“Brothers and sisters, the 500 and 1000 rupee notes hoarded by anti-national and anti-social elements will become just worthless pieces of paper,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the nation cheered and danced in celebration. And as it turns out, it was, at best, wishful thinking.
To put the debacle in perspective for those of us overwhelmed by the numbers, here’s Demonetisation Ek Kadwa Sach (above). Set to singer Atif Aslam’s Hum Kis Gali Jaa Rahe Hain, the video breaks down, step-by-step, what was promised and what actually happened.
With 99% of currency notes returned, the question remains – was demonetisation really worth the pain? With Rs 1.28 lakh crores lost, 150 citizens dead and 15 lakh jobs lost, perhaps it is time to reconsider that it might have been a colossal mistake. And yet: “Nahi, nahi, Modiji ne achha kiya,” seems to be the common rhetoric.
Ramit Verma (of Official PeeingHuman), who put the video together with comedian Kunal Kamra, told Scroll.in what prompted them to make this video: “The fact that demonetisation was hailed as the biggest policy decision of modern India, and then there was no follow up from the government’s side on its positive impact. And now that the facts are coming out, we felt obliged to package it all together in a funny manner to reach out to as many people with fact-based information.”
With the video out, Verma now wants to know “the significance of the 2000-rupee note to curb hoarding of cash in future”, and hopes that Modi’s next Mann Ki Baat might give him the answers he seeks.
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