Demonetization of bank notes in the country has brought problems to multitudes of the people. The arguments being offered by the NDA government suggest that it is one of the greatest achievements and even the associated members and the TV channels of the party in power are projecting the thesis that government has moved into a new generation of economic reforms in order to curb the black money. These may appear acceptable to several acolytes of the party in power but none has been able to appreciate the social implications of this decision. There is no gain saying the fact that demonetization has adversely affected the Indian society where the relationship patterns have undergone the changes. There is emergence of trust deficit among the closely knit family members , marriages are being postponed, students who should have been in the classes have been compelled to waste their times in standing the queues, the farmers who are habituated to have their money stocked in the homes are a quite worried lots, the people are with empty hands with sad faces outside of the ATMs and banks as they are aware that they are not in a position to purchase the things and commodities which are essential ones, the daily workers who constitute a large section of the economic force are without works and their families are under stress.
Government says bear the pains for the country. People have endured the pains as they know they have no other option. They have to get the new currency in any way. They are well aware that first do the needful.
The society has gone under deep wave motion and none knows what the next move of the government is; the panic is there and the old people are the most fearful. The arguments that this step will siphon off black money and direct it to the banking system or will be eliminated is not so much attractive to a lot of the people as they ask what has been done with the willful defaulters or those who are named in Panama papers though government had shown commitment to do so something positive for the Panama offenders, these people are also perplexed and thought crossed about those corrupt politicians and the government officials or the corporate men who amass a lot but due to technical reasons are saved even by the political world.
The country is electrified negatively and positively both but a common question is there on every ones lips: What about the real corrupts and what about those who have stocked their money in the foreign lands?
The impact of this act on the social realm has been overlooked by the mainstream media and which is always done by these whenever any sensitive issue emerge and the political party in power is likely to experience displeasure of the common people, these media groups then stop showing such items on their channels or avoid publishing them.
One such issue is sad and in huge manner is a part of our social lives but unfortunately deliberately or unknowingly have been missed by the media and the political leaders and it relates to the deaths being caused due to the announcement of the stoppage of the currency. There are reports that in several parts of the country people have died after such announcements. This is becoming a common affair.
In Uttar Pradesh, in suburb Kanpur eight SBI officials died in a road accident when they were returning from their rural branch to the city of Kanpur. Their van met accident in the lightless and tattered roads with the container and all eight died. None looked these deaths as the outcome of the alterations in the social life due to panic generated. The government announcement forced these people to be in branches in nights and the sudden decision of the government caused panic even among the employees and the fate was death.
One person who had sold his house and a lady who had earned money by lending died when they heard the news about currency demonetization.
One lady in the city died when rumours of the salt deficiency was spread by some criminals and naughty people and the result was that she fell into a hole and succumbed to injuries. The salt rumours were employed by such inhuman people on the wave of the demonetization and the panic generated. The common people who are mostly at down level strata, who have no literacy, whose meager income is so less that for them loss of even single 500 Rs. note is invitation for heart attacks, such announcements have come as clouds of disasters.
All these are dead and will never return. They will never know what the fate of such act will be as they are now ashed but one thing is sure that the government act laid the basis of their deaths which had no other eason. If the panic could have been avoided or government would have managed the announcements not in a dramatic manner but in some better humane manner then these lives would have been around but dramaticness and the theatrics are the cornerstone of the Indian politics. The result is here to see. The government has adopted the same path which Atal government had adopted, when the shining India was chanted. All chanted but lost. They learnt from Gramsci. Now Gramsci has been resurrected and his theories are being applied and the hegemony of the ideas is here as all will say that the act is wonderful achievement; but the society is faced with multiple of problems and for no reason problems multiply.
But the biggest social loss is loss of dear ones. Gloom is closed channel for family, now a a reality and for the associated ones these deaths really pain.
Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava is Vice Chairman CSSP, Consultant CRIEPS, e mail-[email protected]