Charges of terror financing, patriotism calls, love jihad scare, and even destination weddings have been seen in a new push towards ‘swadeshi’ or locally made goods in India, after the American President Donald Trump raised the tariff barrier on Indian exports to the United States to high levels.
This wave saw the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, calling fellow citizens to take a pledge on Raksha Bandhan, the festival of brothers protecting their sisters, to purchase swadeshi products to save the country. Equally, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has made the connection of the swadeshi movement with national security by arguing that the profits made by the foreign firms are used to finance terrorism, Naxalism, religious conversions, and the so called theory of love jihad where allegedly Muslim men are trying to marry and convert Hindu women after performing a planned campaign.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the same during his monthly radio show, Mann ki Baat, following which they had to awaken the swadeshi spirit. He referred to the prospects of global uncertainties in the economy and cited the stressed situations faced by India, such as tariffs as high as 50 per cent charged by the US. Such tariffs come as a reaction to Russian oil purchases still ongoing by India, despite the conflict in Ukraine.
With these tensions, trade negotiations between India and the US have already been put in a tricky situation. India has termed the tariffs as unfair and unjustified since there are several other countries that are still trading with Russia without sanctions. The altered relationship between Modi and Trump has been ridiculed by opposition parties.
McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Amazon, and Apple are among the Fortune 500 companies to face boycott calls on these grounds, but the effects on their sales have not been explicitly felt. The boycotts of American products are gaining momentum both on and off the internet.
Associated with the ruling BJP is the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, which has staged rallies to push sales of domestic goods, as it did earlier with China and Turkey.
Join our whatsapp group for Latest updates
Click Here for Chhattisgarh News
Click Here for Entertainment News