There is no gain without pain. At present, this holds true for the prevailing situation of India’s
banking and financial system. On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
took a revolutionary decision that currency notes of Rs.500 and Rs.1, 000 would
be no longer a legal tender from the midnight of the same day. The decision was
intended to eliminate black money and usher in cashless transactions, leading
India to being a cashless economy. As in the context of our country where
ninety per cent of the transactions were done in cash, cashless economy was a
distant reality, and still is unless people are fully aware of electronic
transactions and are willing to adapt to it. Demonetisation of high
denomination currency notes was instrumental prerequisite towards having a
cashless economy and inducing people to take to electronic transactions. There
couldn’t have been any better step than that of demonetisation to eliminate
ill-got stashed cash and make banking and financial system more transparent.
Hats off to PM Narendra Modi for this courageous decision! No other step could
have compelled the hoarders of black money to disclose thousands of crores of
stashed cash. This one step has led to a great many corrupt banking employees
being exposed and arrested, and hundreds of other people getting caught with
illegal cash. There are more such decisions in the offing as per the government
officials to bring in more transparency in the system.
As
far as after-effects of the decision are
concerned, yes, there was chaos, there was apprehension, there were long queues
outside ATMs, banks and Big Bazar-like retail stores, which were providing
people with maximum Rs.2,000 per credit/debit card per day by swiping them when
ATMs were closed, resulting in frustration and anger. Yet, at the same time,
there was patience, there was a sense of satisfaction and there was and still
is, kind of, growing hope...hope of having India a corrupt free and transparent
country, hope of having India a prosperous country, hope of seeing India go
hand in hand with the leading countries of the world, and hope of seeing India
itself the leader of the world...one day. However, situations have started to
normalize as most of the ATMs are working now.
Corruption and black
money being the major cause
Corruption has done so much damage to the entire people of our country, especially the youth, depriving them of their well deserved dues...dues of jobs, making them remain jobless. Joblessness is destructive. It reduces GDP, increases inflation and causes poverty, forcing people into taking to illegal activities, resulting in growing crime ratio, which has far-reaching repercussions for the tourism industry as the number of foreign tourists visiting our country becomes less. Needless to say – further bringing India shame and ridicule from across the world. And the root cause of all these evils is corruption and joblessness.
According to Transparency International, India is ranked 76 out of 168 countries in corruption. This is just shameful. Ethics and morality seems to have gone down to the lowest level. Today you cannot get your work, however small it may be, done in a public office without greasing the palm. This is disastrous and destructive to the progress and development as a whole. To check and root out such immoral practices called for a demonetisation-like drastic action. So the PM took a right decision.
Winter Session getting
washed out
Those leaders of the Opposition who disrupted the whole Winter Session of the Parliament and are still making hue and cry over the decision should be strongly reminded that they are the representatives of the people of this country, majority of whom are in full support of the decision. So, basically they are not representing these people’s views but their own vested political interest. Priceless time for meaningful discussion and debate in the Parliament was lost due to the dirty politics. Such cheap political practices were never witnessed before. They have taken to the habit of disrupting the Parliament over every decision that the government takes! They have nothing to do with our sufferings but only have their political axe to grind. People should watch this, take a strong notice of this and teach them a lesson by voting them out in the coming assembly elections in various states, showing them that we don’t approve of your cheap politics.
We all know that these Netas are not
concerned about people’s interest, were they, this situation wouldn’t arise,
but their own. They wanted the government to somehow take its decision back for
they are the ones who had to bear the brunt of the decision, no need to tell
how. Pappu Gandhi and his party men should know that this situation is the
result of their own lethargy and indulgence in corruption when they were in the
government. We are very unfortunate to have such people as our lawmakers. Their
regime was replete with scams and corruptions, one after another. They threw
people in sheer disappointment and uncertainty, forcing them to show them their
ground in the General Elections. Let us keep reminding them time and again that
they don’t belong to the temple of democracy – the Parliament, until they are
reformed.
People looking for immediate gain can
never be satisfied. They will always complain and oppose, regardless of time,
place and situation. They have this penchant for complaining...complaining
about everything. They will complain even in the heaven. Such people lack in
foresight. But majority of people are in favour of the decision despite facing
cash crunch for they know this is the only way forward, a stepping stone
towards a new India. Salute to them for placing country’s interest over their
own!
As
far as I’m concerned, I completely endorse the government’s decision to
demonetize the notes of Rs.500 and Rs.1, 000. I will adhere to it however hard times may I
have to encounter, for I am hopeful for better times to come ahead. I see a
bigger, wider and brighter picture ahead. I see India to become the good old
‘Sone Ki Chidiya (the golden bird)’ again. It is quite logical and relevant to
the modern times to have a cashless economy. If there is less cash, there will
be less black money, leading to less corruption. When there were no mobile
phones, people lived without it and when it came, people learned how to operate
it. The same can be said about cashless transaction. Therefore, I appeal to my
friends and fellow countrymen to show patience and endurance in these trying hours
and learn about doing electronic transactions and fully adapt to this change.
Uphill task before the
government ahead
The government should ensure uninterrupted internet and mobile phone networks for proper execution of its plan. There should be no ‘server failed’ in ATMs and banks. As for making people aware about electronic transactions, it can take some steps like in the rural areas, it can educate the Gram Pradhans of the villages on cashless transactions, provide them with funds to assign some active young students for part time job, educate these students on the same and then ask them to educate the people of their village. The same can be done in urban areas as well.
To check illegal activities, strong measures should be adopted and severe punishment should be handed to bank employees as well as people indulged in corruption and illegal currency exchange. Hope we will see a new India in the coming two-three years. Cheers!
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