The day Trump was elected, Modi stole his thunder. Unfair? I Know!
The U.S. is and has always been, bipolar. Sadly, India is treading that path too, with a strong flurry of opinions, for and against Modi’s “Demonetization” fiasco.
I had read an article about Filter bubble, about how you only read what you want to read, and you see only you want to see, in your news feed. Hence, Democrats saw news which aligned with their thoughts, and thought, Hey, that is what America wants, and vice versa. So when the results came, they were shocked. The common man, the mute spectator had other plans. And as they say, don’t underestimate… well you know the rest!
The same mistake is happening here, polarization, and segregation. People fighting over and blocking each other because they hold a different political view, a different opinion, not ready to lend an ear to the logic in their stand and the fallacies in one’s own. Hence, you are insulated from the views, problems, dimensions of the other person.
To start with, I want to have an unbiased perspective of things, like many of you. I tried hard to find such articles on demonetization. Because, I, to be honest, didn’t face a lot of problems because of this, but that is because I am from that very small pool of people who has PayTm, Debit Cards, and grocery stores which accept Cards nearby, and of course, with no undisclosed/ disclosed bundles of currency lying in my attic. ( Yeah, like I would keep them there, Silly! ) But what I want to know, is the other end of the spectrum. I can’t bleat out, saying that I faced no problems, only “minor inconveniences”, hence this move was a masterstroke, and that only chi-chi people are suffering. I want to know stories. Stories Of real people, real news, not some cheap masala theatrics by Media houses. I asked around, and the poor are genuinely affected. Technicalities of financial inclusion, bank outreach, lack of currency notes aside, people are suffering, Period. Since I, and people like me, move to supermarket chains, there is none to buy vegetables from the nearby lady who sells fresh vegetables. The daily wage earners, like carpenters and others, don’t have work, because of priorities of people hiring them. But I also heard stories where a lot of currency exchange (illegal, of course) was done by these very same people, and of the infinite parallel mechanisms which have mushroomed, like always, to by-pass the system.
I hear stories. Of people scurrying around, in a bid to dispose of their “black” money. Reminded me of the time, when at night you go into your kitchen for a gulp of water, switch on the light, and you see roaches running and scurrying for their life. ( Use Hit!- And Hit! isn’t paying me a dime to say this)
I do not know how this works, all this hullabaloo. And do you, honestly? Of the ramifications of introducing a 2000 rupee note, with a different size and how it would curb black money? If so, I shall be your rubber duck, gladly!
But I do know that the implementation has been faulty. I agree to Modi’s objectives, of eradicating black money, to prevent forfeited currency note circulation, and to Manmohan’s critique, of how it is an organized blunder and a legalized loot. . Am I pro-Demonetization? I don’t know, I guess time will tell. I think, I am confused. So are many people like me, and confused people are easy to sway, we should learn that from the US!
TidBits 