IT Correspondent
Mumbai, Aug 3:
Even as “Raksha Bandhan”, was celebrated across the country on Monday, most of the people preferred Indian rakhis and there was also a trend of purchasing them on line, due to social distancing protocol.
According to reports, shop keepers depended on indigenous supplies and no imported Chinese rakhis were sold. It was stated to be a big blow to China-made rakhis causing a an estimated loss to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore, to the Chinese manufacturers exporting rakhis to India. With this India also broke the myth that it cannot successfully boycott Chinese goods.
Raksha Bandhan is a traditional Hindu festival celebrated in India, Nepal and other parts of the Indian subcontinent. On this day, sisters tie rakhi or an amulet around their brothers’ wrists, as a symbol of a brother’s responsibility to care for and protect them. The festival is usually celebrated on the last day of the Hindu lunar calendar in the month of Shravana (on a full moon day).
On 10 June, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) had given a call for celebrating Rakhi as “Hindustani Rakhi” this year which has turned out to be a success. With the cooperation of CAIT around one crore, Rakhis were made across the country using Indian goods and made by women working in the commercial sectors, at homes, and in Anganwadis.
CAIT had engaged woman artisans to prepare rakhis from seeds, pulses, rice, wheat and foodgrain, madhubani paintings, handicraft items and even cow dung. The “Modi rachis” were made in Delhi, Madhubani painting rakhi in Bihar, seed rakhi in Pune, fabric rakhi in Jaipur, tribal products rakhi in Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) and the one using tea leaves was made in Tinsukia (Assam).
All these years, the Chinese rakhis made of foam, faux, pearls, drops, threads and other decorative material were in great demand.
A variety of new-designer Rakhis were made from Indian goods and this year not a single rakhi was imported from China. Even Chinese raw material was not imported. The National President of CAIT, B.C. Bhartia, and National General Secretary Praveen Khandelwal said that according to an estimate around 50 crore rakhis are sold every year at about Rs 6000 crore, while the China-made Rakhis or products worth around Rs 4000 crore were imported were being imported, for the past many years.
About the next step to boycott Chinese goods, Bhartia and Khandelwal said that on 9 August (Quit India movement Day), traders from all over the country will start the “China Quit India” campaign. On this day, traders will gather at more than 800 locations across the country and shout the slogan of ‘China Quit India’.
On the other hand, after a long wait of 500 years, on the foundation laying ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on 5 August 5, traders all over the country will light a lamp or clatter bells in their shops and homes.
