After Infosys, Panchjanya Targets Amazon, Termed It 'East India Company 2.0'

After Infosys, Amazon has become the target of Panchjanya, a magazine affiliated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). In its latest edition that will hit the stands on 3 October, the magazine has called the e-commerce giant Amazon "East India Company 2.0."

 "Wants To Establish Monopoly"

The magazine says that Amazon wants to establish its monopoly in the Indian market. It says, "Whatever the East India Company did in the 18th century to capture India, the same is visible in the activities of Amazon.

Actually, Amazon too wants to have sole rights to the Indian market. For this, it has started taking steps to encircle the political, economic, and individual freedom of people here."

"Accused Of Bribery"

As per the article, the company has resorted to bribery to influence the government to make market rules in its favor. Recently, the company was reported to be spending "too much" to maintain its legal presence in India. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), an apex body of the trading community of India, had written a letter to the central government raising questions about how much it was spending on its lawyers.

In the letter, it was speculated that Amazon was involved in bribery as it had spent 20% of its revenue on lawyers during 2018-20, which amounted to Rs 8,546. Amazon had to announce a probe into the matter.

Alongside, it is also engaged in a legal battle with the Reliance group and Future Retail to take over the business of the latter.

"Shell Companies"

The Panchjanya article says that in the name of promoting local traders on its platform, the company has created several shell companies.

"It is accused of floating shell companies to capture the e-market platform. The company floated supplier entities such as Cloudtail and Apiria in which it had a significant stake and indirect control," it said, claiming that the two companies account for 35 percent of all Amazon business.

"Anti-Hindu Amazon Prime"

Hitting out at Amazon's video streaming platform, the magazine said, "It is accused of airing programs opposed to Indian culture through Prime Videos."

It further added, "The following cognizance of certain anti-Hindu content, in programs such as Tandav and Paatal Lok, by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and some state governments, the company has apologized. People have alleged that Prime Videos is regularly airing such shows in which Hindu deities are made fun of and family values are assaulted."

In one of its earlier editions, the magazine had called Infosys incompetent as the new income tax return (ITR) portal was continuously facing technical glitches. The magazine had suspected a  conspiracy against the country as the company had links to the "tukde-tukde gang."

This has created an uproar against the magazine. RSS had to distance itself from the magazine, while Nirmala Sitharaman called it a mistake on the magazine's part.

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