At 8 pm of November 8, Prime Minister Modi stunned the nation with his announcement that denominations of Rs 500 and 1000 would be demonetized with immediate effect. A shell-shocked citizenry was caught by surprise even as people rushed to the nearest ATM to queue up and deposit whatever cash they had in the old denominations before the midnight deadline. This deposit is possible for people who don’t have stacks of black money and who have friends and relatives to help them park the cash in their respective accounts for the time being. Those hoarding black money would, however, have lost the race against time. This is the single most significant step taken by any government in recent times to address the black economy. That even the media had no inkling of this decision taken in the corridors of the Finance Ministry shows that the move was aimed at crippling those who stubbornly refused to declare their actual incomes and those engaged in terror funding through the use of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN). The move is a Modi masterstroke and must be appreciated as it will have far reaching effects. What worries many, however, is the introduction of the Rs 2000 currency which they feel might yet again give a fillip to hoarding of black money in larger currencies. Perhaps not all is revealed about the nature of the new currency so we have to wait and watch.
The other stunner is the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States of America after a long and protracted campaign marked by a polarization of the electorate never before seen in that country. Trump was irreverent and misogynistic and took relentless pot-shots at the institutions and long-held ideals of American democracy. That he finally managed to ride to victory must surprise Americans themselves. Noted political commentator Kanti Bajpai had recently stated that Trump represents that section of American voters who he calls the “deplorables.” They are white, racist radicals who stand for an America with an exclusive racial profile and religion and sees all others are intruders. While political observers in this country believe that Trump is good for India because he is committed to rooting our terror in the American soil and elsewhere, and has not minced words in terming Pakistan as a terror sponsoring state, it remains to be seen how things actually play out in the long run.