Happy Anniversary of Demonetisation

 

Does the government exist for the people or do the people exist for the sake of the government? As my country ‘celebrated’ the fifth anniversary of Modi’s demonetisation exercise yesterday, this question about government-for-people or people-for-government arose in my mind.

Soon after Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, India’s wealth started moving into the hands of a few billionaires. There were just 9 billionaires in India in 2000. But Modi’s magic raised the figure rapidly and it became 101 in 2017. Oxfam India estimates that between 2018 and 2022 India is producing 70 new millionaires every day. On the other hand, millions of Indians are deprived of basic needs like food, shelter and medicine. Oxfam says that 63 million Indians are pushed into poverty every year now by mounting healthcare costs.

Modi lives life king-size. His residence in Lutyens’ Delhi (which he loathed before becoming PM) is a five-mansion palace with countless chefs, housekeepers, gardeners, and other staff. His aircraft Air India One is a match for America’s Air Force One. [Modi renamed 25 towns and villages in the period of one year alone out of nationalism. But when it came to naming his plane, he copied America.] His lifestyle surpasses the vaingloriousness of all our ancient maharajas put together.

The ordinary Indians pay for all that, of course. That’s why this thought occurred to me this morning: does the government exist for us or d we exist for feeding a ravenous government?

Our government gives us beautiful slogans like Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan. But our kisans commit suicide day after day. In 2020, 10,677 farmers killed themselves in India in spite of Modi’s much-publicised welfare schemes. Farmers have been killing themselves even before Modi came to power with sweet slogans and sweeter schemes. I know. But there’s something new, however. 11,716 small businesspersons killed themselves in 2020 in Modi’s India. That’s a bit hard to digest when we remember that our country is being run by a man who takes pride in having been a chaiwallah once.

Modi’s India waives off huge loans taken by big people. Big people grow bigger. Small people pay for that. In the form of rising prices of everything from onion to petrol, kerosene to cooking gas. Soon in Modi’s India you’ll be paying the banks for keeping your money safe instead of the banks paying you interest for your money. Yet Modi remains popular not only in India but all over the world.

There’s something wrong somewhere. Seriously. Or is it rather funny?

A few of India’s top billionaires are Mata Amritanadamayi, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Baba Ramdev, all of whom have money stashed away in Swiss banks. I smile when I recall this information. 

Do you remember that electoral promise of Modi in 2014 about bringing black money back from Swiss banks? Instead of doing that, he took away our money and called it a very nationalistic demonetisation. Happy Anniversary.