Nearly 100 Poor People Died Due To Demonetization While Rich Finding Ways To Preserve Black Money

In Mumbai alone, over 250kg of gold was sold in hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetization turning Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes into scrap on November 8.

The nation had slipped into a state of suspended animation for two days as the PM promised that everything would be alright once the new currency is supplied to banks and into ATMs. People held their breath - the poor in the hope that their lives will be better as all the black money will go to government and they no longer need to compete with the rich in buying vegetables or celebrating a wedding ceremony.

"As no one in the society will have lots of money to spend lavishly, the difference between the poor and the rich will get erased, at least to some extent," a retired economics professor analysed the morning after the demonetization. "This is the most revolutionary decision any head of the government had ever made in the country after the Independence," the professor concluded. And the mood of the common man was no different. People felt as if they were participating in a historic revolution by approving Modi's decision which was taken in a "most undemocratic" way in the history. All parliamentary norms and the Constitution were buried in deep seas for the decision.

Political parties were too shocked to react on the decision; though it hurt them politically and otherwise, they joined the chorus only in the fear of being branded 'anti-people' as the initial understanding of the demonetization across the society was positive. Paranoia ruled the roost. Everyone including the ruling BJP and its NDA partners, except Narendra Modi, was under the influence of a mysterious spell.

On November 9th and 10th, the entire nation silently celebrated the revolution while the rich silently rued at the common man's celebrations. And the common man's joy proved short-lived.

People who walked up to their nearest ATM on the street corner were greated by closed shutters and hundreds, if not thousands, of their neighbors. By the evening of November 11, people were slowly realizing that the 'Surgery' went wrong and the deadly side effects were spreading all over the body. In couple of days, it was confirmed with the people beginning to die.

Dozens died of shock that a few lakhs of their hard earned money is reduced to zero. Dozens died of desperation of not being able to fulfill their commitments. Dozens died standing in never-ending queues before banks and ATMs.

All this while, the black moneyed rich, against whom the Prime Minister claimed to have made the surgical strike, were frantically searching for ways to convert their stash and most of them have soon found what they wanted. Bank officials, post office staff, brokers and dealers are having their field day, their lifetime opportunity. Instead of burning and dumping in roadside pits the gunny bags stuffed with the defunct notes, the rich were more than happy to exchange them for whatever amount of valid currency they can get.

Also read: Modi Fails To Keep His Own Promise; Modi Fails The Entire Nation With His Monumental Misrule

Dozens of officials at banks and other outlets were caught exchanging crores worth cash for the rich. They sold the new currency at a high premium through the back door when the poor millions were standing in miles long queues for Rs4000 or even less. More than 50 percent of those going to banks post the demonetization had never done a bank transaction, leave alone holding a bank account, before. They can't go to a bank or do bank transactions for two reasons: They don't have an income stream that really required a bank intervention and secondly, even if it did, they are not capable of dealing with a bank, given the procedures, formalities and most importantly the attitude of the bank staff who shoo them away even if they want to try. This is the reality that prevails all over India with no exception whatsoever.

And this small relief, the facility to exchange their small wealth of four-five thousand rupees, was stopped abruptly on November 24 after reducing the limit to Rs2,000. And now, you can no longer use those high value currency note and you can't exchange them either.

More than half the currency released after the demonetization was diverted by bank officials through back doors. And the remaining also served the middle and above middle class. The below middle class people, daily wage earners, small businesses, street vendors, factory owners, and all those millions in the unorganized sectors such as farming, construction and small industry have literally dealt a death blow.

All restrictions are coming only in the way of the common man while the rich are as comfortable as they always used to be. With the Opposition parties finally gathering courage to resist and protest Modi's revolutionary decision, people are anxiously waiting to see the impact of Monday's nation-wide bandh against the undemocratic way of implementation of demonetization.