One of India’s biggest jewellery brands, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, has found itself in the middle of a social media storm. The company is facing strong calls for a boycott after online users objected to its brief association with London-based Pakistani influencer Alishba Khalid, who had earlier criticised India’s Operation Sindoor.
The controversy first surfaced in September but gained fresh momentum ahead of Dhanteras, just as gold and silver sales picked up across India for Diwali.
Social media users began sharing screenshots and videos from the London store launch of Malabar Gold & Diamonds, where Khalid was seen promoting the event. The outrage grew because of her earlier social media posts that described India’s military action against terror outfits based in Pakistan as a “cowardly act”.
Malabar Gold & Diamonds clarified that Khalid was not part of any official campaign and that her appearance was a one-time engagement through a third-party agency. The company said it had no prior knowledge of her political remarks and had since blacklisted the agency responsible for bringing her on board.
According to company sources, she was invited only to the London store opening and would not be part of any future collaborations.
The jewellery chain, which is based in southern India’s Kerala and operates globally, had earlier approached the Bombay High Court seeking relief from what it called defamatory posts online.
The court directed major social media platforms, including Meta, X, and Google, to remove content that could damage the brand’s reputation. Malabar argued that online discussions were wrongly portraying the company as sympathetic towards Pakistan.
Who is Alishba Khalid?
Alishba Khalid, a London-based influencer, who has more than a hundred thousand followers on social media, had earlier posted videos supporting Pakistan and criticising India’s counter-terror operations.
Those posts, made in May, were later deleted or archived, but screenshots continued to circulate widely after her appearance at the Malabar event.
