Readers' comments: 'We trust our government and prime minister'

A way out

It would really be wonderful if all the learned people out there would let us also know a solution to problems such as those linked to demonetisation (“Interview: Demonetisation is a large shock to the Indian economy – with little impact on black money”).
I, for one, am disgusted with all the naysayers out there – those who offer no solutions but poke holes in absolutely everything done by the government.
I am one of those foolish middle-class individuals, who, like countless others, have waited in long lines to withdraw money – but with the hope that all this pain will translate into something concrete, hoping that it will force people to put money into banks and make them think twice before evading taxes, as demonetisation may happen again.

But by scoffing at this possibility, highly educated people are taking away my dream, but replacing it with nothing. Pointing out problems that exist, and proclaiming that the measures taken here will not work is just not good enough. You have spoken out against a solution, please come up with another! – C D’Souza

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People at large are very happy with the decision and expecting a great change in coming years. Everyone is suffering with patience. Only a handful of politicians are complaining. Bank employees who are working overtime are also not complaining. – Jimrit Das

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The government has many intelligent people and great economists. They are not playing jokes on their countrymen. Narendra Modi is our prime minister and we trust that he is not taking us for a ride.

Let us not confuse people with shallow articles with some ballpark figures to prove that the author’s knowledge is supreme. We must support the initiative. Even a person like Bill Gates thinks it is a good initiative not just because of its economic benefits but other advantages as well. – S Bhattacharya

Myth or reality?

I am starting to be afraid of you, Scroll.in, because you seem to think you know everything (“Explanation from mythology: Why people voted for Modi, Brexit and Trump – and against Arab Spring”). This is such an arrogant piece that paints all religions black. If you succeed in convincing other people to think they way you do, you’ll end up doing more harm than any politician has ever done to humanity. Take my word.

But then god does exist and he always prevents people like you from causing harm to the religion he has relieved. – Mujahid Jafri

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Very well expressed. This means that human beings will continue to evolve and will work to seek and attain peace. – Ranjit S Bhardwaj

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I don’t think Modi can be compared to Trump. The Indian prime minister is way better, tried to go soft in political campaigns and did not speak ill of women. Even Brexit happened because the government failed. – Nishant Ojha

Walk the talk

When you came across people who did not have bank accounts, did you guide them on opening one (“Only rice, no vegetables for an Adivasi village in Maharashtra after demonetisation”)? It is not just your duty to report but also to help the needy. And then you should report about your actions too, we will be happy to read about that. – Lalita Madiman

Bad news

Sometimes it seems as though Scroll.in and other media houses are just waiting for a catastrophic event so that they can report it and rejoice in saying “I told you so” (“’So what if my shop is empty?’: Rural UP is in distress but backing demonetisation (for now)”).

Be ready to take a share of the blame if this happens - all the posts you’ve put up so far are only going to lead to public anger and frustration – instead of taking a more responsible stand and encouraging patience, and public dialogue by covering both sides of an issue. – Vikrant Chandragiri

Picture imperfect

This article gives an overview of the impact of the note demonetisation on the wedding industry and on families geared up for celebrations, but one thing that has not been highlighted is how the move has hit photographers (“From Chandni Chowk to marriage halls, what demonetisation means for the wedding market”).

Small photographers in particular, who rely not on weddings or birthday celebrations to make a living as well as on daily orders for passport-sized photos, are among the worst-affected.

The photography market thrives on the desires of its customers – that of getting a customised personal gift such as a mug with their photo, or the desire to preserve the memories in form of a photo album or a video. But when people do not have money to attend to their daily needs, these desires have been completely sidelined.

With no income in hand, these small-scale photographers are not being able to meet the daily expenses needed to run a shop. The photography and video editing equipment are taken through loans from the banks. But right now, they’re barely being able to feed their families, leave alone saving money for loan repayment, shop rents and the salaries of the helpers. – Shipra Yadav

Flagging trouble

What was so disrespectful about how Chris Martin’s treatment of the tricolour (“Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin must apologise for ‘disrespecting’ Indian flag, says NCP”)? Across the world, people wear the designs of their national flags, and nobody has an issue with it. I don’t think anybody in the audience had a problem with Martin either. The NCP was not a part of this event and is hence trying to score brownie points.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik is trying to just gain some publicity. Ignore him. – Shefalee Raikar

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It is not Chris Martin’s fault. He probably was not briefed properly. Every country has a different set of values and sentiments regarding its national flag. The organisers should have alerted him beforehand.

Moreover, those who are accusing the singer of disrespecting the flag are the very same who discard flags on the road during Independence Day and Republic Day, drive over them, and step on them. – Deepali Barapatre

Court conundrum

This is a good story on the Birla and Sahara papers, but let us see if something comes on the cases filed in courts after the attention shifts from the demonetisation
(“The New Zeal: Or why the government needs to take the Birla and Sahara papers seriously”).

Courts are clogged with cases, which is why politicians are let off mid-sentence and graft cases are adjourned for years. I am sure Modi will ensure all cases are expedited and in the end, India will be the winner. – Bhaskar

Taking charge

What is wrong with our society (“Nobody has any cash in this village in Maharashtra”). Each village could form its own government. Even if the Central government has demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, we have time till December 30 to exchange old currency. However, till the banks get enough currency to replace the defunct one, can’t villages internally agree to use older notes? Traders and consumers could mutually agree to do this. – HS Subbaramaiah

Money mood

Why is the Centre running away from a debate and vote on the floor on demonetisation, under article 56 (“Demonetisation: Lok Sabha adjourned till Monday as Opposition seeks statement from prime minister”)? This will help represent the will of the people. The move, for now, represents the will of Modi, his cohorts, his party and crony-capitalist friends, all of whom have probably managed to exchange their currency while the country at large is left in the lurch. – Onkar Singh

Being Cyrus

This is a great article on Cyrus Mistry and the writer has captured the essence of school days (“Being Cyrus Mistry: Ashwin Sanghi on his school friend”). I too, like Sanghvi, have a positive view of Mistry.

Having a good soul earns you friends and ensures you are loved universally. The value and reputation one has built over decades is put to the test during trying times – and no one can deny that these are trying times for Mistry. He lacked the skill to transform challenges to incentivise his worth. The moral is that the shrewd and sane have their day and value needs to be enriched as a saviour in crisis. – SK Jha

Banking woes

Using inedible ink to prevent people from making repeat visits to banks appears illogical (“Demonetisation: Election Commission advises Finance Ministry not to use indelible ink at banks”). Demonetisation is a good step to remove black money from circulation, but the implementation is improper. The government has not done adequate planning and preparation.

Ad-hoc decisions are being taken day to day basis to face situations as and when they crop up.

If people were allowed to withdraw a decent Rs 10,000 per week, that could have eased the crunch. But, clearly, enough currency was not printed in advance. To avoid crowds at ATMs, the government could have avoided changing the dimensions of the new notes, while changing the design and adding new security features.

Let us hope that in the coming days all these issues are addressed and so that from 2017 onwards, we can be a different and strong nation after flushing out black money. – M Nagarajan

Found in translation

Javed Akhtar’s poem has been very well translated by Rakshanda Jalil (“Javed Akhtar’s poem ‘A New Decree’ may remind you of the world we live in”). The poem, however, is not up to the mark. It comes across as sloganeering. The poet may have an ideological bias, but a good poem goes beyond ideology. – Manu Dash