As the Indo-China tensions have been rising over the past 2 years, the Indian government has banned Chinese apps. On the other hand, Indian media has taken it upon themselves to ensure that everyone who buys Chinese product is labelled as conspirers against the country.
The Indian government has ‘boldly’ banned Chinese apps like Pubg, Camscanner, and TikTok. To some, this movie is a ‘Digital Surgical strike’. India is supposedly Aatmanirbhar. To more realistic people this is just a ruse to portray that we are cutting ties with the Chinese. Banning apps, which have more than fifty alternatives created by the next day, has initiated a country-wide wave of boycott Chinese. As much as I hate to admit it, China is a massive trade superpower and there are no viable ways of boycotting them in the near future. India’s import from China was USD 70.32 billion in the year 2018-2019 making them our biggest trade partners. Apart from this, there are a huge number of Chinese companies set up in India, which repatriate their profits to China. So, should these companies be banned? Absolutely not, these companies generate employment for our citizens and give a huge number of people a livelihood.
Most media channels have taken the privilege of calling people ‘Betrayers and Anti-nationalists’ if you don’t buy local products. The most common argument is “There are local options. Why don’t you buy those? Are you against our soldiers? So, you support terrorists.?” Let’s get one thing clear, our responsibilities to the government are very basic. For example: paying taxes, not committing crimes and all the other basics we learned in our 5th-grade moral science class. The government is answerable to the citizens. I can’t be judged or discriminated because of my spending habits. There is no question of integrity on how I use my hard-earned many. For instance, I am completely entitled to buy a foreign phone which is cheaper and has better quality than a local mobile phone. It is my hard-earned money for which, I worked 5-6 days a week. It is a different scenario if the government helps a small-scale business to cater to my budget and quality requirements. Still, we live in a market economy where I am still within my rights to purchase a different product. I hold the consumer privilege of choice.
I am not suggesting buying local products is bad. Buying local products certainly will aid the economy. I am of the conviction that I should not be expected to compromise on quality or budget and lower my satisfaction due to the fear of discrimination. Vague arguments and bigotry of society are enforcing decisions on the common man in a democracy. That is genius!
