Carmaker faces boycott calls in India after Pakistan partner's tweet on IIOJ&K

NEW DELHI: South Korea's Hyundai Motor faced calls on Monday for a boycott of its cars from Indians incensed over a tweet from the account of its Pakistan partner that expressed solidarity for the people of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K), a British wire service reported.

The row erupted on Sunday, a day after Pakistan marked the annual Kashmir Solidarity Day and the posts on behalf of Hyundai's partner Nishat Group appeared on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram commemorating the sacrifices of Kashmiris struggling for self-determination.

Hundreds of social media users in India backed calls for a boycott. Dozens of Indians posted their intention to cancel orders for Hyundai cars in order to punish the company while urging support for homegrown brands like Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra.

The wire agency requested comment from Hyundai’s headquarters in Seoul and from Nishat Group, Pakistan’s largest business conglomerate, but did not receive any immediate response. Hyundai is India’s second-largest car seller after Maruti Suzuki selling close to half a million vehicles in the country last fiscal year and exporting over a million units, making it India’s largest car exporter.

Ashwani Mahajan, an official at the economic wing of the powerful Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) group with close ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government said Hyundai should clarify its position on Kashmir.