Once again Amazon has been caught in a controversy, this time over selling toilet seat covers and other items with images of Hindu gods on its marketplace platform.
According to a report published in Reuters, several items like toilet seat covers, yoga mats, sneakers, rugs and other items depicting Hindu gods, or sacred Hindu symbols were available on Amazon’s website.
After facing backlash and rage over social media, the firm has reportedly removed those items and now it’s not available on the website.
Several users also took it to Twitter with #BoycottAmazon and called Amazon a repeated offender. #AmazonInsultsHindu was trending on the micro-blogging site. Some of them also tagged Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj to take appropriate action against the company.
What the hell is this Amazon? (@AmazonHelp, @amazon)
How many times you will hurt the sentiments of Hindus? Why do you do this every year, every time? Till when will this continue? Will it ever stop? pic.twitter.com/XuwlHHu4qY
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) May 16, 2019
This is not the first instance when Amazon faces backlash from users over religious matters. In December 2018, several products such as doormats, rugs and toilet seat covers with images of Golden Temple were being sold at Amazon.
Two years ago, the Canadian unit of Amazon was selling doormats carrying the national flag of India. At that time, External Affair Minister, Sushma Swaraj had demanded an apology from the global e-commerce behemoth.
Apart from selling these controversial items, Amazon was also critisised for publishing an inaccurate map of India sans some parts of Jammu and Kashmir in a brochure for Amazon Web Services (AWS) Global Summit.
