As cliched as it may sound, but my blogging debut was actually an accident (not just figuratively, but literally too). A friend of mine damaged his smartphone screen and decided to buy a new top-notch Chinese phone as a substitute.

Much to his surprise, the first image he flaunted on our common WhatsApp group from his 48MP camera was greeted with sarcastic and subtle chants of “betrayer, betrayer”. The participants in the group felt that my friend should have purchased an Apple or Samsung phone instead, to exemplify his “patriotism credentials”. My initial assessment, that the “stop trading with China” lobby, was limited to belligerent television news anchors, has been disproved over the last few days, as many of my friends, from different cross-sections of society, have echoed similar opinions.

I try and explain why such a mindset is self-defeating, and why we are better off in creating a conducive atmosphere so that Chinese goods are substituted “naturally” by creating a better ecosystem for Indian manufacturing. Also briefly touched upon why “Make in India”, in its current form, is a toothless tiger. Feedback and critical inputs are welcome!