Indian American leader objects to Playboy setting up shop in India

Nevad (US), Aug.5 (ANI): Playboy Enterprises, known for its adult magazine for men "Playboy", is reportedly planning to launch its accessories, apparel, etc., in India by year end "targeting young adults", even as the Indian American community has called it "crude westernization".

Indian-American leader Rajan Zed in a statement said this reckless flooding of Indian markets with Western icons and trends would lead that society away from its traditional value systems. He said that the West had a lot of wonderful things to offer, but everything Western was not always good.

Zed argued that India was an ancient civilization with certain norms, and therefore, crude westernization was not the correct path to take in that country.

Describing the move as "just for plain mercantile greed", Zed said: "We should not attempt to destroy the age old traditions, moral standards and value system with the irrelevant arguments of "keeping with the times", "globalization."

Headquartered in Chicago, Playboy Enterprises Inc. also develops, produces, acquires and distributes a wide range of adult programming for television networks; has a range of adult-movie channels; its Playboy Radio offers 24-hour sexy listening alternative; publishes 26 different editions of Playboy magazine; etc. It runs a Playboy Club Casino and a nightclub in Las Vegas and three such venues are under development in Macau (China), Latin America, and South Beach which will allow customers to "experience the Playboy lifestyle".

The Playboy monthly magazine was launched in 1953 with borrowed 600 dollars and currently claims a readership of over 15 million. It also publishes about 25 thematic-based special pictorial editions annually, like Playboy's Lingerie, College Girls, and Fresh Faces. Its Playboy.com men's website, which expands on the heritage of print magazine, claims to get over four million visitors monthly.

Hugh M. Hefner is Editor-in-Chief and Scott N. Flanders is Chief Executive Officer of this international multimedia company. (ANI)