Upset Hindu Community urges Online Giant Alibaba to Withdraw Yoga Mats with Hindu Deity Images, calls it Offensive and Indecorous

Nov 23, 2016: Angry Hindus are forcing the Alibaba group for the withdrawal of yoga mats with images of Hindu deities printed on them, calling it offensive and indecorous.

Renowned Hindu statesman Rajan Zed in a statement in Nevada, said that Lord Krishna, Lord Ganesha, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva are highly respected in Hinduism and are preached in temples, shrines and in contrast to yoga mats are not used to sit on or rest any sweaty body parts on. Improper use of Hindu deities for commercial or other agenda is not appreciated because it hurt the devotees, mentioned Meri News.

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Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged Alibaba group to formally apologise.

Hinduism being the oldest and the largest religion with about 1 billion followers and a rich philosophy should not be considered inane. Emblems representing religions should not be misused, said zed.

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According to the Meri News report, Zed added that such belittling of Hindu figures was disturbing to Hindus worldwide. Free artistic expression and speech are supported by Hindus as much as anybody else but their faith is something spiritual and attempts at disparaging the religion hurt the preachers, Zed said.

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Inaugurated in 1999, the Alibaba group generated USD 17.8 billion of GMV in the Global Shopping Festival on November 11. It strives "to make it easy to do business everywhere" and its vision is to be "a company that lasts at least 102 years". A former English teacher from Hangzhou, Jack Yun MA is the Executive Chairman. It has divisions in Hong Kong, Taiwan, USA, UK, Italy and India.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited has also cleared its stance on the issue.

"Alibaba's marketplaces forbid the listing or sale of any ethically, racially or religiously offensive items, which is clearly mentioned in our marketplaces' rules. We have been screening the product listings from third-party sellers to remove improper listings as to ensure compliance with our marketplace rules. We will continue to improve our marketplace rules and screening technology, and look forward to working with different organisations to ensure that our marketplaces provide the optimal environment for sellers and buyers worldwide" said an official spokesperson in a clarification issued by the Chinese e-commerce firm in an email sent to merinews.com

-prepared by Shivam Thaker of NewsGram. Twitter: @Shivam_Thaker