By Kelsang Rinchen,
Phayul Reporter
Dharamsala, January 2 – The boycott campaign against the use of Chinese products undertaken earlier in India by Friends of Tibet saw its first round yesterday in Mcloed Ganj and nearby areas with the distribution of pamphlets appealing the local public to abandon use of goods made by and in China.
Cheap Chinese goods have already created a huge market in India, which is normally seen by the developed world as a prospective land for dumping their wastes. An important step will be to urge the merchants all over India to refrain from buying Chinese goods by telling them how Tibet’s resource is exploited and human rights violated.
Friends of Tibet dressed up its members in white gown with their faces covered in white cloth. Say no to Made in China, says the letters painted in red and black on the gowns.
It was reminiscent of the boycott campaign started against the restaurants and stores owned by white people in America by the black community who believed that their active participation in the campaign would surely bring the white community to their knees.
Boycott campaign is one of the most effective methods of winning. Everybody can participate in it without any fear of arrest or jail, says a young Tibetan helping them distribute pamphlets.
The founder and the president of the Mumbai based organisation said he is certain that his efforts will bear fruit if he has the support of the masses.
The organisers seem to have in mind what one of the leaders of the black people once said, “we were not simply addressing our immediate opponent. What we were doing was addressing the larger audience, the nation, and the world because the strategy of non-violence is that you educate a large number of constituents and win them on your side. In fact, even though we as African Americans were minority no change could take place unless you have the sympathy of the majority if not the active participation”.
Talking to phayul, Friends of Tibet general secretary Tenzin Tsundue said the distribution of leaflets was the “preliminary” step of a major campaign. We will approach every shopkeeper with our message to cease purchase of goods made in China.
Kelsang Rinchen can be contacted at kalsangr@phayul.com
