If Amazon, with barely 2% of the retail market, can be called “East India Company 2.0”, how would one describe inviting foreign capital to buy into hitherto government monopolies?This piece was first published on The India Cable – a premium newsletter from The Wire & Galileo Ideas – and has been updated and republished here. To subscribe to The India Cable, click here. After accusing Infosys of working against Indian interests, the RSS-affiliated publication Panchjanya has described Amazon as “East India Company 2.0”, seeking a monopoly in Indian retail with “initiatives for seizing the economic, political and personal freedom of Indian citizens.” There are accusations that Amazon has spent $1.2 billion in legal fees or allegedly underhand payments to expand its Indian operations. The US authorities are ostensibly investigating. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), affiliated to the RSS, has also argued that e-commerce giants like Amazon will hurt small traders and kirana stores in India. But the Reliance group and the Tatas are also in the same space (Jio Mart and Big Basket). The Tatas are tying up with Walmart to build a bigger e-commerce platform in India. If Amazon harms small kirana stores, so will Jio Mart, Big Basket and the