Everyone has been writing on demonetization. There have been thousands of posts, articles, tweets, status updates over multitude of online and offline platforms on the same topic. I have developed a sudden liking to the topic now that it is slowly going out of fashion.
Introduction
What opinion I have on demonetization? None I want to propagate.
Do I belong to pro-Modi or anti-Modi group over the topic? Neither.
Do I care at all for the well being of our country? Of course, I do.
Then, how could I be without opinions and allegiances? Not sure.
Well... Is that all I wanted to talk about? Not exactly.
What I am going to do is to summarize all Pro/white and Anti/black theories I have ever heard so far, and then try to reach a conclusion.
Background
India's Prime Minister Narendra modi made a surprise announcement at the night of 8th November to declare that two of the highest denomination currencies of the day stop being legal tenders that midnight onwards. The move was said to be directed towards controlling ‘black money’ in the system. What happened next is obscure.
For, the moment PM Modi made that announcement, India had some serious multiple vision problem. Some saw chaos everywhere; some saw hope. Some saw people dying in ques. Some saw digital literacy; Some saw poor people suffering, some saw black-money holders shivering... Sigh. What did I see? I saw nothing. I saw life going on, as usual.
I saw people going to work as usual. May be they did go to bank to exchange old notes. They were quite okay about that. I didn't hear them grumbling, except for witty banters among their peers; My mother and father still got grocery for home, though we were nearly out of currency notes; As of myself, I didn't have any currency notes to start with. Nor did I need any money for immediate use. So, I too didn't find the need to go to a bank, or to stand in one of those kilometer long queues I had seen on news.
That's why I thought I ought to be more informed. And information was flooding the cyberspace.
All people I followed on Facebook had something to say about it. So did all newspapers, blogs and forums. Whether I wanted it or not, I was being educated about its nuisances from all perspectives: Contradicting perspectives. Whenever someone said something positive about the government's move there were a hundred counterpoints telling why that is bullshit. Whenever someone made a sensible point why it is not a masterstroke, there were people crying 'anti-national!' Crimes committed upon facts and reason: exaggeration, arm-twisting and plain murder... With each of its citizen labeled either ignorant or corrupt, the future of my country seemed hopeless. The doom predicted to be descending on India seemed to be descending on me as gloom, each time I opened, well, any communication medium.
Arguments from each class: Black, white and the shades in between
1. After demonetization there will not be any black money in India.
2. Pakistani terrorist activity in India will stop now because the fake currency notes they have printed has no value now.
3. India is going to be a digital economy immediately.
4. Now everyone has smart phone, who doesn't? Even villagers buy from Amazon and Flipkart. So there won't be much problem.
5. We trust our prime minister. If he says it is good in the long run, it sure is.
6. All people who are opposing demonetization are either corrupt people who have a lot of black money or have been unknowingly brainwashed by black money holders.
7. So many influential people, in past, have recommended drastic measures to reduce cash in our economy. Nobody had the guts or political will to do so.
8. If a popular prime minister makes a highly unpopular move, right when many assembly elections are nearing, when he knows well that the move will have many negative repercussions, it means that he didn't do that just to 'show-off'.
9. Wait and see what PM Modi does next!
Black:
1. Modi did it to help corporates
2. It was to fund the banks, to wipe off bad loans.
3. It was to help Vijay Malya.
4. All shops are closed since November 9th. Shopkeepers have no money to buy stuff. People have no money to buy stuff. When shops don't want any stuff, farmers cannot sell their stuff. So, they too have no money. Everyone is starving.
5. Black money isn't in cash. Black money holders are not fools. They are rich, clever and have clever people working for them who can convert any amount of black money to white in a jiffy.
6. The government informed the black money holders beforehand. It was a surprise only for common people. (And Mukhesh Ambani knew it. That’s why he is giving free internet on Jio)
7. It has been a disaster of unprecedented scale; A colossal blunder. The government didn’t do any homework. It has no idea what is going on.
8. It will increase inequality as cash flows from poor people to banks, and banks give it away to big business houses.
9. Banks are all corrupt. They make poor people stand in queues, while work for the translocation of suitcases full of pink notes to the households of the ultra-rich. (Or, even RBI directly supplies them)
10. IT raids are just eyewash. It’s all politically motivated.
11. In the long run, we are all dead.
The Shades in between:
Alas! The Blacks and the whites together didn't yield a peaceable, quiet grey. Once mixed, it turned all murky inside my head. Only immediate solution was to wash it off and forget it all.
That’s what I did: Disabled my Facebook account and stopped reading about demonetization altogether. Not very wise move, one could say. One could also say that as a citizen of the country, I have a responsibility to read everything everyone has to say on it and take a stand, for or against. Only reply I have now is that I have a responsibility towards myself, to not to let trust and hope die.
That’s all I wanted to say. I am ending my essay with my favorite quotes from the episode. Sorry I cannot give credits because both are original quotes taken out of context.
1. In the long run, we are all dead
2. Pink is the new black
(Disclaimer: It is a narrative of the author’s subjective experience. Sincere apologies are sought for errors of omission or commission and hurt sentiments, if any.)
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