‘SWADESHI’ SHOULD BECOME A PEOPLE’S REVOLUTIONS AMIDST TARIFF BULLYING

‘SWADESHI’ SHOULD BECOME A PEOPLE’S REVOLUTIONS AMIDST TARIFF BULLYING

7-AUG-ENG 18

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA-----------------------Once again, from his Lok Sabha constituency in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon the countrymen to take a pledge that they will bring only indigenous goods to their homes. His call is not only a befitting reply to President Donald Trump’s ‘politics of pressure’ and ‘tariff bullying’, but is also the foundation for making India a strong economy. Modi has called for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ with this thought in mind. He has repeatedly made it clear that India will have to become ‘vocal for local’. This is not just a slogan, but a deep economic and cultural strategy that can free us from external dependence. This is the same self-reliance, which was sown by Mahatma Gandhi through charkha and khadi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is doing through Swadeshi Jagran. It is the result of Donald Trump's frustration that he called the economy of India, which is moving towards becoming the third largest economy in the world, a 'dead economy'. His statement is not only baseless and unfounded, but is also an uncivilized and unforgivable attack on India's economic sovereignty. What is even more ironic and worrying is that some opposition parties of India not only propagated this insulting statement by considering it as the 'oxygen' of domestic politics and made it a weapon of internal politics, but also indirectly supported it. Often opposition parties get busy promoting anti-national narratives. They forget that political disagreement can be a part of democracy, but unity is the identity of nationalism at the time of attack on national identity. This is the same anti-national mentality that hurts the country's image on foreign forums and puts political interests and differences above national pride. The way Trump called India's economy 'dead' is not only a disregard of the existing economic facts, but also a strategic attempt to suppress India's growing global influence. There is also a conspiracy. Prestigious institutions like the IMF, World Bank and OECD have also been constantly indicating that India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The speed with which the Indian economy has revived after the Corona epidemic due to initiatives like Digital India, Startup India, Make in India is an example for many developed countries. The truth is that the Indian economy is neither dead nor directionless. Yes, there are challenges, unemployment, inflation, income inequality, but while battling these, India is taking remarkable steps towards self-reliance and innovation. India's voice on global forums is no longer weak, but is full of firmness and confidence. At a time when countries like America are intent on breaking the global trade balance with unilateral decisions, then India will have to make its mantra of self-reliance and Swadeshi a resolution and put it into practice. Be it America or China, selfishness is at the center of economic policies, not morality. That is why India will now have to understand that we cannot ensure our economic security by depending only on imports. Unless we have indigenous options in the field of production, manufacturing and consumption, we will not be able to achieve this. Until we adopt this policy, we will continue to be victims of tariff terrorism and global instability.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Swadeshi Jagran Manch have been repeating for years that the basic mantra of India's economic prosperity is 'swadeshi'. This idea is not limited to the use of indigenous products, but it means to chart the path of development based on indigenous resources, technologies, skills and culture. India's economic history is a witness to the fact that whenever the country has believed in its internal capabilities, it has proved its dominance on the global stage. Whether it is the white revolution in milk production, ISRO's successes in space or making indigenous vaccines during the Covid period, India has shown that it is no less than anyone. The mantra of Swadeshi is not limited to just 'make here', it is India made 'by the people here, with the thinking here'. Prime Minister Modi's 'Make in India' campaign is now moving in the direction of 'Made by India'. India will have to create such an economic structure in which indigenous innovation, indigenous industry, and indigenous entrepreneurship get strength instead of foreign capital or technology. In this context, the government will also have to ensure that the Policies should be made that promote indigenous industries, and not run under the pressure of the lobby of multinational companies.

Today is the same time as it was during the partition of Bengal in 1905, when revolutionaries like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai and Arvind Ghosh burnt foreign clothes. Today again a new revolution is needed, but this revolution will be fought in factories, markets, on digital platforms. Our youth should not copy foreign products in startups, innovation and technological experiments, but develop new solutions in accordance with Indian needs and values. This is the soul of self-reliant India. Every Indian has to understand that when he buys a foreign mobile, branded clothes, or Chinese products, he is not just taking a product, but he is snatching the livelihood of an artisan, farmer or entrepreneur of his country. Now is the time for consumers to also become responsible. Indigenous consumption is not just an option, but a modern form of patriotism.

Today when global capitalism is faltering and self-centeredness is dominating the policies of Western countries, India should We must return to our cultural, economic and intellectual roots This is the time when 'Swadeshi' should become a movement, a people's revolution and lay the foundation of a new economy that is sustainable, inclusive and completely self-reliant. The lamp of Swadeshi that Prime Minister Modi has lit is not just the work of the government, it is the moral, national and spiritual duty of all of us. Only then will we not only be able to respond to tariff bullying like Trump's, but will also be able to build a strong, respected and self-reliant India, on the strength of our sweat, our dreams and our country.

In the current context, it has become necessary that the tendency to support foreign insults in the name of criticizing the country should be opposed democratically. The true maturity of democracy is that while criticizing the government, we should protect the nation's reputation and self-respect. As long as India's voice is weakened from within India, external 'tariff dictators' like Trump will continue to get the courage to attack our self-confidence. If our economy is self-reliant, then no global leader will be able to influence our foreign and economic policies by creating pressure. The irony is that despite China's continued hostile behavior and tensions on the border, the import of Chinese products is increasing. Even our festival items are being imported from China.

There is also a need to make efforts to include our huge unorganized sector in the organized sector. We should remember that China has achieved supremacy in the field of production in the world only by organizing small industries in its country. India, the country with the largest population in the world, will have to take big initiatives in this direction to use the potential of its young population. Our education structure should be prepared in such a way that we make skill development our priority. So that we can use artificial intelligence and modern technology to increase production in the long run. Then with the resolve of Swadeshi, India will not only become self-reliant, but we will also be able to enrich our scarce foreign exchange reserves through quality exports.