooves them...just look at Nikki Hailey and her mother with that sweat shop business out of India they made lots of money out of....probably employing all their poor relatives at very low wages....lol A teatard like her and then the whole tax evasion routine!
Too bad it wasn't torched!
Yeah, and I believe Hitler was simply a misunderstood genius......HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
He knows what he is doing. He just used the Hitler name to generate a buzz, and it looks like that worked beyond his wildest dreams. At first he pleaded poverty when it came to changing the name of the store, now he's probably raking in so much coin, he could afford to change the name to the store every week if he so desired. That's how you cash in on the Internet. Very shrewd.
No habla English
he can always change it to the Democrat clothing store. Oh, I guess he probably wants to sell the clothes right, not give them away. Forget it.
To paraphrase Samuel Clemens - You can't argue with stupid people, sooner or later they'll lower you to their level and beat you with their experience -
Um...why are people from outside of India concerning themselves over the name of his store? They're not shopping there, nor are they likely to. He should be more worried about what his potential customers think...you know, people who actually live in the area and would actually buy stuff from him?
Either way, it's still amazing the effect Hilter and his swastika have on people even 70 years later. The US military even spent millions of dollars to camouflage barracks buildings when google maps revealed that they looked like swastikas from the air.
The former Hitler store would have been almost certainly torched or demonized had it been named''The Cheney Store,'' replete with apparel and shotgun shells bearing his likeness.
No problem for this guy as he has plenty of names to choose from; Pol Pot, Stalin, Milosevic, Blair, Dubya. I do not see this as a set back for him at all.
Let's not forget LBJ, whom killed 22 TIMES more Americans than George W. Bush!