India’s road to swadeshi perdition

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Editor's note: 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 Minister Narendra Modi. It’s a follow-up to his stimulus package request for mobile retailers. The OnePlus 8 Pro may have recently sold out on Amazon India, but offline retailers aren’t as fortunate. Electronics stores bearing the names “Vivo”, “Oppo”, “Realme” and “Mi” on their signages have been targeted in Mumbai, Delhi, Patna, Agra and Jabalpur. “A shopkeeper whose signage was vandalized told me how the attacker was holding an Oppo phone while barking orders to the rest,” he says over …