Calls to boycott Chinese products are growing in India, following the killing of 20 Indian Army personnel in a violent face-off in Ladakh's Galwan Valley. This time though, the endorsement has come from official circles—two Union ministers urged people not to go for Chinese products, Indian Railways decided to terminate a signalling contract worth Rs 471 crore given to a Chinese company, and reports claimed that Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) will not use Chinese telecom gear in its 4G upgradation. In addition, traders' body CAIT appealed to celebrities, including Bollywood actors, to stop endorsing products of Chinese brands as a mark of respect for the slain Indian soldiers.
Now, Hu Xijin, editor in chief of the Global Times, widely considered a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mouthpiece, criticised the boycott calls and cricketer Harbhajan Singh in particular. "China has long since passed the era where celebrities lead the calls for boycotting foreign products. This "influencer" is reportedly one of the most famous sports stars in India; well, here he is representing another negative and backward image of great Indian culture," he tweeted.
After the death of the Army personnel, Harbhajan was among the many celebrities who called for a "boycott" of the Chinese products.
The incident in Galwan Valley was the biggest military confrontation between India and China in over five decades. Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan appealed to people to boycott products from China and also directed officials of his ministry not to procure any Chinese products for day-to-day office use while his ministerial colleague Ramdas Athawale said all restaurants and hotels that sell Chinese food in India should be closed down.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said India should no longer depend on China and instead focus on research and innovation to ramp up domestic manufacturing. The minister also said the government is working on formulating a new policy for import substitution.
Meanwhile, the railways announced its decision to cancel the signalling contract, given to the Beijing National Railway Research and Design Institute of Signal and Communication Group, for the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor's 417-km section between Kanpur and Mughalsarai due to "poor progress".
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), in an open letter, has appealed Aamir Khan, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Virat Kohli and others to stop endorsing Chinese products. It has also invited Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Shilpa Shetty, Madhuri Dixit, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and others to join the campaign to boycott Chinese products under its flagship national movement 'Bharatiya Saaman-Hamara Abhiman'.
CAIT Secretary-General Praveen Khandelwal in the letter said that at a time when "China's army in the most clandestine manner has committed a barbaric attack on the Indian army at Ladakh border, the heart of every Indian is filled with deep anguish, resentment and abhorrence against the atrocities of the Chinese and their persistent attitude of antagonism towards India".
There were also anti-China protests in several parts of the country, including Jammu and Kashmir. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) said it will conduct a door-to-door campaign across the country appealing to people to boycott Chinese goods and mobile phones.
-Inputs from PTI