Hindu Organization Seeks Nationwide Amazon Ban in India For 'Funding Religious Conversions'

The US-based e-commerce giant directly and indirectly employs over 1.1 million people in the Asian country. It has been accused of pursuing unfair business practices by the Indian government.

An appeal was made to block Amazon's operations in India on Wednesday from the economic wing of India’s Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) group, Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM).

SJM’s Co-Convenor Ashwani Mahajan told Sputnik that Amazon’s operations should be “banned” pending a probe into the accusation that the e-commerce company was “funding religious conversions” in the predominantly Hindu country.

Earlier, RSS' English-language weekly, Organizer - which is the ideological parent of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - accused Amazon of "funding the American Baptist Church (ABM)".

In its latest cover story titled "Amazing Cross Connection", the weekly alleged that the ABM has been spearheading a “Christian conversion module” operating in the northeastern states of the country. It also alleged a “possibility of a money laundering ring run by multinational companies and ABM to fund India’s huge missionary conversion mission."

The report claimed that Amazon was sponsoring the conversions by donating money for every purchase to the All India Mission (AIM), reportedly a front for the ABM.

Amazon has reportedly rejected the allegations.

For his part, Mahajan has described the links between Amazon and the ABM as a “threat to India's national security”.

“We have already been urging the government to look into the business model of Amazon which has indulged in unfair business practices to expand its reach and put at disadvantage small Indian businesses,” Mahajan said, also noting that Amazon is facing “litigations” over alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

Last August, India’s Supreme Court allowed the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to proceed with an “anti-trust probe” against Amazon and the Walmart-backed Flipkart companies over the companies’ alleged unfair business practices.

However, Mahajan noted this week that India's Supreme Court has also flagged the issue of forced and fraudulent religious conversions, terming them as a threat to national security.

Besides the RSS, Amazon also faced criticism from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal accused the “arrogant” US e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart of “flouting our rules” for indulging in predatory pricing practices.

"A number of these large e-commerce companies have come into India and very blatantly flouted the laws of the land in more ways than one," Goyal said, also noting that both companies were affecting the businesses of “mom-and-pop stores”.