When the flavor of the season in India is nationalism, and jingoism to an extent, the government of India wants to present itself as a decisive and strong regime standing firm against China and denying it business opportunities in India.
Modi government played TikTok literally with anti-China feelings ....and is largely seen as a populist and smart move
The continuing India-China border face-off took a strange and unprecedented turn this week when India banned 59 Chinese social media and web applications, some having millions of Indian users.
India, engaged in a bitter border row with its neighbor in the Himalayan ranges, said the applications were "prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, the security of the state and public order."
The June 29 knee-jerk reaction from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration came after India lost 20 soldiers in a border clash on June 15. The government was under pressure to act swiftly and show its grit in the face of China's aggression.
Banning popular applications among the people can quickly and fluently tell millions that the government acted firmly. It adds to Modi's "strong leader" image and can garner popular support for him.
Most banned applications are those used by ordinary people. One of them, for example, is TikTok, an app with some two billion users worldwide. Some 30 percent of its users — 600 million — are in India. Other platforms such as Bigo Live and Helo are also popular.
The ban on TikTok alone has helped reach more than half of adult Indians, who, in their sacrifice, could feel part of a national action against China's military assault. That was a novel way for India's government to brandish its well-known muscular and populist characteristics.
Social activist Bishnu Bhattacharya says PM Modi knows only too well the art of staying populist and understanding the general sentiment of the common people on the streets.
"The calls to boycott Chinese products have been trending on social media platforms since June 16, once the news broke that 20 Indian soldiers were killed on the border," he told UCA News.
"The new ban order is not only sweeping. It is an indirect push against China, giving it a broad warning, and sends ominous signals for Chinese business houses doing business in India ... It's a good pressure tactic on China."
His views were echoed by a spokesman for an influential small business traders' body. Avinash Gupta, a member of the Confederation of All India Traders, a lobby of 70 million traders, said it has decided to step up its nationwide movement against the boycott of Chinese goods.
The government has announced that the decision was taken after receiving "many complaints from various sources" about apps that were "stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users' data in an unauthorized manner."
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Bakerwal nomadic herders cook lunch as their sheep graze in a valley between Zoji La and Kargil along the Ladakh highway on June 21.(Photo: AFP, as printed in UCAN
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Meanwhile, TikTok India has denied that it violated any national law. "Tik Tok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and has not shared any information of our users," TikTok India head Nikhil Gandhi said in a statement on June 30.
Gandhi said the application "democratised the internet by making it available in 14 Indian languages" with hundreds of millions of users, artists, storytellers and educators "depending on TikTok for their livelihood."
The Indian market used to be flooded with Chinese products and doing business with these items made economic sense. They also provided jobs to thousands of Indians across various ranges. In fact, the government order naming as many as 59 apps shows the popularity of China-supported origin web platforms in India.
"Hundreds of Indians were dependent on these applications as their only source of income. These have Indian creators, while many of these platforms have offices and employees in India. What happens to them and how they respond remains to be seen?" said an opposition socialist leader who did not want to be named.
Other opposition leaders, including from the principal opposition Congress party, have welcomed the government move.
"We welcome the decision to ban Chinese apps. In light of the grave intrusion on our territory and the unprovoked attack on our armed forces by the Chinese army, we expect our government to take more substantial and effective measures," senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel tweeted.
However, the Indian government says it is giving a befitting reply to the Chinese at the border.
The government's decision to ban as many as 59 apps with opposition parties' support is significant in Indian politics.
In recent weeks, several contracts given to Chinese companies have been canceled even at state level.
The Bihar government took one such decision in eastern India. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a coalition partner in Bihar.
Indian Railways announced the termination of a contract given to Chinese firms worth some US$67 million.
But India has been silent about major and not so apparent Chinese investments in Indian industry that are subject to international trade rules and part of agreements involving multinational trade.
For example, as per the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Chinese have already invested in about 40 percent of India’s automobile industry and in other sectors like metallurgy and power.
In the mobile phone industry, media reports suggest Chinese brand Xiaomi captured about 30 percent of the Indian smartphone market in 2020. The Chinese have reportedly also invested in at least one third of India’s unicorn companies.
In other words, Chinese investments continue to have a good presence in India, although the companies have Indian ownership and addresses.
But when the flavor of the season in India is nationalism, and jingoism to an extent, the federal government wants to present itself as standing firm against China and denying it business opportunities in India.
(as published by UCAN)
Depressed Indians resort to suicide as Covid-19 takes its toll
Experts claim India has become a breeding ground for depression, stress, alcoholism and self-harm.
Two Catholic priests have reportedly committed suicide in India in the past week as experts point to increased depression and loneliness in the country amid lockdown restrictions to stem the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nationwide lockdown measures that began on March 25 continue in different forms, including bans on public gatherings, socialization and public religious activities such as community rituals.
Between March 19 and May 2, at least 338 people committed suicide in India. All cases were related to the lockdown, according to data published by researchers.
The latest incidents that shook the Catholic Church in India were the apparent suicides of two priests and a novice nun.
The body of 51-year-old Father George Ettupara was found in a well close to his parish in Kerala's Changanacherry Diocese on June 22.
Father Yeruva Bala Shoury Reddy, 50, was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his bedroom inside his parish house in Guntur Diocese in Andhra Pradesh on June 20.
In another suspected suicide, the body of 21-year-old student nun Divya John was found in the well of her convent in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala on May 7.
Health experts and psychologists say India has become a breeding ground for increased depression, chronic stress, alcoholism and a tendency to self-harm.
Post-Covid India will be a hub of self-pity, alcoholism, gender-based violence and mass unemployment. All these could lead to higher suicide rates, says Guwahati-based educationist Joon Moni Borah.
"Gross poverty is never the cause of suicides in India. Suicide has more to do with mental agony and self-pity," she says.
India may be facing a situation similar to that of the US and Europe in 2008 when the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine reported an extra 10,000 suicides due to the financial crisis, she adds.
Suicide rates in India remain high, with at least 15 people committing suicide each day, according to government data. In 2018, India reported 134,516 suicides, accounting for 17.5 percent of the 900,000 people who killed themselves globally.
The pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken note of the issue and considers the increasing suicides, particularly of the young generation, a "social burden."
"At least 70 percent of suicides in India are by people below 45 years old and imposes a huge social burden. This needs to be looked into," says BJP leader Virendra Sachdeva of the government's Good Governance Cell.
Data shows that 38 percent of suicides in India are by those below the age of 30.
The lockdown, stress and lack of social activities have increased suicides in India, report local media while recording a spate of suicides including a popular Hindi film star.
Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, was found dead on June 14 in his Mumbai home. A 35-year-old female teacher jumped from the 17th floor of a high-rise building on April 25 in Nodia, a satellite town of New Delhi. In another case, a 55-year-old coronavirus patient, who was undergoing treatment in Haryana, hanged himself in a bathroom.
"Thanks to Covid-19 and the lockdown, as figures of corona patients keep increasing abnormally, apparently no one is happy in India today," says Ashie Singh, a Kolkata-based student.
Social worker Bishnu Bhattacharya says authorities and social workers should "get their act together" and try to take some corrective steps.
"Self-pity and the final act to destroy oneself could become the order of the day in India among vulnerable, depressed people as Covid-19 will have a colossal impact on people's lifestyle and livelihoods," he says.
Bhattacharya notes that India's social system was already stressed out in a "post-globalized India of nuclear families.”
"By temperament, Indians tend to be guided by the norms of an extended family in which brothers live together or nearby with their parents, wives and children. That provides support for all, and children grow up blessed with their grandparents' presence," he says.
But the breakdown of the joint family system "has vanished emotional support and stability in people's minds. Probably, actor Sushant Singh could have survived had he lived in his traditional family atmosphere" in his Bihar home, says Bhattacharya.
Joon Moni Borah says economic stress and social status issues are also factors in suicide. According to her, loss of jobs, lack of financial security and huge disparities in income all push people to take their own lives.
However, Capuchin Father Xavier Vadakkekara, a family counselor, says people's mistaken concepts of success and an inability to understand the meaning of failure are the real reasons.
"Many blame formation for suicide, particularly in the cases of priests and nuns. But actual formation happens in families, in childhood. Children should learn to face failure and disappointment in families. That will help them to face life as adults," he says.
"Religious formation that happens after teenage years can hardly change the core of the personality. Modernization and liberalization have changed the socioeconomic order, with severe competition in every field. Even siblings and husband and wife compete, not to speak of the professional world."
Father Maria Charles, who heads the Indian bishops' commission for education, says the crisis generated by Covid-19 has added to the problems.
"It is true that people often do not have faith in God, and it is slowly leading them not to have faith in other human beings. They become more individualistic and lose family support and so on," he says.
"Many regard money as the ultimate value. They thought money could get them anything, manage everything, and get away with anything. But then they suddenly find no money, friends or someone they can even talk to."
Some church bodies and institutions are already providing counseling to help students, but there is a need for more free online counseling service centers, Father Charles says.
Modi's rare address appreciates India's Christian contributions
PM addresses the 90th birthday celebrations of the head of the Mar Thoma Syrian ChurIn a rare address to a Christian group, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asserted that his government "does not discriminate" between people of different faiths.Modi was addressing the opening of 90th birthday celebrations for Metropolitan Joseph Mar Thoma, the head of the Kerala-based Mar Thoma Syrian Church.
Metropolitan Joseph is the 21st head of the church, one of the seven churches in Kerala that trace their faith to St. Thomas, the apostle who according to tradition preached on the southern Indian coast in 52 AD.
"We are guided by the desire to empower 130 crore (1.3 billion) Indians and our guiding light is the constitution of India," Modi said through a video address to Christians.
The prime minister's reference to India's constitution comes amid allegations from religious minorities such as Christians and Muslims that his government undermines secularism and religious freedom enshrined in the constitution.
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Modi lauded the Christian contribution to the nation in general, and by the Mar Thoma Church in particular, in one of the rare interactions he has had with religious minorities since he came to power six years ago.
Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which supports Hindu nationalism, has faced criticism for supporting fanatic violence against Christians and Muslims across India. Christians, particularly in northern India, face violence over accusations of converting Hindus.
Christian leaders say violent incidents have increased since Modi came to power in 2014. In 2016, Persecution Relief documented 330 cases, but they rose to 440 in 2017. The violence continued with 477 incidents in 2018 and 527 in 2019. The first four months of 2020 recorded 213 cases.
Modi said Metropolitan Joseph Mar Thoma "has devoted his life for the betterment of our society and nation. He has been particularly passionate about removal of poverty and women's empowerment."
"It is with this spirit of humility that the Mar Thoma Church has worked to bring a positive difference in our fellow Indians' lives. They have done so in areas such as healthcare and education," Modi said.
The Mar Thoma Church has fewer activities among tribal and lower-caste people in northern India compared with Catholic and Protestant churches that mostly work outside Kerala.
The prime minister also hailed the Christian community in general. "The contributions of St. Thomas and, following him, the Indian Christian community are deeply valued. With St. Thomas, we associate humility."
He also said the Mar Thoma Church played a role in India's freedom struggle and worked at the forefront for national integration.
Formed as an independent church in 1898, the Mar Thoma Church has some one million followers, mostly in Kerala and among Keralite expatriates in Europe, the United States and Persian Gulf nations.
The Mar Thoma Church was born due to the reformation of the ancient Church caused by education introduced by a British missionary, and its ability to stress local traditions.
Modi said it was "a matter of immense pride that the Mar Thoma Church is firmly rooted in Indian values. The contribution of the Church has also been recognized at the national level."
Modi's speech also mentioned India's fight against Covid-19.
"A global pandemic implies that humanity as a whole needs healing. Let us do everything possible to further harmony and happiness on our planet," he said.
The prime minister said India's recovery rate is rising and the death rate per million due to Covid-19 is under 12. While the death rate in Italy is 574 per million, the "figures in America, Britain, Spain and France are also much higher than in India," Modi said.
India crossed the 500,0000 mark in positive Covid-19 cases on June 27, with the record highest spike of 18,552 cases in the last 24 hours. Since June 1, the country has added more than 300,000 cases. India has recorded 15,685 Covid-19 deaths.
However, millions in Indian villages remain almost untouched by the coronavirus in a country of 1.3 billion people, Modi said.
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