Rajdeep Sardesai, senior journalist who self-admittedly was excited during the 2001 Parliament attacks, saying that it was a “great day” and calling himself a “vulture”, now seems hurt over the prospect of Indians looking to mass boycott Made in China products, particularly after Sonam Wangchuk’s clarion call to the same effect.
In a conversation with the Ladakh-based educator and reformer, Rajdeep was particularly sceptical about Sonam’s propositions, which have gathered immense steam among common Indians in the past few days. Wangchuk had called upon all Indians to wage an economic war on China in order to bring it to its knees, and also said that while the Indian military answers the totalitarian regime of China with bullets, Indians must take it upon themselves to answer the CCP with their wallets.
Rajdeep Sardesai, obviously not keen to side with common Indians, asked Wangchuk as to why he was “playing to the gallery”. To this, the answer which followed would have stunned Rajdeep, although he wouldn’t admit the same. Sonam said that the Jains were told that their eating habits were not practical in today’s day and age. Yet, they stood firm in their resolve to not dilute their beliefs, and as a result, Jain restaurants have come up to fill the ecosystem. The customer is king he said, and as such, they drive the market, not businesses. If enough people in India, and worldwide, decide to boycott Chinese products, businesses will adapt themselves and move out of China, he further added.
Rajdeep: Do you think it’s practical to boycott China in today’s globalised world?
Sonam Wangchuk: if Jains were told that Jain food is not practical, would they have given up? There are Jain restaurants. Customers drive the market not businesses.
What a response. 👏
— Atul Kumar Mishra (@TheAtulMishra) June 1, 2020
Sonam Wangchuk also minced no words in saying that China, over the years, has indulged in brazen dadagiri along the Ladakh border, and that the people of Ladakh have had just about enough of the PLA intruding into their territory. He also revealed that while these intrusions were restricted to a few meters earlier, the Chinese are now coming into India by kilometre long margins, and that much of the pastures for grazing domestic animals have been lost over the years. When Rajdeep asked Sonam if he speaks for all the people of Ladakh, and that if they all echo the same sentiments, Wangchuk said that he is infact late in stepping up and voicing the anger on behalf of the people of Ladakh.
This is not the first time that Rajdeep has made a fool out of himself while trying to take a sly dig at Sonam Wangchuk. The veteran journalist, or so he is called, had tweeted absolute fake news, saying that while he could do without using Chinese apps, what is to be done of the Statue of Unity, which is “Made in China”?
Rajdeep’s claim of the Statue of Unity being a work of the Chinese is nothing but a lie. It must be mentioned here that only the outermost layer of the statue, which is in the form of bronze cladding, carrying intricate details of Sardar Patel’s clothes, posture and facial expressions was built in China. The remaining entirety of the project was completed in India by engineering major Larsen and Toubro (L&T).
While Rajdeep Sardesai has now deleted the said tweet, his intent behind the same is crystal clear: to demean the call of Sonam Wangchuk of boycotting Chinese products. Being the fan of globalization that Sardesai may be, in his mind, there might be apprehensions about the feasibility of such a campaign, however, he must know that Indians will do anything in their power to bring the enemy to its knees.