We know the old adage that two wrongs do not make a right. We may also remember the three R’s –reading, riting and rithmetic. My three Rights are different, and not to be confused with the three Rites that have become the bane of the Catholic Church in India. The three Rights that I am referring to were three headlines on 9 th November – Demonetisation, Trump’s victory and Arnab Goswami’s impending ouster from Times Now TV. I am not a fan of Modi, Trump or Goswami, so what is right about them?
First the big Indian bombshell – Modi’s tryst with the demonetisation of Rs 500/- and Rs 1000/- notes (euphemistically referred to as high denomination currency). I would daresay that there is hardly a family in India that does not possess a Rs 500/- note.
By no stretch of the imagination can it be called a rich man’s prerogative. Modi’s avowed purpose for demonetisation was threefold – to curb the use of black money, synonymous with crime and corruption, to eliminate fake currency, and to stem the flow of funds to terrorists.
Modi had made the return of black money from overseas one of his 2014 poll planks, claiming with his 56 inch chest that he would, within a month of getting elected, get Rupees Fifteen Lakhs from money parked abroad, into every Indian’s bank account.
Nothing like that happened. He then came out with a voluntary disclosure scheme that ended on 30 th September. This too lagged way behind expectations. So now came the body blow, an after eight announcement of demonetisation, portrayed as a surgical strike against black money. This talk of another surgical strike reminds me of another adage – the operation was successful but the patient died!
There is a mounting fear that this is what is happening to the poor and lower middle class, while the affluent class that is the purported target of the scheme, seems relatively unruffled. It is the poor that have taken the biggest hit – in Rahul Gandhi’s words – the farmers, the housewives and the petty traders.
I belong to a family that has been in business for 160 years. Sadly, I must admit that before Independence we were affluent, and relished doing honest business.
However, with the march of time came increasing dishonesty, bureaucratic red tape, lopsided laws and a plethora of unjust taxes. Our family fortunes withered and we are as good as gone. I do not long for the past, and despite many odds, have soldiered on in doing honest business, to pay my taxes and fight against black money. I have failed; while on the other hand I see unscrupulous businessmen and industrialists flourishing and flaunting their wealth.
In principle therefore I welcome Modi’s demonetisation, if indeed it succeeds in eliminating or severely curtailing black money. But we Indians are incorrigible innovators (jugadis). The more the laws and curbs; the more the ways to evade them. Modi’s Gujarat has been a dry State for years, but liquor flows freely. We have laws against dowry, child marriage, untouchability etc, only to have them flouted with impunity. I am proud to be an Indian, but I don’t hesitate to call a spade a spade. We Indians are dirty and dishonest. So I support both of Modi’s campaigns – for a Swatch Bharat and demonetisation.
In the present instance I am deeply troubled by the manner in which demonetisation has been suddenly imposed. Yes, Modi said that for the greater good of the nation we should endure some temporary hardship. Pliant TV anchors said that there can be no gain without pain. On TV a BJP spokesperson wondered what all the hue and cry was about. People could use their credit cards and convert their money at the banks! Such gross insensitivity reminds me of the infamous statement attributed to Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution, “If they can’t get bread let them eat cake”. For the poor and disadvantaged in India this was like rubbing salt into the wound. Try telling a stranded traveller to approach the bank after two days. Try telling a dying man to go to a Govt hospital for treatment. Modi made an exception for purchasing petrol but not for daily rations. Cars on national highways were allowed to zip through toll free, but those rummaging the bye lanes in search of food got no such privileged treatment. This was the theatre of the absurd.
Now to the banks. I am writing this on the 10 th November, the day the banks have opened. I had Rs 18,000/- in “high denomination currency”. As per the Govt notification I could withdraw Rs 10,000/- cash at a time, so I sent my man to the bank to deposit a like amount. I expected to get 5 gleaming new Rs 2000/- notes with the Mars Rover (Mangalyan). I got a bundle of soiled Rs 100/- notes instead. Another person who had gone to exchange the permitted sum of Rs 4000/- was given a heavy sack of 400 Rs 10/- coins. One of my workers, after standing for hours in a line to deposit his wife’s meagre savings of Rs 1000/- managed to deposit it but could not withdraw any money as the bank had run out of currency. Such scenes must have been repeated across the country. So much for the “ease of doing business” tom-tommed by the Modi Govt.
Now to the core issue of curtailing black money. Who are the major players? 1. Industrialists and big business houses 2. Politicians and 3. Bureaucrats. The first have a host of competent chartered accountants to advise them on how to divert, invest and park their funds. They may even have been forewarned by a business friendly Govt. They are not likely to be sitting on stacks of liquid cash, inviting swift penal action. This brings us to the politicians, especially those preparing for State elections. The BJP may have had a whiff of what was coming, even if they didn’t know about demonetisation per se. It’s the opposition parties that would have been caught with their pants down and their underwear bulging with wads of cash. They are not going to take things lying down. They will galvanise their cadres, farm out the cash and get it converted during the 50 day grace period. That leaves the bureaucrats who do not easily bear scrutiny. Most politicians have a 5-year shelf life, and need to nurse their constituencies. In contrast the bureaucrats have a 35-year tenure and no liabilities. If they haven’t converted their ill-gotten wealth into bullion
and real estate then they are the ones who are well and truly jacked.
My only objection to the demonetisation is the haste with which it was implemented, causing untold hardship across the board. The Govt should have given the public at least two days to stock up on essentials, make travel plans or prepare for contingencies. This is the common refrain. When I mentioned this to a chartered accountant he had a different take. He said that had a window of opportunity been afforded the big guns would have ensured an immediate flight of capital outside the country! This came as a shock to me. So I would say that the jury is still out on whether Modi’s tryst with demonetisation was a surgical strike or a failed operation.
Briefly now to the other two Rights. By Right I now mean that Trump’s victory was another sharp turn to the Right following in the footsteps of the Brexit vote. The latter was a conundrum, raising more questions than it has answered; and leaving the British shell-shocked at the consequences that they had not really envisaged. This time what really shocked me was the reaction of some so-called “intellectuals”. They welcomed Trump’s victory claiming that it was a slap in the face of the over bearing Muslims! That was something that I could not digest. Has the world become so polarised and intolerant of the “other”? Are Samuel Huntington’s predictions of a “Clash of Civilisations” coming true? I shudder at the thought.
Now to the third Right, the ouster of Arnab Goswami from Times Now TV. I have always found the man downright obnoxious, foisting his personal agenda and not allowing his panellists to speak uninterrupted. I felt that he had crossed all limits of decency and decorum while anchoring a debate on the Uniform Civil Code, in which Dr John Dayal was also present. He kept cutting John, and went to the extent of calling him a lackey of the U.S. Govt. That was too much for me to take. Sitting in front of the TV I dashed off an email to John asking him to never again accept an invitation to be on that channel. I have on several occasions in the past also expressed my displeasure at Goswami’s behaviour.
So I was really relieved to read that he is getting the royal boot. Good riddance to bad rubbish. I am told that he may now be joining Fox TV, purported to be another right-wing fundamentalist channel.
So though two wrongs don’t make a right, the three rights could have something wrong about them. Time alone will tell.