I didn’t sign up for this.
This is one of those things where I don’t get to choose or opt-out. Fair enough. There is still one thing which I’ll always have as a free citizen of the country is the right to have an opinion, which may or may not correspond with the popular sentiment. I hope I’ll not be an anti-national for having a thought process of my own.
It looks like a lot of people around me secured a Ph.D. in Economics and Monetary policy overnight, November 8th (to be precise). Unfortunately, I’m not one of them. I want answers and accountability for what I’m seeing around me, justification for the trouble* I’m facing (* This trouble is not to be confused or compared with trouble faced by people in different positions, for example – Doctor, Engineer, Social Workers, Army man)
I come across a lot of op-eds, news updates etc. which convey that Demonetization is another bitter pill which will be beneficial in the long run. Thinking about the benefits, I have some very specific questions to ask:
- Will the rent for my 1bhk decrease?
- Will the price for the Idli/wada I’ve for breakfast, be priced lower than 30/-?
- Will the lunchbox I order for 50/- per meal going to decrease?
- Is Uber going to lower the prices in Bangalore?
I haven’t come across any article which provides me insight about the above issues which matter to me. It might very well be true that I’m being naïve and not looking at the bigger picture, to that I say ‘ Mah lyf, mah rulz’ (Not something I usually say, but seems apt at the moment) The least I expect is to be made aware of the benefits (if any) in simple and clear terms.
Coming to the tricky part now, Inconvenience caused by Demonetization.
I had to go to the bank to withdraw cash. Time taken – 3.5hrs (Day 1) 2hrs (Day 2). The point put forward that the time taken is dependent on the management by the bank and the specific branches does nothing to help me. Am I supposed to switch over to another bank now? Or accept it as my bad luck and poor judgement to have an account at that specific branch.
At the bank, on Day 1 - we had no casualties. Just an elderly man in his 60-70’s falling unconscious and hitting the floor (people around did lift him up and comforted him). Someone should have told him that soldiers on the border fighting for the country are struggling more than him, so there’s no reason to complain. What I felt then was only disgust at this ‘masterstroke’ (stroke – pun intended). There was no reason for that man to go through what had just happened.
To conclude, I would only draw attention at the composition of the queues and conduct of the people in those queues. People of means, are not the ones standing in the queues. Those who share the misfortune of standing in the queues are trying everything to get ahead, which includes citing to the cashier that they work in CA Firm that has all the salary accounts at that branch. In case you’re wondering, it did work and the cashier gave 10K without following due process (the check wasn’t even cleared before making the payment). Preferential treatment is the foundation of corruption. Sad to see that a move intended to weed out corruption is dragging more people to be a part of it.
[This article is not solely influenced by my personal cash crunch. I have enough to last a month.]
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