24 August 2006
A restaurant called 'Hitler’s Cross' has opened in a suburb of the Indian metropolis Mumbai (formerly Bombay). Its owner Puneet Sablok insists that the name and theme of his new eatery were only meant to attract attention, including posters of Adolf Hitler and swastikas outside. “There is no intention to hurt anyone,” Sablok said of his spacious restaurant, which serves pastries, pizza and salad in Navi Mumbai. Mumbai's small Jewish community is outraged, but there have been few others in India to object to Sablok's restaurant. Holocaust awareness in India is limited, with Hitler regarded as just another historical figure. Swastikas are an ancient Hindu symbol, displayed all over to bring luck. There are around 4,500 Jews in Mumbai. “It has really upset many people that a person responsible for the massacre of 6 million Jews can be glorified,” Elijah Jacob, one of the community’s leaders, told AP. Those objecting to the restaurant plan to ask the local government to force a name change, said Daniel Zonshine, Israel’s consul general in Bombay. “Instead of Hitler’s name being an example of extreme evil, this is like giving legitimacy to Hitler. It is not right to advertise his name in public,” Zonshine said. Diners at "Hitler’s Cross" had apparently few objections to the restaurant's theme.
