Following the killing of 20 Indian soldiers in violent face-off with Chinese troops, there is a sense of anger and outrage across the country. It has led to a demand for boycott of Chinese goods. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which represents 7 crore traders nationwide, has launched a nationwide campaign to boycott Chinese goods under its flagship movement “Bhartiya Saaman-Hamara Abhiman” — Indian Goods-Our Pride. This movement has been initiated to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi›s call of “Local pe Vocal” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. To boost the campaign, the CAIT has requested Bollywood and the nation’s sports fraternity to boycott Chinese products and urged all celebrities to immediately stop endorsing Chinese brands.
This campaign has received widespread support throughout India and the CAIT has set a target of reducing 13 billion dollars (approximately Rs 1 lakh crore) of import value from China by December 2021 with the cooperation of traders and citizens of India.
It is a strategic move of the Chinese brands to rope in Indian celebrities for endorsement of their goods in order to gain more control over the India retail market. Such endorsements by celebrities have always influenced the choice of customers. Hence, the CAIT has particularly requested Vivo brand ambassadors–Aamir Khan, Sara Ali Khan, Virat Kohli; Oppo ambassadors- -Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor, Badshah; Mi ambassadors- -Sidharth Malhotra; Xiaomi ambassador Ranveer Singh and Realme ambassadors Salman Khan, Ayushman Khurana and Shraddha Kapoor, to stop endorsing these Chinese brands as a mark of respect for Indian soldiers. These celebrities were also invited to join the CAIT campaign.
The CAIT also mentioned various celebrities who have endorsed a number of social projects and initiatives of the government and other social organisations in the past. From Bollywood›s Amitabh Bachhan, Akshay Kumar, Shilpa Shetty, Madhuri Dixit, Sonu Sood to cricketers Mahender Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendalkar were named as some of the frontliners. The CAIT appreciated their efforts and appealed to them to join hands with the CAIT in influencing Indian citizens to support the government and Indian Forces at this crucial juncture with a motto of “Nation Before Self”. It pleaded with the celebrities to propagate the buying of Indian goods against Chinese goods from the market.
“Your participation will be very significant in motivating not only the people of India but particularly for the Indian Forces who are stationed at borders of the country to protect the nation from China›s aggression in adverse conditions. The Indian Forces will use the Ballet and the citizens will use the power of wallet to make the world know that Indian people cannot be taken for granted and the world will see the power of wallet. We expect a positive and immediate response from the Indian celebrities’ fraternity,” said Praveen Khandelwal, National Secretary General, Confederation of All India Traders.