External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday evening directed Amazon to remove all doormats with the design of the Indian tricolour from all their portals around the world.
The minister took the decision after social media users pointed out that the e-commerce giant was selling doormats designed like the Indian national flag on its foreign portals.
Indian High Commission in Canada : This is unacceptable. Please take this up with Amazon at the highest level. https://t.co/L4yI3gLk3h
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) January 11, 2017
Sushma Swaraj also warned Amazon that its staff will not be granted Indian visa if prompt action is not taken and all doormats featuring the Indian national flag as the design not immediately removed.
Amazon must tender unconditional apology. They must withdraw all products insulting our national flag immediately. /1
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) January 11, 2017
If this is not done forthwith, we will not grant Indian Visa to any Amazon official. We will also rescind the Visas issued earlier.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) January 11, 2017
The issue of Indian national flag being used as design for doormats and put up for sale on Amazon.com was raised by TopYaps.com on January 5.
We had discovered that the doormats on sale were offered by a seller based out of Austria. When we had pointed the same to Amazon.in, they responded with this tweet notifying that the issue had been raised with the concerned authorities of the company.
@topyaps These products were never sold on Amazon.in. We have escalated this to our concerned teams and are working on the issue. ^SR
— Amazon.in (@amazonIN) January 6, 2017
Although selling of doormats with designs of flags, including the US national flag, is neither illegal nor offensive in the US, selling of such an item is illegal in India. More importantly, Indians have an emotional attachment to the tricolour and see it as the unifying symbol for which many of the nation’s brave sons and daughters laid down their lives and continue to do so.
