Ambani’s Reliance pulls trademark application for codename of Pakistan strikes

NEW DELHI: Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani’s film studio has withdrawn an application to trademark the codename for India’s military strikes against Pakistan after a public and political uproar on social media against the move.

In a statement, billionaire Ambani’s conglomerate Reliance said the trademark application was filed inadvertently by a junior person at Jio Studios without authorisation, adding that the phrase ‘Operation Sindoor’ was “now a part of the national consciousness as an evocative symbol of Indian bravery”.

India targeted several sites in Pakistan in the early hours of Wednesday, following the killing of 26 men in held Kashmir. The mention of sindoor -- the red vermilion powder worn by married Hindu women -- appeared to reference the widows left behind by the incident.

Reliance’s statement came hours after some social media users posted screenshots of the Indian government website showing some individuals and Reliance had filed applications for trademark registration.

“This isn’t branding, it’s blatant mockery ... It’s disturbing to see something so serious being reduced to a joke,” posted an X user who identified herself as Archana Pawar.Aniruddh Sharma, a spokesperson for India’s main opposition Congress party, questioned why Ambani was trying to register the trademark for his business gains.

In its application, Reliance said it was for “provision of entertainment; production, presentation and distribution of audio, video”.Bollywood films on India’s previous military operations have been huge hits. In 2019, ‘Uri’, based on India’s claims of ‘surgical strikes’ in Pakistan, was released in 16 countries including India.

Islamabad said at the time there had been no Indian incursion into its territory and there was no retaliation by Pakistani forces.Reliance last year merged its Indian media assets with Walt Disney to create a $8.5 billion entertainment empire, which runs several channels and a streaming platform.