Call it patriotism or going by sentiments of the people, it is being seen that the Chinese rakhis have disappeared from the market altogether and the Indian ones are selling like hot cakes. Rakshabandhan is around the corner, on August 7.
Following the Doklam standoff between Indian and China, the market has seen a major fall in demand of Chinese rakhis. A virulent campaign has been launched on social media calling for a boycott of China-made goods.
In Agra, Shahganj-based rakhi seller Mukesh Lalwani said that this time, Raksha Bandhan goods sellers are not keeping stock of Chinese items. He questioned as to why they should make a profit by selling Chinese items when China is using that money to threaten India, said a report.
Although it is true that the margin is low for selling Indian products over the Chinese ones, the retailers rejoice the fact that money would at least stay within the country.
"When our brothers are trying to protect the border against the dragon, how can we buy rakhis made there?" questioned another resident of Arjun Nagar in Agra who says that she is unable to tolerate Chinese products in the market now.
Various wholesalers of rakhi said that the stock of Chinese rakhis has gone low as there is no demand. People are opting for the traditional, India-made ones. The annual business of China-made rakhis had been about Rs 5 crore so far, but this time the wholesalers did not order the quantities they usually did.
In Bhopal, the sellers are blaming Goods and Services Tax. "Our sales are down 50 to 60 per cent due to GST as well as a boycott of Chinese rakhis. After the implementation of GST, we are paying 12 per cent tax. So we too have hiked the price of rakhi and are now selling it for Rs 20, the price of which was Rs 10 earlier. We earned huge profit by selling Chinese's Rakhis due to its cheap price," said Jitendra, a seller.
A few days back, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had come up with a new mantra, which they wanted every Indian to chant five times before starting their prayers. This was in an attempt to not only hurt the core interest of China but also infuse spiritual energy in the efforts and will create positive action.
