The ‘Make in India’ movement is gaining ground with growing anti-Chinese sentiment, but with Indian companies heavily dependent on Chinese capital, or Narendra Modi’s effort for self-confidence can be self-destructive
In April, a month after the Indian government ordered, across the country, in the first phase of confinement because of Covid-19, an online campaign started to gain momentum, a collective promise to buy only Indian, home-grown products, to help ease the economic agony to local businesses caused by pandemic. But more than just buying a place, it was a forbidden decision to avoid anything made in China.
In a way, Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance to British Raj, where indices under occupation prevail in Manchester-sewn textiles in favor of “home” fabrics, a difference between then and now, of course, is that China is not a military occupation force. But this is mainly where the campaign organizer, Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), disagrees.
Founded in 1991, SJM renounces multilateral trade, calls foreign capital investment a risk to the poorest countries, and makes the economy of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a leading Hindu national organization, founded at least on an admiration for Adolf Hitler’s Nazi ideology. This is the mother organization of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata (BJP) and Narendra Modi, indoctrinated by RSS, and the current Prime Minister of India.
Legions of supporters share photos and memes on Twitter and Facebook, speak ill of China as a country and defend the men of Chinese apps like TikTok, who amuse themselves with the content made available by “Indian cultural values”.
‘Boycott_China_MNCs’ appeared as a hashtag, like #MadeInIndia, and tweets that promise not to use Chinese products remain a domain like Indian trend pages. “We will all #RemoveChinaApps from our phones and within a year also on Chinese hardware. Jai Hind !, ”proclaimed a tweet on social media.
Others consulted the past: “Just as India has led the struggle for freedom in the past, just as consumers demand to lead this struggle and free themselves from Chinese products.”
