In the wake of the recent Pulwama attack, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), called for an immediate ban on the Chinese social media app Tik Tok. China, which the SJM accused of being a facilitator of terrorism, condemned the Pulwama attack but blocked India’s attempts to have the United Nations declare JeM Chief Masood Azhar citing lack of evidence.
The SJM also claimed that Indian businesses are suffering because of competition from Chinese firms like Huawei and LTE. The RSS outfit has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking economic blockades on such companies that use India for financial gain. In effect, demands for measures to protect India’s entrepreneurial sector are now couched in nationalist terms. Interestingly, there are also strident calls to safeguard the country from the invasion of foreign apps.
Is this protection mania a new kind of digital nationalism?
The Chinese social media app Tik Tok is a popular lip sync app that has 20 million monthly active users in India as well as nearly 100 million downloads. Millions of Indian smartphone users have downloaded other Chinese apps like Kwai and LIKE for their easy-to-use interface and attractive features. The short videos that abound in these platforms are a great hit with adolescents and pre-teens. Tik Tok has also made its mark in other countries, with its owner company Bytedance being now the world’s most valuable start-up, valued at $75 billion.
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