The past three months: saw an unprecedented upheaval in India as its 1.3 billion population stood in snaking queues for days together, to access bite-sized rations of their own hard-earned money. Prime Minister Modi (it now emerges, unilaterally) had decided to ‘demonetize’ the nation’s Rs 500 ($ 7) and Rs 1000 ($14) bills, with little preparation and no thought to consequences. His stated intent was to flush out unaccounted black money, halt counterfeit currency and block terrorist funding. When these objectives remained unrealized, the declared intent changed and morphed into a desire for India to move to digital transactions! Never mind our poor internet connectivity or that few have smartphones across small-town India. Never mind that people have died in this process, that is taking us from democracy to socialism. At no point in the narrative have we had any admission of error, much less heard an apology!
This week: I was gob-smacked to witness an ad campaign, launched by a leading Indian electronic media channel, in support of ‘remonetizing’! I listened in amazement as Bollywood stars, of every stature, made a solemn pledge to put money back into the system and revive a flagging economy. Wasn’t this the problem in the first place?! What is wrong with us? Why don’t we speak up and demand accountability in our leaders?
Yesterday: While America contends with its own challenges, I was heartened to see a firm, albeit polite, journalist challenge the President on a statement that was blatantly false…
It is the only way. These are trying times and we must demand honesty in our leaders.
