Online retail giant Amazon has yet again found itself mired in controversy for allegedly selling slippers, doormats and toilet seat covers with the pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses. Soon after a Twitter user shared the images on Twitter, angry Indians have called for boycott of Amazon and as a result, #BoycottAmazon is trending on the microblogging site.
What the hell is this Amazon? (@AmazonHelp, @amazon)
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) May 16, 2019
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
Tweeters accused Amazon of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus and insulting their religion. Photos of doormats and shoes with images of Hindu deities, including Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna and Ganesha are being shared widely by users on social media.
#BoycottAmazon please don't buy anything from @amazonIN , they are hurting religious sentiments of Indian people pic.twitter.com/wxGjDk5Jt6
— Nikita Ahuja (@iamNikitaAhuja) May 16, 2019
Apologize to Indians, Remove those nasty products until then #BoycottAmazon pic.twitter.com/UdQh6lT6ql
— Chowkidar Abhijeet Randhir (@AbhijeetRandhir) May 16, 2019
However, this is not the first time that the retail giant has found itself in a soup for hurting Hindu sentiments. In 2017, doormats with Indian flags printed on them were spotted on Amazon's Canada website. The website soon stopped the sale of those mats after facing a series of protests from India and Indian-origin Canadians.
Last year, Amazon was at the receiving end for associating itself with online trollers' favourite actor Swara Bhasker. The massive anger online eventually forced Amazon India to delete the tweet it had retweeted featuring the actor.
