17 May, India
The Indian government has issued notices to Amazon, Flipkart, and other e-commerce platforms for selling Pakistani flags and merchandise online.
In a major step in keeping with increased national sensitivities, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued official notices to top e-commerce platforms, such as Amazon India, Flipkart, Ubuy India, Etsy, The Flag Company, and The Flag Corporation, for selling and uploading Pakistani national flags and associated products.
The move comes after Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi termed the sale of such products as “insensitive” and a “violation of national sentiment.” The ministry has asked these platforms to delete the offending listings at once.
This enforcement is part of the larger initiative called “Operation Sindoor,” to make online platforms strictly follow Indian laws and show respect to national sentiments.
The actions by the CCPA highlight the government’s resolve to govern online content and uphold national sensitivities.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has also spoken up, requesting the government to impose an urgent ban on the online sales of Pakistani flags and associated products on e-commerce platforms.
A letter sent to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, CAIT noted the possible danger such sales could pose to national unity and sentiment.
This is not the first time there has been public outrage over the sale of Pakistani flags on the internet. In August 2023, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers vandalized an office of Amazon in Nagpur in protest against the sale of Pakistani flags and a book said to have offended religious sentiments.
The activists smashed furniture and organized a protest within the office, asking staff members about the continued sales.
The CCPA’s latest notices are part of a series of actions against e-commerce websites for multiple infringements. Previously, the authority had served notices to 13 e-commerce players, Amazon and Flipkart among them, for the unlawful sale of walkie-talkie devices during heightened India-Pakistan tensions.
The sale of such devices in unauthorized forms is considered illegal and poses significant risks to national security operations.
These developments put the government’s firm approach toward ensuring that online marketplaces function within the legal framework and respect national sentiments into focus. E-commerce websites are now subject to greater pressure to watch and control the products listed on their websites, ensuring compliance with Indian laws and cultural norms.
As the situation unravels, it is yet to be known how online giants will react to these instructions and what steps they will implement to prevent such controversies in the future.
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