Milind Soman says NO to 'cheeni' amid 'Boycott China'; pitches healthy 'desi' alternatives

Following the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley at Ladakh, on Monday, actor-model Milind Soman is standing strong on his move to boycott Chinese products. The Made In India star, who enjoys a huge fan following social media platforms, has given a healthy and quirky twist to share the message with netizens on Twitter.

Soman echoed the thoughts of one of his fans through a tweet that suggests that --the one way of keeping the body and the nation fit is "cheeni bandh"-- a pun on the Hindi word 'cheeni' which means 'Chinese' as well as 'sugar'. He also shared that "desi gud"(jaggery) and "desi goods" are essential for the body and the country respectively.

Soman shared, "शरीर एवं राष्ट्र.... दोनों को स्वस्थ रखने का... एक ही उपाय है, " चीनी बन्द " शरीर के लिए "देसी गुड" और राष्ट्र के लिए "देसी Goods" #SonamWangchuk #BoycottMadeInChina" 

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A profound fitness enthusiast and Ironman Triathlon champion, Milind Soman has always been an advocate of local goods and produce for a fitter body.  He has been actively supporting education reformer Sonam Wangchuk's initiative to boycott Made in China goods. Wangchuk started a movement by arguing that the Chinese will feel the pinch harder on "their wallet" than on the border "with bullets".

Read | Amrita Rao follows Milind Soman to delete TikTok, Tanuj Garg echoes Sonam Wangchuk's call

In a video shared by Wangchuk earlier last month, he had said that the Chinese actions on the border with India are a result of their own domestic dissatisfaction over the Chinese government's handling of the COVID-19 crisis. He encouraged people to drop the use of Chinese softwares "within a week" and had said that Indians have the freedom to choose what they spend on with their wallet. If a country doesn't treat India fairly then they should use boycotts as "personal economic sanctions". 

"We should uninstall all their apps that make their (Chinese) companies rich. That money goes to make bombs and bullets to point at our borders. So first uninstall their apps. Then we should vote out hardware like electronics, clothes, and machines slowly over a year. This signal, first from India and then the rest of the world will hurt China which will affect their economy," Wangchuk said.

Sonam Wangchuk went on to suggest that Indians need not depend on cheap Chinese products and look for domestic alternatives.

Read | Milind Soman uninstalls TikTok, joins Sonam Wangchuk's 'Boycott Chinese Products' movement

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