The Modi government is making a big move to decouple India’s Deepawali festivities from China. From low quality decorative lights to lamps, China has been dominating the consumption of Deepawali products in India for quite some time now. Last year, China was given a big jolt by Indians, and its companies exporting Diwali goods to India ended up losing out on almost ₹40,000 crore due to a boycott called by Indian traders. Now, the Modi government is taking the fight against cheap Chinese products a step further, and the Ministry of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry is leading the crusade this time around.
The Modi government on Sunday launched the ‘Kamdhenu Deepawali 2021’ campaign that will facilitate manufacture and marketing of more than 100 crore cow-dung based earthen lamps and Laxmi-Ganesh idols. Former cabinet minister and former chairman of Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog, Vallabhbhai Kathiria, and Fisheries & Animal Husbandry Minister Parshottam Rupala launched the campaign during a webinar. After the meeting, it was announced:
- Kamdhenu Deepawali campaign will be used to make cows economically useful by proper economic use of cow dung and cow urine, along with its milk, curd and ghee. More than 300 items are getting made now by Panchgavya from cow.
- Deepawali items like deepak, lamps, candles, sambrani cup, havan samagri, dhoopbatti, incense sticks, hard board, wall piece, Laxmi-Ganesh idols etc., made will all be made of cow dung.
- The Gomaya lamps made by Cow Entrepreneurs and cow owners will save the environment by providing eco-friendly alternative to chemical based Chinese lights. Last year Crores of cow dung Deepak, lamps were manufactured across India.
- Minister of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, Parshottam Rupala also suggested that the way khadi products are promoted around Gandhi Jayanti, in a similar way, around Deepawali, all should be encouraged to buy Gomaya products across India.
China To Feel the Pain
Much like last year, with the Modi government directly getting involved this time around to ensure that cow-based products become a big hit during this Diwali season, China will feel the tremendous pain of being deprived of a lucrative market, at a time when Indians are not conservative about their spending. The consumers around the country have started to understand that Chinese goods, though cheaper, have no durable life, and buying them means contributing to China’s economy and ultimately funding the deaths of Indian soldiers.
With the rise of hostilities with China, Indians are increasingly wary of buying Chinese goods – especially during Deepawali. The festival is one which China uses to score big. It ensures the sale of its cheap and non-lasting products at a large scale. As early as in 2018-19, due to the lack of Indian alternatives, people were forced to settle with Chinese goods. However, much has changed ever since. While Indians have grown even more sceptical of Chinese goods, the Modi government has made a big push for local goods being used by the people. Now too, with the cow-based products being manufactured in bulk, Indians will have a vast variety of desi alternatives to choose from this Diwali, which will help them squarely dump Chinese goods.
China Bruised Since 2020
Last year, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) estimated that during the one-month Dussehra-Diwali festive season, sales increased to more than ₹72,000 crores ($9.7 billion). The apex body of the traders’ union which represents 4,000 traders’ bodies and more than 7 crore traders across the country claimed that festive period sales rose by more than 10.8 per cent year-on-year, indicating good prospects for small businesses.
Based on CAIT’s estimations, China suffered a cumulative loss of no less than $6 billion, or ₹40,000 crore. In 2020 itself, following the Galwan valley clash which saw 20 Indian soldiers being martyred defending the country against China, CAIT had decided to boycott Chinese goods worth more than 1 lakh crore rupees, or 13 billion dollars approximately, by December 2021. CAIT had prepared a list of 3,000 items which included toys, gifts, FMCG (Fast-moving consumer goods) products, confectionery products, clothes and watches, as superior indigenously manufactured alternatives of these items were made increasingly available.
While liberals and India-sceptics continue to doubt the Modi government’s ability of making the country truly ‘Aatmanirbhar’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the help of patriotic Indians, is continuously delivering on his promise of self-sufficiency. Come this year’s Diwali, Indians will collectively show their might to China by comprehensively giving a cold-shoulder to its cheap goods, as they embrace traditional Indian products to celebrate the festival of lights.