India’s road to swadeshi perdition

Boycotting China is one thing. Being self-sufficient is another. This is a story of how India fails on both counts

Anandbhai Thakarwal never thought he’d see the day, but here he is, a cat on a hot tin roof, a shopkeeper without a signboard. His Student Collection sells toys, memory cards, stationery, makeup and other miscellanea. It’s closed while other shops remain open, but that’s not what’s off. The store’s blue display board—which screamed “Vivo” louder than it did “Student Collection”—has been taken down and kicked to the literal curb. The ramifications of the Himalayan border skirmish between India and China have come here to roost in suburban Mumbai.

Meanwhile, in New Delhi, Arvinder Khurana has just written to Prime …

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Roshni P. Nair

Roshni is a features writer and former editor of The Morning Context's Chaos team. Her career spans The Ken, Reuters, the Hindustan Times and DNA. She is a recipient of the UNFPA Laadli award and was shortlisted for the RedInk Awards 2016 for her story on Mumbai’s leprosy colonies. Her far-flung ideas would sometimes drive our editor-in-chief Ashish up the wall, but he wouldn’t have had it any other way (even if he didn’t admit it).

roshni@mailtmc.com

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Pradip K. Saha

Pradip is a co-founder at The Morning Context and leads our newsletters vertical. He has previously worked at The Ken as a staff writer, at Mint as an assistant features editor and the Deccan Chronicle as a copy editor. He works with a slew of expert newsletter writers across subjects and domains. His own writing spans the gig economy, farmers caught in the crossfire of technology, global warming and parents trapped in the edtech wave. Some of his best stories have come at the intersection of technology and human endeavour.

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pradip@mailtmc.com

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