Upset Hindus have urged world’s largest online retailer Amazon.com headquartered in Seattle (USA) for the immediate withdrawal of women’s leggings carrying images of various Hindu gods and goddesses and sold on its website, calling it inappropriate.
Distinguished Hindu religious leader Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that Hindu gods and goddesses were highly revered in Hinduism and were meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be worn around one’s legs, crotch and hips. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.
Zed further said that such trivialization of Hindu gods and goddesses was disturbing to the Hindus world over. Hindus were for free artistic expression and speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing it hurt the followers, Zed added.
Products that Hindu devotees are finding objectionable include 11 women’s leggings carrying images of Ganesha, Shiva, Brahma,Vishnu, Muruga, Bajrang Bali, Rama, Radha-Krishna, Kali, etc., priced at $48-$52 each; two drawstring pants carrying images of Ganesha and Shiva, priced at $29.95 each; Ganesha gathered waist yoga pant priced at $62.00; four sneaker shoelace decorations to tie with shoelaces carrying images of Vishnu and Durga, priced at $4.99 each.
Amazon.com, Inc., a Fortune 500 company founded in 1994, claims to offer “Earth’s Biggest Selection” and “strives to be Earth’s most customer-centric company”. Jeffrey P. Bezos is President. There are about three million Hindus in USA.