New Delhi: Fortune magazine has got itself embroiled in a controversy after its January edition featured Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos illustrated on the cover as Lord Vishnu, complete with a lotus in one hand and the Amazon logo on the other palm.
The illustration on the magazine's cover was brought to attention by Anil Dash- an entrepreneur and technologist who posted a series of tweets after artist Nigel Buchanan released its first look.
The cover story, titled 'Amazon Invades India' is an inside story on how Bezos 'aims to conquer the next ‘trillion-dollar market’. However, what the magazine completely missed out were two things- the idea of colonialism and the idea of religion.
Meanwhile, Rajan Zed, a Hindu statesman in Nevada said that the cover illustration had upset Hindus as it trivialised the venerated Hindu deity.
The press release notes,"Lord Vishnu was a highly revered major deity in Hinduism meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be used indecorously or thrown around loosely in reimagined versions for dramatic effects."
After Dash expressed displeasure at the cover illustration as well as the editorial process of the magazine, editor Alan Murray tweeted an apology in response.
In a separate statement on the Fortune website, Murray further clarified that neither the artist nor the editors had any intention of parodying the Hindu deity. The web version of the cover story, however, features a different image.
Amazon's presence in the Indian market is quite prominent as it competes with Flipkart- the Indian e-commerce giant. However, off lately, the company has been under fire over its culture across its offices and the unrealistic work pressure the employees face.
