Demonetization: Honest versus dishonest

TS Khuman *

People came to different bank branches to deposit Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes on November 10 2016 :: Pix - Shankar Khangembam

The country has long been running on two forms of economy — the black and the white. According to some reports, India is the third largest country which has black money stashed in foreign tax havens. The black money, earned through dubious means and on which taxes have not been paid, are routed back to the country by front organisations. This flowing black money is often hard to check.

In fact, no black money has ever been brought back from the tax havens so far. There are also reports that many of the black money is still in India, hoarded by the rich and powerful. But with one stroke on November 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put an end to black money by demonetizing Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, the two denominations which are used to stock up black money.

Black money economy has done nothing good for the common man. In terms of earnings, the common man, the category which includes the working class, has been doing so in legal ways. They are paying taxes with which the government runs the country. This is the reason why the working class has been termed as the milch cow of the government.

In fact, it is the common man who has been feeding the country and taking it on the path of growth and development. The dishonest rich are taking the black money route to make themselves and their cohorts richer. The plain simple fact is if all people earn money the legal way, it will take a long long time for anyone to become rich, unless luck pitches in.

It points to another fact that most of the rich have become rich through dishonest means and by usurping what is rightfully not theirs. Hence, in India, the rich is getting richer and a new but small category of rich people are being made through sycophancy and dishonesty. Meanwhile, the poor and the honest are toiling hard but they are not getting any better.

Now, most political parties are starting to criticize the demonetization move. Is it because they have something to hide? If they have none, they should start finding good aspects of the process. And if they are looking at the welfare of the people, they should pitch in to help the government in the biggest economy reform, India has taken up.

It is time to help the people of the country by standing united and not by criticizing, because whether one likes it or not, the new Rs 500 and Rs 2000 notes are here to stay in place of the now demonetized Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. It will take a great deal of effort in the next few weeks to replace the old notes and the opposition parties are not helping by criticizing when it should be making suggestions to the government to make the transition run smoothly.

So far in Manipur, the government and none of the opposition, except for the BJP, has spoken a word in appreciation of the demonetization. They have not spoken against it, either. By remaining silent, the have left the people to fend for themselves in the tough process. What the state government should now be doing is to provide all forms of support the banks need to dispense the new cash to the public at the earliest.

Being a geographically locked state, Manipur is already late by at least two days for the new cash to arrive. Moreover, the ATMs which need to be recalibrated for the new size of the fresh notes are not dispending cash of higher denominations currently.

At the moment, it is only the state BJP leaders, including president Ksh Bhabhananda and the recent saffron party embracer, Y Erabot, have been backing the demonetization. But being in the opposition, the party cannot do much to help the cash reach the public. All parties, particularly in the opposition, should come together to help the economic reform a success and root out black money once and for all.

Despite the confusion and hiccups, signs of the common man winning with the demonetization are on as reports of corrupt officials and ministers returning money taken for providing government jobs, have come in.

Currently, the government is on a recruitment spree and it is no secret that most jobs are sold to whoever who has the buying power. This will soon stop as the public will not have the buying power anymore with strict regulations on huge cash withdrawals and deposits.

What is also heartening now is that the upcoming elections will not be fought on money power. Those in the know of things have said most wannabe candidates have piled up cash in the old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes to fund their elections. Now that these cash have suddenly become waste papers, it will be hard for the wannabe candidates to get huge amounts of money in the next two to three months to corrupt the voters.

With the money factor ruled out from luring them, people can definitely vote with a clear conscience and for the candidate whom they feel deserves their support. It is for this reason, rumours are doing the round that the timing of the demonetization are made when elections and bye-elections across the country are coming up so that BJP can get a foothold in the states like UP and Manipur where it is lagging behind.

Even if the rumours are true, it is a good thing that the demonetization happened if it is going to curb the cash-for-vote evil which has long been plaguing the country and prevented the people from electing true leaders.

No doubt initial hiccups are being felt by the common people as they have to replace their old notes. But once that is done in the next two to three weeks, they will have nothing more to worry about. It is now time for the rich and the dishonest to pay. They will have to watch their big hauls of illegal cash, both overseas and at home, transform into bunches of waste paper.

They may not become paupers but still they will be cut down to size and several of them will be forced to turn into a new leaf. The common man will also find a level playing field and hopefully everyone will find a new dawn free from black money and corruption.