Connecticut Brewery Receives Threats For 'Gandhi-Bot' Beer, Looking for Options to Fix Situation

After getting more criticism and even catching the attention of Conan O’ Brien, Woodbridge based New England Brewing Co. is now looking for the best way to rectify the controversy created by its Double India Pale Ale ‘Gandhi-Bot’.

The brewery apologized last week for the name of the beer after a lawyer filed a petition in the Indian city of Hyderabad saying that the beer insults Mahatma Gandhi, a prominent leader of the Indian Independence Movement. The petition states that the beer can amounts to offenses under the Indian Prevention of Insults to the National Honor Act of 1971.

The brewery apologized to any Indian people that find the Gandhi-Bot label offensive.

On Wednesday, the brewery posted the following message to its Facebook page saying they had received threats and some truly hurtful assumptions had been made about the caring people that work at New England Brewing Co.:

“For nearly five years we’ve been brewing Gandhi-Bot. In those five years we’ve proudly served it to people of all backgrounds. Until this week we’ve never received a single negative comment regarding the label but after a recent article it has come to our attention that the artwork has clearly offended some people.

We are a very small company that is passionate about brewing beer and have never had any intention to offend anyone but rather share what we do with anyone interested. Our intentions come from a positive place. In this case we simply wanted to include the things and people in the world that have inspired us and find a way to incorporate them into the work we do.

If the ideas and the growth of beliefs could only be inspired by individuals that we agreed 100% with, then the truly great ideas would never have been passed down throughout history. We have a great appreciation for the non-violent benevolent ideas that Gandhi taught. The fact that we consume or make alcohol in no way negates the value we find in what he taught.

After threats and some truly hurtful assumptions about the incredibly caring people that work for New England Brewing Company we are working on finding the best way to amend this situation in a manner that both is respectful to those who are offended as well as a way that is manageable for our small company. Thank-you for understanding.”

Comments on the post supported the brewery encouraging the company not to change the name of the beer and to keep selling the product.

The brewery has received criticism from more Indians both in the state and across the world.

Hartford-based lawyer Proloy Das tweeted saying Connecticut should be ashamed to be home to the company.

Mashable reports that Das said the issue was depicting Gandhi as comparable to a robot adding that there was no spin that could be added to the depiction.

State Rep. Prasad Srinivasan, a Glastonbury Republican who is from India told the New Haven Register he was “beyond appalled” at the use of Gandhi’s image.

In its apology posted on the Facebook page, the brewery said that Gandhi’s granddaughter and grandson saw the label and have expressed their admiration of the label. Although it was unclear which grandson and granddaughter the brewery was referring to, descendants of Gandhi have criticized the beer.

The Telegraph reports that Gandhi’s great-grandson Tushar Gandhi is considering legal action against the company for using the image. Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Gandhi’s grandson said the use of the image was “crass and silly”.

While media outlets across the world have been criticizing the beer, the beer caught the attention of late night talk show host Conan O’ Brien who made the following comment about the controversy surrounding the brewery.

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Image Screenshotted from New England Brewing Co. Website