With billions in pockets, Amazon, Walmart run into 70 mn Indian shopkeepers

The conflict comes amid a broader global backlash against the breakneck expansion of tech firms

In the heart of New Delhi’s largest wholesale bazaar, merchants who normally compete with each other have united against a common enemy.

“Amazon, Flipkart!” one merchant after another shouts into a microphone from a small stage in Sadar Bazaar’s central traffic circle. Some 50 other shopkeepers gathered around shout back in unison: “Go back! Go back!”

The sit-in, which created more chaos than usual among the rickshaws, motorbikes and ox-carts plying the market road, was one of as many as 700 protests against Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc. -- owner of local e-commerce leader Flipkart -- that organizers say took