Why banning Chinese good is not a good option for India

India and China are going through a serious confrontation over an old unresolved border conflict. The conflict is not new and the standoff is also not new. The intensity this time might be different compared to previous standoffs and the amount of media attention it is generating also is at a different level due to the social media and 24/7 news channels which want something sensational every hour to keep their audience engaged. This conflict has resulted in a renewed demand for banning Chinese products in India. Also, it was not the first time any such demand had been made. India has a glorious history of banning books and movies. I agree that the demand to ban foreign-made goods is different in context compared to demanding a ban on some controversial book or movie. However, the central idea remains the same, people want to stop something that is not illegal per se but they want to block its legal path. That is, by calling for a ban or a boycott, people want to block legal access to those things that are allowed under normal circumstances. Also, I feel the current scenario is more like a call for a boycott than a ban.

First, if something is of national importance and critical to national security, then the government should come into action and take cognizance of that fact. If Chinese products are harmful to India's economy or national security interests, the central govt should make them illegal. If the trade terms are unfavorable, then the Indian government should negotiate a better trade deal with China. The current central government not only has the power to do these things, but they also have the mandate to do it if they want. Calls for such boycotts or bans are often the result of nationalism fever which is at its peak whenever something happens at the border and gets nationwide coverage. In India, normally these border skirmishes are used as a political capital, they have a great political value especially when some major election is around the corner. One can easily see the pattern in the way these things happen, they are so predictable that many times one gets to doubt if they are choreographed for mutual benefit at the cost of the lives of poor soldiers who are used as political cash, this will be very unfortunate if true.

Second, there is a downside if you try to manipulate the market artificially. For this, let's discuss what is the downside if you eliminate the competition not by outperforming it but by boycotting or banning it. The first immediate benefit is that you eliminate a competitor. Second, you can now enjoy the monopoly, especially if you were the second-best, now, you are the best. Third, consumers are forced to come to you, not because you are the best option, but because you are the only option. These are short-term benefits. India was a closed economy for at least a couple of decades until it opened in 1991. One of the major drawbacks of this approach is that the lack of competition results in a lack of incentive to spend on R&D, and a lack of incentive to improve. Monopoly is taxing on customers' pockets, the worst, govt may seize this opportunity to control pricing and production by enacting new rules and regulations (remember the license raj era in India?).

Finally, another drawback is that things that are banned get smuggled and eventually sold in a black market for higher than their fair market price. Underground liquor sales in so-called liquor-free states of India are an ideal example of this. Bans are rarely effective in stopping something unless the govt is really serious about implementing them, and most of the time they are not serious they do it for appeasement or political reasons. This is the reason why bans rarely work. 

There are many other issues that one can discuss in this context, but the main thing that should worry Indians is the effect on the quality of available products in the marketplace and what if other countries take similar steps. Any country or its people have the right to decide what is best for them, they can choose to buy or not to buy whatever they want, and Indians can do the same as the rest of the world. Indians should just remember that as other countries like to sell their products in India, Indian businesses also need to sell their stuff outside to make a profit, and shutting the doors of a lucrative market like China is not a good option at this stage. The better option is to outperform the competition and make Indian products so attractive options that customers buy them on their own merit not under the fever of nationalism because fever comes and goes, but the quality stays.

Thank you for reading and please share your opinion about this topic. 

Peer pressure - good or bad?

We all face or must have faced "peer pressure" at some point in our lives. Peer pressure is not only the pressure one feels from their friends during high school or college which forces them to do the stuff they don't want to do or when they take drastic steps to fit in the stereotyped definition of a "cool person," it is the pressure which we feel from people from our age group at any point of our lives. It can be in school, college, workplace, society, family, or on online social media. In today's era of social media, these people don't have to be our school or college friends, they can be anyone from anywhere in the world, and this aspect has broadened the group of people who can exert peer pressure on us. I see many people get affected not only by their friends and relatives who are part of their inner circle but also by people whom they don't even know personally (only know from social media).

Is peer pressure good or bad? If it is only bad then why do people succumb to it or get affected by it so much? The truth is, that many of us need continuous validation from people around us. We crave recognition and praise. Why? Because it motivates us and makes us feel happy and valuable. And this is where peer pressure kicks in. To get that validation and recognition we feel the need to cater to what is demanded or liked by the people around us. Before social media, these people used to be the ones from our peer group, people whose validation we crave the most. This why we try to fit into stereotyped definitions of beauty, try to achieve success in ways the society defines it to us, and try to live life the way it is being advertised, even our definition of happiness and success is heavily influenced by the advertisements and market forces. However, thanks to social media, there are so many things apart from our immediate peer group that can create peer pressure on us. Social media has expanded the definition of the peer group, not we can be peer pressured by anyone from anywhere in the world.

If this pressure encourages you, helps you to work harder, motivates you to wake up every day and go to work, and feel good about yourself then it is good for you and it is helping you. But, if this peer pressure is making you frustrated, feel overburdened with expectations from others, feel dejected and worthless about yourself, adding to your anxiety, and making you depressed, then definitely it is hurting you and is bad for you. It can work either as a motivator or depressor depending on how you react to it.

The first step is to try to recognize what this pressure is doing to you and based on that one can plan how to deal with it. The best way is to immunize yourself from it so that it can't affect you in any way, but in this case, you also lose the positive effects of it. Another way is to be aware of its existence, use it only in a positive way, and consciously avoid getting negatively affected. It is not that easy, but I think it is necessary in today's world that we keep the focus on our mental hygiene as much as we focus on our physical hygiene. There is a lot of help available (books, blogs, and online forums) to learn how to use peer pressure to our advantage. We must take advantage of all these resources and make peer pressure work for us. The truth is, it is very difficult to avoid peer pressure, so it is better to learn how to deal with it so that it can help us rather than drag us down. 

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.