RSS-affiliated magazine The Organiser has accused e-commerce giant Amazon of funding the conversion module of an evangelist group in the northeast region of India. In the cover story of the latest issue 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, “E-commerce giant Amazon is financing the 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 also added a screenshot of a Twitter post by AIM that appealed to shop at Amazon under the Amazon Smile initiative. 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.” It added, “The e-com giant has reportedly accepted the truth of funding the All India Mission from their US Office. The All India Mission has another front called Calvary Gospel Ministries trust that plants Churches across India under the secular name Parthana Bhavans to lure the gullible population into conversion. The organisation alleged that Amazon is patronising AIM in these endeavours.”
Amazon denies claims
Media houses, including Times Now and The Indian Express, reached out to Amazon for a reply. 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 AmazonSmile program does operate, customers can choose to donate to a charity they prefer from multiple non-profits that register themselves under the program. The AmazonSmile program does not endorse the views of any charity participating in the program.”
NCPCR had summoned Amazon over sponsoring an organisation involved in illegal conversion to Christianity
In September this year, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights summoned Amazon’s India head for failing to respond to its notices seeking information on allegations of funding an organisation involved in illegally converting children to Christianity. Amit Agarwal, Global Senior Vice President and Country Head of Amazon India, was asked to appear before the NCPCR on 1st November to explain the reasons for not responding to the statutory body’s notices and also provide the answers to questions asked them.
Amazon India was under the scrutiny of NCPCR after it was found to be giving donations to an NGO named All India Mission, which is accused of indulging in unlawful practices. The child rights body had issued notices to Amazon in September after receiving a complaint from the NGO Social Justice Forum of Arunachal Pradesh, alleging that All India Mission is involved in unlawful practices by illegally converting children to Christianity in India.
“It has been mentioned in the complaint that the said organisation has more than 100 orphanages across India. As per the complaint, the website and social media pages of the said organisation clearly state that they aim to convert the people in India and also claim that they have already converted many people in India already, especially in North East India and Jharkhand,” the NCPCR notice to Amazon India had said.
Reportedly, NCPCR issued a notice to Amazon on 14th September asking it to provide all details of donations made to All India Mission within seven days. After not receiving any response to the notice, NCPCR sent a reminder notice on 30th September, but Amazon officials also ignored that. Therefore, NCPCR has now summoned the country head of Amazon India, exercising its under Section 14 of the CPCR Act, 2005.
