Demonetisation The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

For Rural Indians, the ‘Short-term inconvenience’ due to demonetisation had come when they were gearing up for Rabi sowing. BK Jha analyses the effects of the Rupee revolution on rural economy

- BK Jha

In his historical address to the Indian Constituent Assembly in Parliament, on the eve of India's Independence, towards midnight on 15 August 1947, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said, “Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now that time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.”

The moment, which comes but rarely in history, came around 8 PM on November 21, 2016. At the stroke of the midnight hour of that date a revolution began in India and to call it a rupee revolution would not be an exaggeration. Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to demonetise high denomination currency notes. Initially, the move witnessed chaos and anarchy sort of scenes in streets across the country.

The move aimed at curbing corruption, capturing black money, removing fake currency and hitting hard Naxal & Terror financing. In the long run, the government may succeed in some of its objectives, but currently it is seen a policy sock and the main victim of the sock was rural Indians. Even after 50 days of the grand move, rural India was struggling to survive the blow which had come as a surprise. By and large rural Indians supported the move with its noble intentions, however, inadequate preparation and poorly implemented scheme took away all their initial enthusiasm.

The Fear at Mandis