Even at the peril of being branded a spoilsport on this auspicious occasion of Diwali, I cannot but recall the ill conceived and thoughtless decision of the Government, the bad repercussions of which are still not got over.
The announcement of the government decision to demonetize Rs 500/- & Rs.1000/- currency notes his day in 2016- Notebandi in common lingo - took everyone by surprise. A day or two before I had withdrawn some amount which was all in 500 denomination , to pay for the new dining chairs. My wife too had some amount -bigger than mine- in Rs.500 notes withdrawn for some Diwali purchases, which could not somehow mature. Put together , the amount formed a fraction of the 'dreaded' or the 'accursed' amount of Rs. Two Lakh Fifty Thousand . However the notes were deposited in the Bank standing in a queue for 2-3 hours on 10th November, the very first day at the same time exchanging the amount in new currency restricted to the limit of Rs.4000/- per person. Up came Facebook posts by some friends boasting that they had no Rs.500/- or Rs.1000/- note with them that needed to be deposited, making others feel guilty of the 'crime' of possessing them. It took quite a few months for the things to come to normal for a person like me , but the impact on the public especially small traders, labour class and those having big functions like marriage in the family was enormous. Especially those who had big family functions like marriage to take care of were made the butt of cruel jokes.
Compare this to the 1978 demonetization of Rs 1000/- notes, which was a smooth transition without creating any ripples or flutter and the Government of the day did not introduce currency of this denomination for years together.
