India’s literate citizens have read reams, through November 2016, about the Prime Minister’s drive to demonetize all 500 and 1000 rupee currency notes. This initiative will supposedly flush out black money, halt corruption and put a stop to counterfeit money. These are all laudable objectives that are hard to object to, so what could be amiss?
From a personal perspective, it is galling that those of us who work hard and pay our taxes should be denied access to our own money, even for a day! No matter all the talk about cashless transactions, most middle class Indians require cash each day – to buy the milk for breakfast, to pay the three-wheeler rickshaw, to pay for small groceries at the corner store on the way home – and these demonetized notes are after all equivalent to approximately 7.5 and 15 US dollars respectively.
On another level, I object to supporters who dismiss the trials and tribulations, being suffered by those most in need, as a ‘temporary hardship’. No dear friends, this chaos is the direct result of poor preparation, inadequate foresight and abysmal implementation. There is no denying that the economically oppressed should have been cushioned from the dreadful impact of these overnight actions. A leader risen from humble origins should have guarded against this erosion of the daily earnings and small savings of countless Indians.
Finally, perhaps the most worrying concern is the unilateral and autocratic approach that has been employed through this whole exercise. I am not entirely surprised. Most thinking Indians cannot be unaware of our top man’s individualistic, macho, muscle-flexing approach. Should we then be surprised that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seems to have relinquished its autonomy as it toes the line drawn by the Finance Ministry? Did RBI ask Government for more time to print new currency, bolster the infrastructure and create the processes that would be needed to iron out the wrinkles in as mammoth an undertaking as was being embarked upon by our ambitious prime minister?
I must respectfully disagree Ranjana. Most critiques of the implementation are perhaps justified but I am yet to see a single constructive idea of how this ought to have been done from any one beginning with Manmohan Singh. I carry no brief for Modi but this smacks of the Trump approach – “we will replace Obamacare with something beautiful”. Can naysayers suggest their alternative to clean up this cancer or will it be something ‘beautiful’ that does not affect any but those with funny money?
And I must disagree with you Vasant. It is the RBI’s role to come up with constructive ideas to implement such a plan (we are not the first nation to have demonetized) instead of falling in line with Jaitly and Modi. It is common knowledge that the PM believes he knows everything about everything – and does not take kindly to advice, We seem to be turning into a police state. BTW new controls are being set up that will result in newer and more creative avenues for corruption as we attempt to circumvent those controls. No matter how virtuous the Modi (incidentally the BJP bought vast tracts of land just prior to Nov 8) our babus remain unchanged!
I totally agree. And in reply to those who want to know how black money could have been tackled here is a simple but tough solution . The PMO has to simply ensure that officials of the departments concerned to check generation of black money should work honestly for they are paid for…the Income Tax dept should stop letting off black money hoarders by accepting bribes, the sales tax dept should not allow sale of goods without receipts , the cbi and cid should be able to nab counterfeit note makers instead of turning a blind eye. There are many more departments which are not doing what they are supposed to do because majority of them are corrupt. If the govt clamps down on this corrupt lot drastic measures like demonetization would not be necessary. Also, those who are favouring demonetization should not forget that BJP, when it was in the Opposition, had vociferously protested against demonetization of Rs 500 notes of 2005 and earlier proposed by the then UPA govt in 2014.
And the officers asking for bribes are now asking for them in gold so we still have to pay in gold now!