New Delhi, India: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliated magazine The Organiser has published a cover story in its latest issue accusing e-commerce giant Amazon of funding religious conversion in the country’s Northeast.
In the cover story titled, “Amazing Cross Connection”, the magazine alleged that the e-commerce giant funds an organisation named “American Baptist Church” that is accused of running a conversion module in the region.
In its report, the magazine alleged, “Amazon is financing Christian conversion module run by American Baptist Church (ABM). There is a possibility of a money laundering ring run by multinational companies and ABM to fund India’s huge missionary conversion mission.” It further alleged that ABM is running a front named All India Mission (AIM) in the country that openly claimed to have converted over 25 thousand people to Christianity in northeast India.
The magazine said, “Amazon is sponsoring the conversion module of All India Mission by donating money against every purchase by an Indian.” The report read, “The Social Justice Forum of Arunachal Pradesh alleged that the e-commerce giant is continuously funding the All India Mission through its foundation, Amazon Smile.” The spokesperson at the e-commerce giant denied the allegations.
They said, “Amazon India does not have any relationship with All India Mission or its affiliates, nor does the AmazonSmile program operate on the Amazon India marketplace. Where the Amazon Smile program does operate, customers can choose to donate to a charity they prefer from multiple non-profits that register themselves under the program. This is not the first attack on Amazon by an RSS-affiliated magazine or organisation.
They have previously accused the company of cartelising the retail market which has affected the small trader, a traditional support base of the Sangh Parivar and BJP.
In September 2021, “Panchjanya” published a cover story equating Amazon with the East India Company for alleged corrupt practices and accusing it of involvement in funding Christian organisations. In December 2021, Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) passed a resolution demanding that all permissions granted to e-commerce firms like Amazon and Flipkart to operate in India be withdrawn. The Manch claimed that discounts offered by these firms are “adversely impacting the neighborhood shops and keryana stores”.
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