Readers' comments: 'Demonetisation was a child-like revenge against those who didn't declare money'

Cash crunch

The notion that demonetisation will curb the black-money economy is misleading (“Why Narendra Modi is taking away your Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes”). The decision will have an impact on fake currency for some time but combining the two issues is clever politics. Anyone who has ill-gotten wealth may not have all of it in hard cash. In the guise of battling black money, the informal sector has been put into trouble. – Karthik G

***

I appreciate the demonetisation move but the government should do the following two things till December 30:

First, there should be no limit on the number of free transactions at ATMs. If the public is willing to bear the hardship that comes with this move, banks and the government must forgo the service charge and tax for the month and a half.

Second, banks should not levy inter-bank transaction charges on the deposit of Rs 500 or Rs 1000 by their own customers from other branches. – Venkatesh

***

Hats off to Narendra Modi for this move. The citizens are with him in eradicating black money. The government, however, should look into the following:

How is that jewellery showrooms are accepting Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes for purchase when all other places have stopped it? Jewellers seem to have hit a jackpot by hiking the value of gold and allowing black marketers to convert their money. This needs to be looked into immediately. – AD Ravindran

***

This is an ill-advised move by this government. This kind of arm-twisting technique can help fill government coffers in the short-run, but it’s hard to understand how black money and corruption will be tackled. At best, their unaccounted-for wealth will be reduced and they will have to start accumulating it afresh.

This is child-like revenge: It’s like saying that if you don’t disclose your wealth, I will reduce it to paper, just as a child destroys another’s toys.

The negative impact of this move and the fear psychosis and panic it will generate far outweighs its gains. This will affect a large portion of the society that transacts only in cash – property dealers, contractors, small businesses and common people. – Vishal Jindal

***

I am surprised that people have not commented on how this move, in the absence of any effective implementation of tax laws, is bound to only worsen the problem. In addition to such actions causing immense amount of distress to the poor that many others have also noted, for millions of Indians still do not have any valid ID card(s) needed for exchanging these notes, the effectiveness of this strategy will be short-lived. This is because the cause of black money is obviously not the medium but ineffective implementation of tax laws and related institutions for enforcement. Importantly, the essence of money – understood either as a store of value, a medium of exchange, or a unit of account for prices that everyone learns as part of any basic economics course (though with a whole set of philosophical problems that are out of scope for now) – is nothing but trust, which is underwritten by the state.

Can any democratically elected government survive the consequence of multiple such surprises in the name of corruption or terrorism that only create uncertainty? – Puneet Bhasin

***

The idea that Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes are the medium of hoarding black money is flawed. Black money is often invested in land, gold, etc and deposited in tax havens such as Switzerland. This sudden announcement has certainly led to chaos and confusion. It would have been ideal to announce the date of demonetisation in advance, as was done in 2014 regarding notes printed before 2005. This would have saved the common man from the chaos inflicted upon him. – KB Dessai

***
There are three forms in which black money is flowing into the economy: Land investment, gold and currency. The demonetisation may help the currency aspect, but what about immovable property and gold? If the government really wants to crackdown on black money, it needs to implement a single revenue passbook system where individuals and organisations enter details of all immovable property. They should also sign a declaration that any property not entered in the passbook may be nationalised. – Munavar

***

Unearthing black money by harassing the common man is not a good thing to do. Narendra Modi should realise this. Corruption and black money is everywhere, even within the Modi government. The ministers in the prime minister’s cabinet have more black money than any of us. Modi should realise this. He is just harassing the common man by banning currency notes of Rs 1000 and Rs 500. Where is the black money that Modi promised to bring back to India from Swiss banks at the time of elections in 2014?

What has Narendra Modi done for the country ever since he became the prime minister? He has banned beef from the country which every Christians and Muslims eat. He has also passed a law that those consuming or possessing cow’s meat will be fined heavily and imprisoned too. This clearly states that he does not care non-Hindus. The promises made by NaMo at the time of elections have been forgotten. – Jubel Dcruz

***

The demonetisation move might, at first glance, appear to be a good way to control black money and crack down on fake notes but it is hindering people’s day-to-day lives. The rich and powerful ones, whose money is stashed away in tax havens, are having a hassle-free time. If they’re so concerned about black money, they should look at tournaments such as the IPL where black money flows freely and corporate, politicians and even the underworld is involved. So, instead of first cracking down on the common man in the name of tackling corruption, the government should have first gone after the big sharks. – Devdas V

***

Whatever be the economic merits of the move, the manner in which it was done has done huge damage to Prime Minister Modi’s image. He was wrongly advised and the consequences of this will be seen in the next three years! – Rama Krishna Sangem

Clean sweep

My view is that this is a master stroke that will hurt only those who have unaccounted-for money (“In one stroke, demonetisation has shaken the trust our monetary system is based on”). The poor and middle class may be temporarily inconvenienced but won’t be hurt. The upper-middle class and politicians with black money will be badly hit. It will help clean up black money in a quick stroke and will also encourage unbanked poor to come into the banking network. – P Mehrotra

***

This is a lovely article and I agree with it completely. – Naresh Jogani

***

This is a very good analysis. The bhakts who are going ga ga over this move do not have mind to understand all this. They love Modi’s theatrics but they don’t know he loves politics more than anything else. To outwit political opponents, he can go to any lengths – and even throw the economy into chaos. – Preeti Jindal

***

This move is not intended to impose hardships on the common man. If you want change, the road will be tough. Tell me, how would one teach financial discipline to their child? It is a transformational process which may not happen overnight and your child may not listen to you right away, so you may have to use tough methods.

Why should salaried people like me pay tax at source while so many others successfully evade it?

The issues are deeper than we all think. A true Indian is happy about this announcement because a true Indian is a common man who does not have such money to hide.

Remember, 25 years ago we were standing in queue to buy kerosene, palm oil, sugar and rice – why did nobody feel bad for us then? There will be hardship and we will go through but will be happy to see the impact of this move. As they say, no pain, no gain. – Balaji Rao

Noise now

Thanks for a hilarious take on Arnab Goswami (“Arnab Goswami may be out of sight for now, but he won’t be out of our minds (and eardrums)”)

It made me laugh out loud. I’m not holding my breath for his new show. And I especially loved the Ferrero Rocher reference! – Preetjit Seth

Wrong message

Do you support politically motivated young men who use taxpayers money to promote their political career and are not interested in pursuing their studies (“Almost taken for a ride: How Kanhaiya Kumar used his innate survival skills on moving to Delhi”)? Is this not a had example for other students? – Shiv Narayan Khare

Scoring goals

Tackling a subject like Marcanazo needs courage as well as finesse because – it’s not really easy to relive the memories of a Brazil team, defeated on home soil by Uruguay – and the writer has both (“Paradise lost and found: How Arsenal FC nudged Pele towards the 1958 World Cup”).

Please extend my thanks to the writer, and tell him he needs to push out more such articles – all the time. – Taronish Elavia

***

I really appreciate this article and the way in which it was written. It’s refreshing to see this after all the clichéd coverage out there. I look forward to reading more stuff like this. – Anirudh Reddy

***

This was a brilliant article. This was a great narrative with wonderful good and was very well-written. – Miqdad Haider

***

This was an exceptional piece – both informative and gripping. I know Srijandeep Das personally and one can always be sure he will deliver a good article. He has a penchant for writing and solid knowledge and tactical understanding of football. I hope him and Scroll.in make a good team in the future as well! – Rushi

***

I have always been fascinated by the nuances of football and its history and this article was an absolute delight to read! It is so well-written and very informative. – Mrinal Narang

***

This was a brilliant read and informative till the very end. The writer never ceased to amuse me with his his ever-enticing wordplays. Kudos to him and to Scroll.in. – Debkalpa Banerjee