Indians outraged by beer named after Hindu monkey god Hanuman

Indians are furious after discovering that a Cambodian brewery has named its flagship lager after a Hindu deity.

Hanuman Premium Lager made by Hanuman Beverages reportedly became available in India several months ago, but has since faced criticism from Indian netizens after a tweet sparking outrage went viral.

A social media storm about the brand erupted following tweets that drew attention to promotional materials placed outside an Indian shop. 

According to the Twitter storm, the fury stems from the perceived religious insult which has now led to the Indian embassy being encouraged to reach out to the Cambodian authorities to “get the brand name and image changed”.

Some Twitter users backed the demand, querying the brewer’s decision and reminding that, despite Cambodians knowing who Hanuman was, it was still insulting to the Hindu religion. However, according to most Cambodians, the name is not insulting as the character was “mythological”.

One user stated: “Hanuman is a mythological character. I don’t see anything wrong with this. There are many alcohol companies named after Greek mythological characters.”

Hanuman, a key character in Ramayana, is revered both in Cambodia and India, despite the backlash.

Hanuman Beverages has not faced any domestic fury and, according to CEO Chas Geschke, there will be “more products in the near future to meet the needs of customers”.