Cuttack: The India-China border crisis and the standoff at Ladakh that led to the death of 20 Indian Army soldiers have resulted in a wave of patriotism across the country. Odisha is no different to growing calls for economic retaliation against Chinese aggression on the border.
Amid privacy and security concerns along with border tension, youngsters in the state have chosen to take on the might of Chinese software services by replacing Chinese apps with Indian ones. While replacing Made-in-China hardware will take time and are cost-prohibitive on many occasions, replacing software is easier, they argue.
“Though it is easy to say ‘Boycott Chinese Products’, the bitter truth is: owing to lower procurement costs and easy availability, Chinese products rule Indian markets. It is indeed challenging to dismiss Made in China products,” says Sanjana Ray, a management trainee from Bhubaneswar.
Sanjana goes on to suggest an alternative. “There are several Chinese Apps which can be replaced with Indian ones. These app companies, often state-funded by the Chinese government, earn billions in revenue from their Indian operations. Simply uninstalling the apps will hit them hard economically,” she argues.
It is not only youngsters that have taken on the Chinese. Earlier several courts including the Orissa High Court pulled up Tik Tok over privacy and security concerns. So is the case with intelligence agencies in India and abroad who have asked their users to steer clear from a number of Chinese apps such as Tik Tok and UC Browser among others.
Subhashree Swain, a student from Cuttack said, “If by not using Chinese apps or product I can do something for my country, I would do it over and over again. Besides, most of the popular Chinese apps out there are offer little creative value and pose security threats.”
Another student from Cuttack Subrat Pradhan, meanwhile, highlighted practical aspects of the emotional appeal to boycott Chinese products and services.
“I have not deleted TikTok app from my phone as yet. Even my phone maker is a Chinese brand. I can’t throw it away. Unless good quality products and services are made in India, it is difficult to boycott Chinese ones,” Pradhan said.
Meanwhile, Biren Meher, a young and suave software consultant in Bhubaneswar feels that one has to start somewhere. He argues that once the young generation steps up to the act; it will go a long way in dethroning Chinese applications from their current position of dominance.
“Several Chinese apps whether a short video one, a game, a productivity software or a photo editing application, all of them have alternatives in the market. Quite a few of them are Indian and of good quality. We need to stick to our apps to support Indian developers and usher a real change,” Chinmaya says.
Chinmaya further suggested that apart from the users, government intervention should also play a key part in encouraging Indian software services and act against malicious Chinese apps that have traditionally posed a privacy and security threat.
PNN