Skip to main content

Checkmate China

Want to have hakka noodles? Never. The world is seething with anger, at the sight and sound of anything 'Made in China' - a tag that defined life and living, until it spelt death!

By Namrata Kohli

The Ministry of Home Affairs just issued an advisory to stop the use of Zoom platform for video chat. The tik tok was previously (temporarily) banned. The world is waking up to a new movement and this time it is – "Anti-Made in China".
Once upon a time, anything and everything, from drugs, pharmaceuticals, to cheap smartphones and electronic equipment, plastics and metals, components and machines, apparels, vehicles, to even our Ganeshas and idols were China imported! That’s what defined our workplace, our households and to use the title of my favourite author Ellizabeth Gilbert we did “eat, pray, love” China products and may I add, live and finally die for (pun intended) coming a full circle!

Rely on someone and he will prove unreliable at some point. That is the big lesson we could learn from this historic episode, after what has unarguably been the biggest deception of the century. The question is can we harness our anger more constructively towards building a self sufficient India. Can our mantra now be to just "build, build and build". And here we must look at the Chinese ingenuity to erect a full hospital within days, not months or years, to cope up with sheer numbers of Covid 19 patients. That is the speed of response we need in today's world.
I am talking about indigenous capability – a "Make in India" at an unseen, unheard of, pace as well as scale. We are a nation of so many innovative builders, construction giants, techno-preneurs and can we work collaboratively to build a new India. Forget being constrained by mere niches, our current areas of interest and profitability, core competencies- can we look at stretching our capacities fully actualize self sufficiency. India should become self reliant and not be dependent on China for servicing its basic needs and wants. It may call for sometimes even sacrificing gains, but can we put the national gain over our personal gains with one guiding principle - Service to the Nation. 

The West is already looking at the East – Trump sought India’s help for anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and India responded in time, and so favourably. But now is the time, to seize the time – the opportunity, like never before. China’s loss can be India’s gain. Can we work towards self-sufficiency where we don’t have to knock at anyone’s doors, any longer.

Let’s come to a point where we don’t have to look out for some one. Instead, the world looks out for us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Telemedicine to the aid of home-bound patients in the time of Covid-19

Telemedicine in covid-19 times: You can get to the doctor almost anytime, anywhere, be it on your screen, via voice or plain text for a lower price than in-person consult Namrata Kohli   |   New Delhi Telehealth is bridging the gap between patient and physicians. The physician can now virtually visit the stay-at-home patient and heal from a distance Telemedicine in covid-19 times:  When 37-year-old Priyanka was down with fever and dry cough, she decided to consult a doctor over a WhatsApp call before giving her blood sample for an RT-PCR test. Based on her symptoms, the physician alerted her that it wasn't a mild Covid infection but a moderate one. His diagnosis was confirmed when the test report showed a viral load count of 20. “The massive benefits of telemedicine became evident during the pandemic,” says Priyanka’s doctor, New Delhi-based consultant physician Dr Arvind Kumar. “Everything is about time and if my patients have complications late at ni...

Deadline to documents: What you must know about visa application process

  Come summers and everyone wants to head overseas for a holiday. But the visa nightmare can completely wreck your holiday plans if you haven’t prepared to apply well in advance. Know about varying visa rules, visa processing times and cost across countries By Namrata Kohli This summer, India was the third country after China and Turkey in terms of number of Schengen area visa applications, as reported by the European Commission. For foreign travel, if there is one singular thing which is most important it’s your visa- or in simple words, that stamp/endorsement on your passport that you are allowed to enter, leave, or stay for a specified period of time in another country. For many, the visa process can be plagued with innumerable issues. Says Abheek Anand, a 32-year-old Delhi based entrepreneur who was planning a trip to the US this summer, “Visa applications tend to take a long time to process, often due to high demand and bureaucratic inefficiencies. Many countries require exten...

Summer fashion style goes comfortable, environmentally sustainable

  Environment-conscious Indians are turning to sustainable clothing. (File photo) Namrata Kohli New Delhi Sustainable fashion is headlining the summer fashion. Make natural fibres like cotton, linen, khadi, pure silk and handloom, your Summer BFF   By Namrata Kohli   UNIQLO just launched its 2024 Spring/Summer Campaign ‘Summers are for Linen’, starring Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif. “During hot summers, breathable and lightweight fabrics are a necessity. I love this collection as it is so versatile and offers timeless style for anywhere – whether I’m at work or enjoying my day at home” says Katrina Kaif who is seen wearing Linen Shirts, Cotton Tapered Pants, and Jumpsuits through a montage of summer walking with friends along the beach to tranquil moments spent at home and taking a stroll in nature in this comfortable yet stylish collection.   Conventional cotton, khadi magic, silk blends and classy linens are all in vogue in summer wear as they take new forms and a...