Most Pakistanis feel uneasy coming to terms with the reality that is Bangladesh. They hide themselves behind a shoddy narrative of 1971, and neatly categorise the whole thing as a “conspiracy.”But who conspired against whom and when? What were the Bengalis up to? And how did they reach breaking point? A Pakistani reality check about the birth of Bangladesh on December 16, 1971.

Joy of freedom: Bangladeshi citizens take part in a parade to mark the country”s 45th Victory Day in Dhaka on December 16, 2016.

THE areas that constituted Pakistan in 1947 were ruled by the British under different arrangements. Bengal, Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (then ‘NWFP’) were provinces with elected assemblies. Balochistan was governed by an appointed Commissioner; tribal areas by Political Agents; and a number of so-called princely states by Rajas under the paramountcy of the British Crown. 

***

The people who were handed over the reigns of the new country on August 14 were tasked with working out a system which allowed all the above-mentioned entities to coexist peacefully and prosper together. But when they sat down to figure out this formula for an equal distribution of power, every option they considered led to the same concern: the Bengalis were more in number than all the rest put together, and under a democracy, nothing could bar them from getting a majority share in the new state. Now that did not sit well at all with the infant country’s larger, grander designs of spearheading a new Islamic renaissance and hoisting its flag on every other building in South Asia. The dark-skinned Bengalis, who shared their language and culture with their Hindu compatriots did not cut a figure to fit the coveted slot. This glorious feat could only be performed by the blue-blooded Muslim elite that had migrated from India, with a few others playing second fiddle and the rest serving as foot soldiers. So, that was the first crossroad that our nation found itself at; that if the simple democratic path was to be taken, we would miss the golden opportunity to revive all of our lost glories (by losing the government to a Bengali majority). And if we stuck to this cherished goal, we would need to get around democracy and find some undemocratic solution to ‘the Bengal problem’. At the end, it didn’t turn out to be very difficult. Bengalis held faith in democracy and lost in Pakistan.

***

East Pakistan was deadly against separate electorate while the central and Punjab Muslim Leagues were its biggest supporters. Almost a quarter of East Pakistan was Hindu and/or Scheduled Caste while non-Muslims in western provinces made less than five per cent of population. In present- day Punjab, non-Muslims (mainly, Christians) are barely two-and-a-half per cent of the population. So the province that had a miniscule population of non-Muslims advocated separate electorate while the one with a sizeable and significant one wanted Muslims and Hindus to vote jointly!There was an ideological dimension to the issue as well. Those who wanted to make Pakistan an Islamic state considered it important to not let the votes of non-Muslims mix up with those of the chosen faithful so that the sacred state’s mandate is not “polluted”. For others, the non-Muslims started symbolising all of their identity markers other than Islam — like language and culture — which they shared with them and did not want to abandon while building the new state. But I think more important than the ideological exegeses were the hard political facts, the hardest being that there were more Bengalis than all the rest put together. This was worsened by the fact that “the rest” were divided into too many smaller units. So under a democracy, Bengalis would always win. And Bengalis ruling Pakistan was somehow against the blueprint of Islamic republic as laid down by its self-appointed architects. It had to be ruled by the rent-seeking jagirdars of Punjab and khandani bureaucrats hailing from northern India. They had no respect for the Bengali political leadership comprising mainly of middle class persons who were politically conscious, articulate and quite active.They fretted at the prospects of numerically dominant Bengali Muslims ruling over them. They fumed at the tenets of democracy and geared up to fix it. They engineered a two-pronged strategy: One, was to “unite” all except East Bengal into one state entity, called One-Unit scheme resulting in what was named the West Pakistan province. But even that was not enough to counter-weigh Bengalis who were a whopping 54 per cent of population. The second part of the strategy thus was to divide East Bengal into smaller units. And Muslim League had the experience of only one kind of division, that is, along religious lines. So if Bengali voters were separated on the basis of religion, the Bengali Muslim representatives will fall fewer than the elected members of West Pakistan. 

***

It was embarrassing for many in the government to be unable to agree upon one system of elections in a country that wanted to take pride in its Muslim unity. The Act was soon amended to provide for the same joint system for both the wings. However, no elections could be held under this law, as General Ayub took over and abrogated the nascent constitution. When the general was tailoring a constitutional dress for his brazen military rule, he too was advised to separate electors but he didn’t. Nor did General Yahya dare to do that while drafting his Legal Framework Order that provided the basis for the first general elections in the country held in 1970. 

***

The Constituent Assembly found itself in a perpetual logjam. Bengalis were not asking all else to bow before them. They simply demanded their democratic rights — their language, culture shall be respected; their resources shall belong to them; they should get from the federal pool a share proportionate to their population. The blue-blooded Muslim League thought that it could continue to gamble on the back of the wild card of religion. So if you demanded rights for your homeland, you were accused of narrow provincialism that was against the lofty pan-Islamist ideals, if you dared to ask for your share in resources, you were blamed for obstructing the renaissance of Islam and if you wanted respect for your language, you were definitely a traitor and an Indian stooge. 

***

Bengalis were not afraid of their fellow Hindu citizens and the ruling elite of Pakistan could not instill this fear into them either. Or maybe the Bengalis had started fearing their fellow Muslim overlords more and the state of Pakistan failed to divert their fear towards Hindus. Whatever the case, the Bengali refusal to reject Hindus as integral part of their polity actually made our elite dread Bengalis even more, or perhaps their fear of Hindu and Bengali dominating them got mixed with each other. Blocked effectively on the premise of democracy, they did what people who feed on fear do. They inflicted the worst possible fury on Bengalis to stir fear in their hearts and yet, the lean, placid Bengalis smiled, refusing to be afraid of their freedom. That’s how Bangladesh was born.The writer works with Punjab Lok Sujag, a research and advocacy group in Pakistan. By arrangement with the Dawn

Note ban can have rippled effect on GDP growth and job creation, says ex-PM.

New Delhi, December 9

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in remarks published on Friday that Indians should be ready to face “a tough period over the coming months” due to demonetisation.

Writing in The Hindu newspaper, the Congress leader also said the November 8 decision would cause grievous injury to the honest Indian while those with black money will escape with a mere rap on the knuckles.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The economist-turned-politician described as “impetuous” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move to ban the 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and warned that this would cause severe hardships to ordinary Indians.

It has “shattered the faith and confidence that hundreds of millions of Indians had reposed in the government of India to protect them and their money”, Manmohan Singh said.

The demonetisation has led to an unprecedented cash crunch across the country, with the Reserve Bank of India unable to supply adequate cash in exchange for the 86 per cent of all currency that was spiked.

This has led to long, daily queues at all banks and ATMs, both of which frequently go dry. The government has also put a cap on how much a person can withdraw from his own bank account.

Manmohan Singh, who was the Finance Minister when India unleashed economic reforms in 1991, said Modi’s stated intentions behind the note ban — fighting fake currency as well as corruption and black money — were honourable.

“However, the popular saying ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions’ serves as a useful reminder and warning in this context.” Manmohan Singh underlined that all cash was not black money and all black money was not hoarded in cash.

“More than 90 per cent of India’s workforces still earn their wages in cash. These consist of hundreds of millions of agricultural workers, construction workers and so on.” He pointed out that more than 600 million Indians still lived in towns and villages with no bank and cash was the bedrock of their lives.

“To tarnish these as ‘black money’ and throw the lives of these hundreds of millions of poor people in disarray is a mammoth tragedy.” The demonetisation decision had breached the government’s fundamental duty to protect the rights and livelihood of its citizens.

Chiding the government for introducing the Rs 2,000 note, he went on: “This brazen policy measure (demonetisation) has neither tackled the stock of black money holistically nor has it stemmed the flow of it.” He said other countries which went for currency swap did so over a period of time “and not as a sudden overnight operation”.

“As someone who has experienced long lines for rationed food during war time, I never imagined that one day I would find my own countrymen and women waiting endlessly for rationed money. That all of this suffering is due to one hasty decision makes it even more disconcerting.” Manmohan Singh warned that the note ban can act as a negative shock to the economy.

“Consumer confidence is an important economic variable in a nation’s growth prospects. It is now evident that the sudden overnight ban on currency has dented the confidence of hundreds of millions of Indian consumers, which can have severe economic ramifications…This can have rippled effect on GDP growth and job creation.”

“It is my humble opinion that we as a nation should brace ourselves for a tough period over the coming months, needlessly so, ” he said. —IANS

SC asks Centre whether cooperative banks can accept banned currency

New Delhi, December 9The Supreme Court on Friday sought response of the Centre on the issues including whether the district cooperative banks can be allowed to accept deposits with certain conditions and can there be a minimum assured withdrawal from banks.A Bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur asked Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi to seek instruction and apprise it about the stand of the government on issues including the bar on district cooperative banks from accepting deposits in demonetised currency notes.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The bench also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said that when the minimum weekly withdrawal limit has been fixed, then why people are not able to get that amount.“Can we say that this will be the minimum assured weekly withdrawal amount that a person can get from the bank,” the Bench asked and while fixing the batch of petitions for further hearing on December 14.The Bench, meanwhile, proposed to frame various legal questions to be deliberated upon in the future hearing.Rohatgi sought a direction that cases in various high courts on the demonetisation issue be stayed.The Bench said that it would take up this issue on next date of hearing.The top court had on December 2 asked the Centre to spell out the measures taken to ease suffering of and inconvenience to the people in rural areas.While hearing a batch of pleas challenging various aspects of demonetisation, the court had said that all parties should sit together and prepare a list of categories of cases which could be referred to high courts and those that could be heard by the apex court.The AG had said that the government was aware of the situation in cooperative banks which lack proper infrastructure and mechanism as compared to scheduled banks.The Centre had on November 24 filed an affidavit in the apex court on demonetisation and had said that the “bold move” would eradicate black money and slush funds operating since Independence which cast a “parallel economy” hitting the poor and the middle class.On November 29, the apex court had agreed to hear pleas of 14 cooperative banks of Kerala seeking its nod to transact business like banks and others seeking demonetisation of any currency note higher than Rs 100 denomination. — PTI

Government decides to print plastic currency notes

The Reserve Bank for long has been planning to launch plastic currency note after field trials. PTI file

New Delhi, December 9The central government told Parliament on Friday that it had decided to print plastic currency notes.”It has been decided to print banknotes based on plastic or polymer substrate. The process of procurement has been initiated,” Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal said in a written reply in Lok Sabha to a query whether the Reserve Bank of India intended to print plastic currency notes in place of paper ones.The Reserve Bank for long has been planning to launch plastic currency note after field trials. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) In February 2014, the central government had informed Parliament that one billion plastic notes of Rs 10 denomination would be introduced in a field trial in five cities selected for their geographical and climatic diversity. The selected cities were Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, Shimla and Bhubaneswar.Plastic notes have an average life span of about five years and are difficult to imitate. Also, currency notes made of plastic are cleaner than those made of paper. Such notes were first introduced in Australia as a measure against counterfeit notes.Replying to another question, Meghwal said the RBI had said in December 2015 that they had received some banknotes of Rs 1000 without having security thread that were printed at Currency Note Press (CNP), Nashik, on paper supplied by Security Paper Mill (SPM), Hoshangabad.Security Printing and Minting Corporation (SPMCIL) and the units involved (SPM and CNP) has initiated an inquiry.”Major penalty chargesheet has been issued to the personnel concerned. Disciplinary proceedings have been initiated as per departmental rules,” the minister said.Meghwal said action has been taken to strengthen quality procedure and online inspection system in manufacturing process and special training has been given to the persons concerned to avoid such types of mistakes in future.”Additional inspections have been introduced to ensure defect-free production,” he said. — PTI

A digital red herring

‘Cashless’ drive a bid to distract from currency disaster

Demonetisation: CJI pained at lawyers outshouting each other

New Delhi, December 9“What kind of memory I would take with me,” was how a dejected Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, who is demitting office early next month, reacted when lawyers tried to out-shout each other during the hearing on demonetisation.A visibly pained CJI made his displeasure known by saying that never in his career as a judge for 23 years he has seen such unruly behaviour when junior lawyers are shouting and attempting to pin down senior advocates and making the atmosphere of the court like that of a “fish market”.Justice Thakur was anguished when some of the lawyers raised their voice to interrupt the submission of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, who was arguing for the government, and senior advocates like Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram.”This is not a way to argue. You people are making it a fish market. You people don’t want senior advocates like Sibal to speak. See Mr Chidambaram has not yet stood up. This is very unfortunate.””In 23 years of me as a judge, I have not seen such behaviour. This is the last week as a judge and I would be going with a heavy heart. What kind of decorum is maintained? This is CJI’s court and yet no decorum. You can’t be allowed this kind of behaviour,” the CJI, who will be demitting office on January 3, said. — PTI

Govt stalls debate to avoid Oppn fire, SC turns up heat

DEMONETISATION Rahul hits out at ‘nervous’ Modi, SC asks if any groundwork was done before announcing policy

NEW DELHI: The government’s move to recall high-value banknotes came under fire in Parliament and the Supreme Court on Friday, with judges questioning cash rationing by banks and opposition lawmakers accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “running away” from a debate.

*NOV 8 WAS THE DAY THE PM DECLARED DEMONETISATION OF HIGH-VALUE BANKNOTES

As a lingering cash crunch seemed to temper the initial euphoria over the high-stake policy move, the government has appeared less effusive about the November 8 decision. And with only three working days left, it wants to see off the winter session without any major embarrassment in Parliament.

So much so that ruling lawmakers were seen on Friday preventing a debate in the Lok Sabha, prompting opposition charges that the government didn’t want to be called out on the so-called demonetisation move which suddenly culled 86% of cash in the economy. The Opposition had initially sought a debate with a vote on demonetisation but later relented to one without voting. Only this time, the government has seemed reluctant to hold one at all.

“If they allow me to speak in Parliament, you shall see an earthquake will come,” Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi told journalists. “This is the biggest scam in India’s history. If I say this inside the House, Modiji will not be able to sit.”

The Parliament’s winter session has so far been lost to disruptions by opposition parties, but, in a role reversal on Friday, BJP chief whip Rakesh Singh was seen gesturing to ruling NDA MPs to get up and shout the opposition MPs down.

For the government, the day was no better at the Supreme Court, which wondered if the restriction on withdrawal of “legitimate and taxed money” violated fundamental rights. Cash withdrawals from banks are capped at `24,000 a week, but most banks are unable to pay even that.

A bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur asked the government to consider fixing a minimum assured withdrawal which banks cannot refuse and allow district cooperative banks to accept banned 500-and 1000-rupee notes after stringent verification of the customers.

The court told Mukul Rohatgi, the government’s top law officer, to report back the progress on this on December 14 when it will issue an interim order to reduce people’s hardship.

“Did you have any projections as to how much will you receive and how much notes were to be printed? What would be your gestation period?” the bench asked Rohatgi, wondering whether there was any application of “mind” or “planning” before the demonetisation announcement.

A constitution bench will be set-up to hear 25 petitions that have challenged the government’s demonetisation move, aimed at curbing black money and counterfeit currency. The court said it will frame 11 questions for the consideration of the constitution bench.

Back in Parliament, ruling party lawmakers refused to allow Gandhi to initiate a fresh debate while parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar demanded an apology from the opposition benches for disrupting the proceedings during the past days. At one point, BJP leader LK Advani was seen asking his party MPs not to disrupt the proceedings.

Later, a visibly upset Sumitra Mahajan, the Lok Sabha Speaker, adjourned the Lok Sabha till Wednesday morning.

“Jao sab chhutti par (Go on leave, everyone),” she said on the microphone. Her rebuke came a day after President Pranab Mukherjee castigated MPs for disruptions, asking them to run Parliament “for god’s sake.”

With only three working days left this session, the government is unwilling to allow opposition leaders an opportunity to attack it in Parliament for people’s hardship due to demonetisation, said sources. “The PM is giving speeches across the country but is afraid of coming to the Lok Sabha and is not willing to sit there,” Rahul Gandhi said, wondering about the reason for this “nervousness”.

Cash withdrawals from banks are capped at `24,000 a week, but most banks are unable to pay even that.

A bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur asked the government to consider fixing a minimum assured withdrawal which banks cannot refuse and allow district cooperative banks to accept banned 500-and 1000-rupee notes after stringent verification of the customers.

The court told Mukul Rohatgi, the government’s top law officer, to report back the progress on this on December 14 when it will issue an interim order to reduce people’s hardship.

“Did you have any projections as to how much will you receive and how much notes were to be printed? What would be your gestation period?” the bench asked Rohatgi, wondering whether there was any application of “mind” or “planning” before the demonetisation announcement.

A constitution bench will be set-up to hear 25 petitions that have challenged the government’s demonetisation move, aimed at curbing black money and counterfeit currency. The court said it will frame 11 questions for the consideration of the constitution bench.

Back in Parliament, ruling party lawmakers refused to allow Gandhi to initiate a fresh debate while parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar demanded an apology from the opposition benches for disrupting the proceedings during the past days. At one point, BJP leader LK Advani was seen asking his party MPs not to disrupt the proceedings.

Later, a visibly upset Sumitra Mahajan, the Lok Sabha Speaker, adjourned the Lok Sabha till Wednesday morning.

“Jao sab chhutti par (Go on leave, everyone),” she said on the microphone. Her rebuke came a day after President Pranab Mukherjee castigated MPs for disruptions, asking them to run Parliament “for god’s sake.”

With only three working days left this session, the government is unwilling to allow opposition leaders an opportunity to attack it in Parliament for people’s hardship due to demonetisation, said sources. “The PM is giving speeches across the country but is afraid of coming to the Lok Sabha and is not willing to sit there,” Rahul Gandhi said, wondering about the reason for this “nervousness”.

Cashless economy a long way to go since cash is still king

HURDLES Vast rural population, few debit cards, fewer ATMs and point of sale machines… the problems are too many

NEWDELHI: Apart from the war on black money, the government’s move to ban old ₹500 and ₹1,000 banknotes was also a push towards a cashless economy (the old notes constituted 86% of the total money in circulation). Ever since November 8, the Centre has announced a number of sops to push for a cashless economy — discount on buying petrol and diesel through cards, waiving off service charge on card transactions up to ₹2,000 and no transaction fees on public dealings with PSUs if they are done digitally, among others.

PTIEven after a month, the queues still remain longer

But is India ready for a cashless society? Or how feasible is it for people to actually go cashless?

Two-thirds of Indian population live in rural areas. The number of bank branches and ATMs are far and few and very few people actually have bank accounts. Besides, most shops in these areas do not have the infrastructure to accept digital payments or plastic money.

There are around 1.45 million point of sale (PoS) machines in use in India, which makes it around 856 PoS machines per million people.

In a population of around 1.3 billion, India has only 662 million debit card holders as of March 31, 2016, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Most people use their debit cards only to withdraw cash.

Around ₹27 lakh crore worth of transactions happened through debit cards in 2015-16. Out of these, 92% were cash withdrawals from ATMs.

And people still prefer to withdraw money through cheques and slips.In 2015-16, cash withdrawal using plastic cards in India was only 32% of the total cash withdrawals; the rest of the money was withdrawn using paper clearances like cheques.

Lack of required infrastructure is another roadblock to the country’s digital drive. India’s mobile teledensity — the number of telephone connections for every hundred individuals living in an area — is 81, whereas in rural is areas it is even less – 51, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Though India is the fastest growing as well as the second-largest smartphone market in the world, there are just a little over 300 million smartphone users in India. The majority still use feature phones.

“India has probably has reached the tipping point. The infrastructure cannot be created overnight but you need to have that intent. There is a lot of ground to cover in terms of spreading financial and digital literacy,” said Rachna Nath, partner and head, digital consulting , KPMG India. “We need to use the complete ecosystem, such as community service centres, to create awareness.”

How note ban was kept secret

Prime Minister Narendra Modi handpicked revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia to spearhead a radical move to abolish 86% of the country’s cash overnight and take aim at the huge shadow economy.

Adhia, and five others privy to the plan were sworn to utmost secrecy, sources with knowledge of the matter said. They were supported by a team of researchers working in two rooms at Modi’s New Delhi residence.

The secrecy was aimed at outflanking those who might profit from prior knowledge, by pouring cash into gold, property and other assets and hide illicit wealth. “One is never ready for this kind of disruption — but it is a constructive disruption,” said Narendra Jadhav, former chief economist of RBI.

Over more than a year, Modi commissioned research from officials at the finance ministry, the central bank and think-tanks on how to advance his fight against black money, a close aide said. He demanded answers to questions such as: How quickly India could print new banknotes; how to distribute them, and whether state banks benefit if they received a rush of new deposits.

The topics were broken up to prevent anyone from joining the dots and concluding that a cash swap was in the offing.

“We didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag,” said a senior official directly involved. “Had people got a whiff, the exercise would have been meaningless.”

But though secrecy was paramount, clues had been left.

The RBI disclosed in May that it was making preparations for a new series of banknotes that were confirmed in August when it announced it had approved a design for a new ₹2,000 note.

The printing presses had only just started turning when the media finally started to run with the story in late October.

“The plan was to introduce it around November 18, but there was a clear sign that it could get leaked,” said one person with direct knowledge.

Gap between haves, have-nots has widened: Manmohan

Says education can overcome division of people on religious, caste lines

Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh at CRRID in Chandigarh on Friday. RP Bhamba (centre), Chairman, CRRID governing body, and SR Hashim, Chairman, IASSI, are also seen in the picture. tribune Photo: Manoj Mahajan

Amaninder Pal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 9

Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, the architect of India’s economic reforms initiated 25 years ago, today said the progress the country witnessed during the past 25 years was not “equitably distributed”. Certain sections of society such as SCs/STs, OBCs and minorities and those living in the rural areas had lagged behind and their gain or share in the progress of the country was much less than that of the well-off sections of the country, said Dr Singh, who had opened up the country’s economy with his Budget speech in 1991.Though Dr Singh emphasised that the country had made considerable progress, particularly during the past 25 years, but he also underscored the point that “inequality has increased substantially in the country.”Delivering the inaugural address at the 17th annual conference of the Indian Association of Social Sciences Institutions (IASSI), organised by the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRIID), Chandigarh, here today, the former Primer Minister spoke on “Education and Development: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities.”“The size of our economy today is two trillion plus ($ 2.076) compared to the $ 0.327 trillion economy in 1990-91.  The literacy rate has increased from 52.21 per cent in 1991 to 74.04 per cent in 2011-12.The population living below the poverty line has declined from 45.3 to 21.9 per cent from 1993-94 to 2011-12, but the benefits of this progress are not fairly distributed”, said Dr Singh.“The disparity in the country has increased considerably. As per socio-economic surveys for rural India, there were 74.5 per cent households with a monthly income below Rs 5,000 in 2011,” he further added. Dwelling on the quality of education being offered by government schools, he said it was far from satisfactory due to various factors such as lack on infrastructure, inadequate teaching faculty and equipment, etc.“Now, there are schools for the haves and have-nots leading to social segregation of children belonging to various sections of society”, he said.Critically commenting on the private education system, Dr Singh said though private schools were better monitored, they charge a high fee and were beyond the reach of the poor, who could not bear the financial burden such schools entail. He said there was a dire need to address issues like inadequacy of classrooms, shortage of teaching material, equipment and above all shortage of teachers in the schools.

Social divisions

The current tendency to generate and promote social divisions among people on the basis of religions, castes and regional lines can be overcome by educating people to acquire those values which characterised the struggle for Independence and the idea of India. Education must promote what Jawaharlal Nehru described as “scientific temper” and humanistic values. The technically educated individuals can be transformed into culturally advanced citizens, who have the capacity to enjoy their own liberty and respect the liberty of others in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society of India, which is correctly described as ‘unity in diversity’.  The educated and conscious citizens become participants in the deepening and the widening of democracy, in observing the rule of law and saving the polity from deviations from democratic principles, keeping it on the path to follow the cherished ideals of our Constitution, the ‘Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic’.   

Education as business

The new educational institutions coming up in the private sector are mostly for “profit” and are not like the old non-profit charitable private educational institutions. Though at the same time, it must be admitted that some of the private education providers have maintained high quality but there number is not much. He also stressed on empowerment of women through education.

‘Month on, no relief in sight any sooner’

Sqeezing cash, stretching queues: A long queue of people outside a bank in Ludhiana on Friday. Photos: Inderjeet Verma

Gurvinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 9

 

There seems no end to the cash crunch. Most banks and ATMs remained out of cash today as demonetisation completed a month. Even if cash at a few banks was available, withdrawal amount hardly exceeded Rs 6,000.Those who managed to get cash had a mixed expression of some relief and confusion about how they would use the ‘big note’. Most of the banks and ATMs are dispensing only Rs 2,000 notes. Many traders are not accepting Rs 2,000 notes as they don’t have enough change.“Though people have started coming with Rs 2,000 notes, there is no change in the market. Owing to the cash crunch, sales are already down. I have about twenty-four Rs 100 notes. If I give 19 of these to someone purchasing products worth Rs 70, what am I going to give other customers?” asked Baljinder Singh, a shop owner of the Dugri area.Rakesh Singla, a resident coming out of the SBI branch at Fountain Chowk, said he requested the bank official if he could get notes in small denomination. But he told me that those had been distributed in the first hour of cash disbursal and now only Rs 2,000 notes were available.“This is the height of mismanagement on the part of the government. One decision, 30 days, no relief yet and nor in sight any sooner. On top of that, none of the benefits of demonetisation has started manifesting as yet. The only results so far have been negative,” said Yoginder Grewal, a resident at a bank in the Feroze Gandhi market.

This is height of mismanagement

• This is the height of mismanagement on the part of the government. One decision, 30 days, no relief yet and nor in sight any sooner. On top of that, none of the benefits of demonetisation has started manifesting as yet. The only results so far have been negative. —Yoginder Grewal,a residen

Job of a military commander is to lead soldiers into battle with utmost commitment and focus by an authority bestowed in him by an order of the head of the state. Logic often fails to motivate men in the face of death, thus, the task of a commander is to blind the logic by evoking emotions. A good commander will always assemble his men and throw them to the wolf. But when he does so, he too lead his group deep into enemy territory leading from the front. Before men went for surgical strike they all wrote the last letter before crossing over the LOC to be delivered to their next of keen if some of them did not return. Robert Greene wrote in his book 33 Strategies of War, that best way to motivate men is not through reasons, but through emotions. Manipulation of emotion is the art of military leadership.

Humans are defensive by nature, logic make them meek, because if soldiers start reasoning the outcome of their actions during war, they will never be able to fight a war. Logically it is foolish and absurd to run up a hill when the guns are blazing from top with no place to take cover. Yet soldiers do it every time they are asked to do so fully knowing the outcome of such acts. It is all about fogging logic by emotions. Soldiers fight under the influence of emotions but the leaders lead them by logic and reasoning. A tactical commander is not blinded by emotions, he knows what he is asking his men to do and what price he would pay. Lt Anuj Nayyer knew before going to his final assault that he will not return back, yet he went with a smile. It is the rank that makes a military leader do what a normal human being will never do.

Emotion is most essential aspect of soldiering, and the attachment and attraction of a solider to his rank is infectious and fatal. That is why he carries his rank to grave and retains it till eternity. Ask a soldier how has he got his first stripe and his answer will be by blood and sweat. Thus he guards his rank with great degree of pride and self-respect. He feels it insulting when someone starts comparing his rank to a clerk, or a section officer of even to a secretary in the government. It is contemptuous and insulting. Ask Special Forces how they earn the dagger with wings. His reply would be by mortgaging his life for the nation. To go where no human can go, to do what no human can do and survive where no human has ever survived. Those who do not understand what it takes to be a soldier, they may consider soldiering as another government job, but try and live that life for one day and your head will bow in respect. There is lot of pain, sacrifices, physical rigors and mental stress that a soldier is put through during peace and war. There is a streak of ruthlessness in a soldier and his leader, but before they are ruthless with the enemy they have to subject themselves with ruthlessness.

Naik Hanamanthappa survived for six days under 35 feet of snow. It was the ultimate human endeavour. But remember his Commanding Officer did not leave the site till he dug every mortal remains of his men in minus 35C degree without proper shelter without adequate food and under constant threat to lives of his men and his own. It was the ruthless leader in him that led from the front in a life threatening environment. Can he be compared to any other government employee how high and mighty he may be? One can’t even imagine any other government official performing such act.

A soldier fights along the border and LoC because adversary challenges his authority on the territorial jurisdiction entrusted to him by his superior military authority. His task is to ensure territorial integrity and no loss of territory is acceptable during peace and war. When his authority is challenged he does not wait for the orders, rather he acts. His authority comes from his rank that forces him to act against his enemy even if it means war.

A civilian bureaucrat is often defined by designation and military by rank. Designation means label, name, title and description. Whereas military ranks mean order, level, status and authority. Military leaders command the territory, men and resources at their disposal by their word of command. Whereas bureaucrats only can lay restrictions through proxy and suggest pros and cons. Military commander’s word is an authority and he does not issue an order in writing to his men to go to war. In the recent case of surgical strike, no written orders were issued by Special Forces commanders to their men to cross LoC when they all knew the risk to their lives. Men were briefed and orders issued by word of mouth. The men trusted the wisdom of their commanders because of the rank and authority they held. Whereas if a bureaucrat has to get a job done even if it has zero risk to life, he has to issue a government order.

It may appear to be a non-issue for political leadership or bureaucrats to compare military ranks with civilian counterparts, but it is sacrosanct for a soldier. The difference is that when a soldier salutes his superior it means “sir I am ready to carry out your command” and an officer returns the salute by acknowledging that “I will lead you till last breath”. That is why an old soldier never saluted a civilian irrespective of his position because a civilian cannot lead a soldier to war. Comparing a rank with civilian designation is blasphemy but bigger crime is downgrading the ranks. If a soldier and military commander start behaving like a government servant, the army and the nation are doomed. No nation can afford their army to behave like a government organization because government is run by rules and wars are fought by defying rules and conventions. That is why military ranks have sanctity and military accruements are prohibited to be sued even by police. Government of India has committed cardinal mistakes of firstly comparing military ranks with that of civilian counterparts and second is that military personnel’s have been placed under police officer in NSG where the police officers have no idea of command of military personnel’s that too special forces.

The day elitism is destroyed among the soldiers, that day nation is rendered insecure. It is the greatest disservice a political leader or bureaucrat can do to the nation. A visionary political leader of a nation surrounded by inimical forces would never distract his army by causing imbalance in emotional equilibrium of men and tempering with their pride and status. Any force in a state attempting to erode the morale of army especially at a time when there is war like situation along the borders/ LOC is an act of high treason. Military leaders can’t be unsettled and distracted from the main task at hand. Those who attempt to do so are furthering the cause of enemy. We as a nation must remember that Xenophon had said in (Circa 430-355) “whichever army goes into battle stronger in soul and morale, their enemy generally cannot withstand them”. Thus political leaders must prevent endeavours of those who wish to weaken the morale and spirit of the soldier.

Narender Kumar

Brig Narender Kumar is an Infantry Officer with close to 15 years’ experience in counter insurgency and anti-terrorism operations having served in Sri Lanka (Operation PAWAN) J&K and North East. He has been part of UN Mission in North Africa and had a tenure in Indian Training Team in a foreign country. He has served as Brigade Major in Western Theatre, Col Administration of a Division and Brig General Staff of an Area responsible for Northern Border. Commanded a Rashtriya Rifles battalion in J&K and Assam Rifles Sector in North East.

In the build-up to the Heart of Asia (HOA) Conference at Amritsar on December 3-4, there is speculation that India and Pakistan will resume bilateral talks. Tribune file

New Delhi, December 1The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday issued a statement on bilateral talks with Pakistan saying that they would not accept continued terror as the “new normal” in bilateral ties. In the build-up to the Heart of Asia (HOA) Conference at Amritsar on December 3-4, there is speculation that India and Pakistan will resume bilateral talks.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)“We have not got any request for bilateral meeting from Pakistan. We are always in favour of talks but not in atmosphere of terror,” the MEA said. On the Nagrota attack, the MEA said that the government had taken the incident very seriously and would do what it felt was required for national security. “We are awaiting specific details on Nagrota attack before deciding on next step,” the MEA said. — PTI

PLOT Army jawan, along with a dismissed colleague and a policeman, looted old notes from a hosiery owner on Saturday

From page 01 LUDHIANA: The police arrested an army jawan, along with a dismissed soldier, on Monday for looting `7 lakh in scrapped currency from a hosiery owner.

The police recovered `6.30 lakh from the possession of the accused, besides an air gun and scooter used in the crime committed on Saturday.

The accused told the police that they planned to exchange the scrapped currency with new notes after depositing it in their saving accounts.

The accused were identified as jawan Ramesh Kumar and Vikas Kumar, a dismissed jawan, both residents of Hisar district in Haryana. Vikas was dismissed from the army for being absent from duty without information. Their third accomplice, said to be a cop, was yet to be arrested.

The accused were produced in a local court and were remanded in police custody for two days.

SHO Beant Juneja of Division-5 police station said the accused stopped hosiery owner Manpreet Singh of New Shivaji Nagar, who was going to Model Gram to deposit `7 lakh in a bank on Saturday afternoon near Government Senior Secondary School, Jagraon bridge, and robbed him at gun point.

The victim also alleged that a cop in a Swift car also reached the spot and threatened him. As the accused left the place, he immediately informed the police.

The SHO said the police would inform the income tax department for relevant investigations.

Assistant commissioner of police (ACP-west) Surinder Lamba said the police arrested the accused when they were planning to commit another crime. He said the police were questioning the accused about the cop involved in the crime.

For good days: The poor have revealed surprising support for Mr Modi’s move.

THERE are two aspects to the currency swap for high denomination notes, one economic pertaining to ferret out black money and get more people to use digital transfers and the other political, particularly in its timing.On the economic side, it is a bold move of PM Narendra Modi, a task first tried by the short-lived Janata Party government of which the BJP’s parent Jana Sangh was part. It was unable to follow through, given its own convulsions. With a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, the present administration can take the risks. But even given the need for secrecy in  such an undertaking, the move could have been better prepared, given the people’s daily needs.Politically, it has given the Opposition parties the opportunity to unite on an issue that cuts across party lines. But coming as the new measures do on the eve of crucial Assembly elections in UP and Punjab, it can have devastating effect on all parties. It is no secret that each party collected piles of cash for persuading voters to press the right button. Now they have to start the process all over again, with inevitable shortfalls.For waning parties such as the Congress, the money swapping issue leading to long queues at ATMs, many of them not calibrated to new currency, and the inevitable tribulations of small undertakings, the measure was a godsend. Mr Rahul Gandhi in particular was vocal.How far the political aspects influenced the move has yet to be discovered, but the administration’s suggestion for state funding of elections is a moot point. And in a sense, after the turmoil is over, it will be a topic for debate.The Modi government has also announced that other measures to reduce, if not stop, corruption are being readied or are in offing. While the country will wish the government well, it is a universal experience that such a task to tackle an endemic problem is a lifetime undertaking. As if to mock the new measures, the big fat Reddy wedding was a reminder of the ability of the rich to raise mountains of cash, with the demonetisation of high currency notes presenting few problems.Despite the inevitable sob stories and personal hardships caused by demonetisation TV channels have been feasting on, my questioning of poor and humble folk has revealed surprising support for Mr Modi’s move. Many of them seem to be convinced by the argument that this will help bring down the use of black money.The Modi move has obvious wider political considerations. The PM is not short of ambitions for himself and the country in that order. If he has shown boldness in pursuing the country’s interest despite missteps, he has an equally radical agenda for domestic policy where it counts the most.The BJP’s short-term objective is to capture UP in the forthcoming Assembly elections. With an open war being enacted in the Yadav family empire, the political barometer was pointing in the direction of Ms Mayawati’s BSP, but the new problems in distributing largesse will affect it as it will the state’s ruling Samajwadi Party. The Congress is a small player in UP as it is being marginalised in the rest of the country.The BJP’s strategy in UP prior to the currency move was to emphasise its “surgical strike” on Pakistani targets after the Uri attack to wear the colour of nationalism even as it heightened its move for Hindutva to divide voters along communal lines by raising the Ram janmabhoomi issue. It was betting on the possibility that with the disillusionment of Muslim voters with the Samajwadi Party, their tendency would be to go to the BSP even while the Congress was seeking Brahmin votes.If the BJP’s new calculations are right, the UP elections will be on a less extravagant scale this time round. But the fine tuning of the party’s strategy has yet to evolve in the light of the new political dynamics released by the currency issue. While the Opposition parties will harp on the sufferings of the common man and the lack of adequate preparation for such a bold measure, the common man may be more in sympathy with the official line that it is more for the benefit of the poor.Among the opposition parties, Ms Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress and her counterpart in Delhi, Mr Arvind Kejriwal, chose to take over the leadership of opposing the measure for different reasons. The TMC is on the lookout for a wider national role after having vanquished the Marxist Communist Party. And Mr Kejriwal will espouse any issue to beat the Modi government with, apart from his search for a wider setting to fulfil his personal ambitions.The success of the new monetary measure will depend upon how quickly it will relieve the genuine sufferings of the small trader, labour working in the field and the farmers’ planting regime. A wider dispensation of Rs 500 notes would help. The fact that such a major move will cause disruption is a foregone conclusion.Mr Modi is good at fixing targets for himself and the nation. He has asked for 50 days to fix the currency problem in emotional appeals he made two days running. As usual, he mixed his appeals with his known political themes and even made time for a UP election rally.Much rests on the overall success of the currency measure in determining the immediate fate of the Modi government. It will depend principally on how fast the administration can act to bring the situation back to normal. Government machinery is revving up, but whether it will prove equal to the task remains to be seen.In a sense, Mr Modi has given the warning that his aspiration is to become a memorable Prime Minister although he shuns the maker of modern democratic India, Jawaharlal Nehru. He could however aspire to equal Indira Gandhi, who won her spurs by defeating Pakistan in the Bangladesh war.

Infallible leaders? Blame it on the bhakts

Salil Desai
There is a very thin line between the use and abuse of power. It is not adulation, but criticism that keep people in power from crossing the line. In fact, bhakti makes political leaders believe in their own infallibility, inflates their self-opinion as men or women of destiny, born to create history and, inevitably, leads them to take missteps

WHEN  one reads about the rise of many 20th-century authoritarian regimes in history, there are two questions that confound you. How did entire nations and populations allow themselves to be so hypnotised by a person or a political party? Moreover, how did they permit leaders or regimes to take absolute control over the State and then chip away at their liberties one by one, so that they could hold sway with an iron grip for decades thereafter?The process is even more inexplicable and intriguing in countries that were once democracies. We are not talking of military coups or civil wars here. We are talking of democratic takeovers of power, which eventually degenerated into authoritarian reigns, even if for a short period of time. In the wake of the twin surgical strikes  — across the LOC and now demonetisation — when one sees the prevailing atmosphere, one wonders if this is how the process begins unfolding. Where people start ceding individual liberties for some chimerical greater good; where the regime does not even have to oppress, just unleash a vicious, emotional rhetoric and outsource the suppression to a large number of citizens who have suspended independent thinking and thus can be depended upon to cow down the questioners. The demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, for instance, has been aggressively touted as a master stroke against everything from black money to terrorist funding to counterfeit money to corruption, while also being hailed as a major reform towards a cashless economy. Any criticism of it, is almost considered blasphemous, even anti-national. If this sentiment was being stoked only by the government or party in power, it  would be understandable, although undesirable propaganda. What makes it really scary is that ordinary middle-class citizens, especially those of the social media variety, have started behaving like accomplices of the regime by shouting down, mocking and denouncing any contrary views, branding these as unpatriotic. Moreover, even the shoddy and shockingly inept planning and execution of the demonetisation exercise is being defended as inevitable. We are being exhorted to treat it as our patriotic duty to suffer long queues, inconveniences, disruptions to our lives, genuine problems caused by this man-made crisis, without complaining or criticism. So is our brainwash complete? Have we become so mesmerised by the larger-than-life aura of a leader that we refuse to believe that he and his government can do any wrong? Have we forgotten what Dr Ambedkar warned about political bhakti? Don’t we realise that there is a very thin line between the use and abuse of power.In fact, bhakti makes political leaders believe in their own infallibility, inflates their self-opinion as men or women of destiny. Time and again, history has shown that there are no strong, authoritarian regimes which did not end up doing more harm than good to their countries. Many of them did so because of their popularity. Because people and nations put more faith in them than they should have.Popularity has almost never ever chastened any politician, except very rare exceptions — a Nehru, a Mandela. But most of those who have relied on personal appeal over everything else, have eventually led their nations to grief, when their self-belief descends into megalomania. Almost always that megalomania is fed by popularity and fawning bhakts. The bhakts create an echo chamber, which resounds only with what the leader wants to hear and believe, totally shutting out different viewpoints and realities. Modi and his party won a majority single-party mandate for the first time in 30 years in 2014. Even if grudgingly, one has to admit that his personal popularity has remained high, despite many questions that still remain unanswered. That there is an authoritarian and majoritarian streak cannot be denied. In the case of the surgical strikes along the LoC, his party and he exploited nationalistic and strong-man sentiments to the hilt. In the case of demonetisation too, we have seen him play the brave, lone-crusader card, the selfless, sacrificing leader rhetoric and the emotional, “suffer-for-me-and-our country” appeal. All of this points to his tendency to personalise all his government’s decisions to make his regime seem almost presidential in nature and help to build his image as a towering, decisive leader.The kind of leader he is for time to tell. Many people have bought his spiel hook, line and sinker, while others are sceptical. Whether his regime turns into a democratically elected one with autocratic tendencies, especially if he gets a second term, depends on his bhakts. People are free to support and adore the Prime Minister but they must realise that love for one’s country is completely different from love for a particular leader, party or a government. They have no right to attack, browbeat and brand as unpatriotic those questioning the policies of their beloved leader. If India turns less-than-democratic once again, blame it squarely on the bhakts. Any leader derives his delusions from the reflections seen in the distorted mirrors put up by his fanatic supporters.The writer is a Pune-based author and film-maker.

On day for senior citizens, rush kills four more people

NEW DELHI: At least four more people died across the country on Saturday, allegedly due to exhaustion after standing several hours to exchange banned banknotes as millions continued to grapple with a cash crunch 11 days after the shock decision.

The government says the move to demonetise the old `500 and `1000 notes was aimed at sucking out illicit cash. Officials said the Income Tax department has already started issuing hundreds of notices seeking source of funds from individuals and firms who have deposited huge amounts of cash in banks using the scrapped currency notes.

Though there is no official confirmation, opposition parties are linking the death of about 50 people to the demonetisation that has led to snaking queues in banks and cash-dispensing machines with people lining up late into the night to withdraw cash or exchange the old notes.

Two of the deaths were reported from Uttar Pradesh – in Aligarh and Harodi. Another man died in Rajasthan’s Junjhunu district while a woman was brought dead to a hospital in Haryana’s Karnal. A doctor said she may have suffocated in the crowded queue outside a bank. Since the government’s announcement on November 8, banks have worked without a break, allowing customers of even other banks to exchange the old notes. The long queues in ATMs, however, remained in many parts of the country including Mumbai.

In Andhra Pradesh’s Paderu town, an angry policeman allegedly damaged two ATMs which had run out of cash. Bank officials said the cop was caught on CCTV kicking the machines repeatedly. The government has struggled to fill the country’s more than two lakh ATMs as a bumpy execution of the scheme has left the poor, small traders, farmers and women left with little cash in hand to even meet daily expenses.

There were also reports of distribution of new banknotes with faulty prints. A south Delhi resident, Imtiaz Alam, was given Rs 10 coins weighing about 15 kgs when he withdrew Rs 20,000 from the Jamia Cooperative bank.

Amid the chaos, a bank manager in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa went to a hospital to hand over Rs 25,000 to a retired railway official who suffered a broken hip after a fall on Friday.

Modi quotes Dylan to hail change, jokes about `100

CASH CRISIS Sonia hits out at leaders who are in ‘quest for shortcuts to greatness’

MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday quoted Nobel laureate Bob Dylan to hit out at critics of the government’s decision to recall highvalue banknotes, saying “the times they are a-changin” and asked them not to criticise “what you can’t understand”.

SAUMYA KHANDELWAL/HT PHOTOAn elderly woman is helped into a bank at Delhi’s Aruna Asaf Ali Road on Saturday.

Modi’s swipe came 11 days after he announced a ban on `500 and `1,000 banknotes, a surprise decision that has left millions of Indians struggling to exchange the banned currency and withdraw cash from banks and ATMs.

Earlier in the day, Congress president Sonia Gandhi took a dig at leaders who are in a “quest for shortcuts to greatness”, in what is seen as a veiled criticism of Modi’s demonetisation move that her party says has been executed badly.

Party vice-president Rahul Gandhi also targeted Modi. “The cold play while the poor suffer!” he tweeted, referring to the British band Coldplay which performed in Mumbai after Modi’s address through video-conference.

The Congress’s fresh salvo came on a day when at least four more people died, allegedly due to exhaustion from queuing up for several hours to exchange banknotes.

The government says the demonetisation was aimed at curbing black money and counterfeiting of currency. Officials said the income tax department has started seeking explanations from hundreds of individuals and firms that have deposited huge amounts of scrapped currency notes their accounts.

Modi said it was part of his cleanliness drive. “Border ke us paar ki safai ho, ya kale dhan se bhari tijori ki safai ho, sab kuchh jor shor se chal raha hai (Whether it is cleansing across the border or cleaning of lockers and treasuries filled with black money, everything is on),” he said, drawing a parallel between the war on terrorism and black money.

The Prime Minister described Dylan — a shock choice for this year’s Nobel prize for literature — as one of his idols and quoted an entire paragraph from his iconic song, ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’, which had become an anthem for pent-up frustration among American youth in the 60s.

Modi also saw the funny side of the demonetisation move, saying if he had to sing at a Coldplay event the youngsters “would want your money back in 100-rupee notes”. The Prime Minister doffed his hat at the youngsters, pointing out that addressing the crowd of over 80,000 was a “welcome break” from “old files and cold Delhi”.

He also said it was smart to just address the audience instead of being there in person otherwise many of the youngsters would be lining up to ask for their money back and that too in Rs 100 notes.

Besides the opposition, Modi has come under criticism from the BJP’s ally Shiv Sena, which defended a controversial statement by Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in Parliament.

“The difference is in the attackers. Pakistan attacked us in Uri, where in the case of demonetisation (deaths) it was our own rulers,” the Sena said in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana.

Though there is no official confirmation, opposition parties are linking the death of more than 50 people to the demonetisation.

Two of the deaths on Saturday were reported from Uttar Pradesh. Another man died in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district while a woman was brought dead to a hospital in Haryana’s Karnal.

Though the queues in banks were relatively shorter on Saturday, officials said it could be because of certain restrictions including allowing only senior citizens to exchange old notes and catering to own customers.

The government has struggled to fill the country’s more than two lakh ATMs as a bumpy execution of the scheme has left the poor, small traders, farmers and women with little cash in hand to even meet daily expenses.

A south Delhi resident, Imtiaz Alam, was given Rs 10 coins weighing about 15 kgs when he withdrew Rs 20,000 from the Jamia Cooperative bank.

Queues get shorter with Saturday dedicated to elderly, but many return empty-handed

MOST OF THE BANKS COULD NOT CATER TO ALL THE ELDERLY PEOPLE AS THEY RAN OUT OF CASH AFTER NOON

AMRITSAR: As the government dedicated Saturday to senior citizens for cash exchange, elderly people thronged the banks in the city with great hope and enthusiasm, but many of them still returned empty-handed, due to currency crunch which continues to hit various banks.

SAMEER SEHGAL/HT(Top) A senior citizen waiting for his turn for exchane of currency notes outside a bank; (above) a woman stands in a queue with her son’s wedding card in Amritsar on Saturday.There was a huge footfall of senior citizens, particularly in the morning hours, at the banks and they were seen accompanied by their children, grandchildren or adult family members.

It turned out to be a heavy day for banks also because they will be closed on Sunday.

As the government had announced that only senior citizens will be entertained in the banks on November 19, they came in hordes to exchange notes, withdraw or deposit money and even withdraw pension from their respective accounts.

But most of the banks couldn’t cater to all the elderly people who turned up as they ran out of cash after noon.

“The banks which had their own chests had surplus cash on Saturday. But there are some banks (like ours) where there is no cash replenishment once we run out of it. Even if we want to help these senior citizens, we really can’t. New currency and surplus cash might flow in after Monday and things would get better,” says a manager of a public sector bank.

PROBLEMS GALORE

The senior citizens were unable to stand and wait for long. They also needed support to walk and climb stairs, if any. Several of them were exhausted due to movement they are not used to in their everyday life.

Joginder Kaur, a 78-year-old paralysis patient who was on her wheelchair, said, “The initiative (demonetisation) taken by the government might be good-intentioned, but the common man, specially the elderly people, are facing a lot of inconvenience and hassles.”

She added, “The move might bring a change in coming times, but for now all I know is that banks have become very crowded and in our age we do not have energy to be part of this rush.” Jaswant Singh, an 84-year-old retired policeman, seemed elated after getting lower denomination notes and also a new currency note of `2000.

“At this age, it’s a big hassle to pull yourself out of the comfort of cosy home. My body is fragile and I cannot move so much. Though the bank officials offered me a chair as the queue was long, but still the overall process was quite tiresome.”

For Krishan Kumar, a retiree, it was a disheartening experience as he had come to withdraw his pension, but had to return empty-handed due to cash crunch.

RAJYA SABHA MP MAKES ROUND OF BANKS

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP Shwet Malik visited various banks in the city to make an on-the-spot assessment of the service being provided to senior citizens. He lauded bankers who were putting in extra efforts to provide comfort to the elderly. He also asked them to set up separate counters for senior citizens and women in the coming days.

SPL CASH EXCHANGE COUNTERS AT AIRPORT

With a view to facilitating passengers in the prevailing cash crunch scenario, the Airport Authority of India (AAI), in association with the State Bank of India, has installed two cash counters at the Sri Guru Ram Dass Ji International Airport here.

One counter has been set up at the arrival terminal of the airport and the other at the departure terminal.

Airport director VV Rao said, “This facility is for passengers. Anybody flying in and out of Amritsar can get their old notes exchanged with new ones, as per the norms. We have already made parking at the airport free.”

Bricks, stones replace people at bank queues

RAMGARH: Villagers in Ramgarh district of Jharkhand have found an innovative way to manage paddy sowing without losing out in the serpentine queues outside banks.

HTFarmers place bricks with their names written on them in front of a bank in Ramgarh. They take their place in the queue when the bank opens.

The farmers, who are gearing up for rabi season, write their names on bricks and boulders in chalk and place them outside the banks before going to their fields. Once the banks open, they take their position in the queue.

The practice avoids the hassle of standing in the queue for hours. In several areas, it’s an unspoken rule that the bricks can be moved only by the person who placed them. Interestingly, nobody trespasses or breaks the queue.

“For the past one week, I could not exchange money as there was a long queue outside the banks and work was pending in the field. When I came to know about this unique idea, I too put a stone in line and went to work. I reached the bank counter minutes before my turn came,” said Ganesh Mahto, a local farmer.

Similarly, a few customers are hiring local youth for `100-`200 to wait in queues on their behalf. “We used this method to get water from a government water tanker during summers. Now, we are using it at bank counters too,” said Kuliya Karmali from Rajrappa.

Dinbandhu Poddar, a local representative of MP Jayant Sinha, said: “We are distributing tea and biscuits to people in queues. We assure all help to senior citizens.”

 

Ruled out a roll back. PTI file photo

Now, exchange old notes at airport

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 17

Now, you can exchange your junked Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes at the international airport in Mohali from tomorrow onwards.Disclosing this here today, airport CEO Suneel Dutt said following a decision taken by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to allow any scheduled commercial bank to open and operate (on a temporary basis) currency exchange counter (small) without levying charges for space and electricity at its airports across the country up to December 31, subject to the availability of space, the State Bank of India (SBI) today established a counter at the arrivals area to exchange the now-defunct currency notes from 11 am onwards tomorrow.

SBI GM (Network 1) Sanjay Kumar said the initiative was taken to help inbound tourists and foreign travellers, besides other passengers for getting valid Indian currency on arrival. The airport CEO assured every possible support to the SBI for smooth functioning of the services for the benefit of the passengers.?

Cashless, farming sector stares at rough rabi season

Experts say govt relief for farmers a ‘in the ocean’

A farmer counts her money before depositing it in a bank. File

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 17

Ten days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation move in the peak of the rabi sowing season, the government today announced relaxations for the critical farming sector. However, agriculture experts term these as a “drop in the ocean” given the plethora of problems the deep-distressed agriculture sector is already facing.Fearing a negative effect on coverage, productivity and quality of rabi crops, they apprehend offsetting of gains made by the farming sector due to a good monsoon season this year after two years of consecutive drought.The government has allowed farmers, who have taken crop loan or have kisan credit card, to withdraw Rs 25,000 per week. Experts, however, say the question is not about the withdrawal of money but the cash lying with farmers from sale of kharif produce, which they would have otherwise used for buying seeds and fertilizers and paying the farm labourers in the ongoing rabi season.As per the relaxations, those who have got payments through RTGS or cheque deposit in KYC-compliant bank account can withdraw additional Rs 25,000 a week. This takes the total cash withdrawal limit for farmers from KYC-compliant bank accounts to Rs 50,000 per week.Agriculture expert Ajay Jhakkhar terms these as “good steps” but says the money also needs to be physically available with banks for farmers to withdraw. “It is not the question of limits or a certain amount, it can be Rs 10,000 or Rs 25,000, but the physical availability of that amount at a bank counter when farmers reach there. Maximum brunt will be borne by farmers in Punjab and Haryana who largely operate through primary agriculture societies and cooperative banks,” he says.Lucknow-based expert Sudhir Panwar says there are many dimensions to the issue and the move may affect the sector in more than one ways. For one, it may affect the rabi sowing and production of winter crops such as wheat, gram and mustard.“The proceeds from the just-concluded kharif season (paddy and pulses) were mostly in cash (Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency) which suddenly became unusable at the peak of the rabi sowing season. Rural branches do not have adequate cash. As a result, both farmers and farm labourers are now standing in queues at a time they would have been busy in fields”.Also farmers sow a percentage of new seeds every season. Those who do not have adequate money for seed replacement will be forced to use grain from the last year’s crop. “This will affect the SRR — the seed replacement ratio — which should ideally be 20 per cent to increase yield and vigour of the new crop,” says Panwar.Experts fear keeping in mind the dismal banking infrastructure and their huge dependence on cash, farmers may have to bear the impact much longer.

Punjab, Haryana may bear the brunt

• Punjab and Haryana farmers are likely to bear the brunt of the demonetisation move as they largely operate through primary agriculture societies and cooperative banks. Money needs to be physically available with banks for them to withdraw
• The move is likely to affect the rabi sowing and production of winter crops such as wheat, gram and mustard. At a time when farmers and farm labourers should have been busy in fields, they are lining up in banks to withdraw/change cash
• Also, those with inadequate cash would be forced to use grain from last year’s crop, thus affecting the seed replacement ratio (SRR), which is ideally 20 pc to increase yield and vigour of the new crop, feel experts

Production likely to dip: Expert

• “The rabi sowing window is open for only 20 to 25 days. November is the peak time when farmers are running around to arrange cash for seeds, fertilisers and labour. The move has increased hardships of farmers, which is bound to affect the production next year” Sudhir Panwar, farm expert

Relief for farmers, traders, to-be-wed

The inconvenience to the public. PTI

• Withdraw up to Rs 2.5 lakh for weddings
• Farmers can take out up to Rs 50,000
• Exchange of defunct notes halved to Rs 2,000
• Toll exemption on NHs now till Nov 24
• Select petrol stations to give up to Rs 2,000

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 17

To help farmers, agricultural traders and those getting married, the government today reduced the limit of over-the-counter exchange of old notes to Rs 2,000 per person. It gave an option to Central Government employees up to Group C to draw an advance of Rs 10,000 from their November salaries.The government has allowed cash dispensation up to Rs 2,000 through debit/credit card swipe using point-of-sale (POS) machine at select petrol stations.For the explicit purpose of marriage, withdrawals up to Rs 2.5 lakh from bank accounts have been allowed.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das today announced that up to Rs 2.5 lakh could be drawn from one of the bank accounts, either that of the bride, the groom or immediate kin.Das said the weekly withdrawal limit for Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) traders had been relaxed to Rs 50,000. Also, farmers could draw up to Rs 25,000 per week in cash from their KYC-compliant accounts. They could draw Rs 25,000 per week against loans sanctioned or kisan credit cards. Reports suggest that from tomorrow, banks would cater to 60 outside customers and concentrate more on those having accounts with their branch.PTI adds: Quoting of PAN for cash deposits aggregating Rs 2.5 lakh or more in bank accounts is mandatory. Quoting PAN is mandatory for cash deposit of over Rs 50,000 in a single day in scheduled or a cooperative bank. The additional requirement  has been made mandatory to avoid ill-gotten wealth being converted into white.

No takers for coins he got in exchange from bank

Sanjay, along with his mother, shows the Rs 10 coins. Photo: Inderjieet Verma

Mohit Khanna

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 17

Fear of counterfeit coins of Rs 10 denomination being in circulation has increased the suffering of the common man who is already grappling with the situation triggered by the scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes by the government.Sanjay, a resident of Kakowal Road, who had received Rs 10 coins in exchange for Rs 1,000 in banned currency, has landed in yet another problem. He has been unable to buy ration since yesterday as no one is accepting Rs 10 coins for the fear of these being fake.“I went to a grocer but he refused to accept the coins, saying that these were fake. I told him that I have got the money from Canara Bank, Chaura Bazar, but he still refused to accept the money. From milkman to bread-seller, no one is accepting these coins. There are widespread rumours of the Reserve Bank having banned the Rs 10 coin,” said Sanjay.Sanjay today visited the BJP party office near Clock Tower to seek their help to exchange the coins. “I could not meet anyone there today but I will visit here again tomorrow,” said Sanjay, a vendor, who is the sole breadwinner of a family of five.“There has been a serious scarcity of money ever since the government banned Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. My old parents, my wife and child, all are dependent on me. After real hardship, I got the coins in exchange but these are not being accepted in the market,” said Sanjay while showing the coins.He said demonitisation had broken the back of daily wage earners.“I am not against the demonetisation move. But I am against its poor implementation. People are really struggling to get cash. It has been eight days since the announcement was made and there has been no respite,” said Sanjay.Sanjay said travelling by bus and other modes of public transport with coins in the pocket has become a a risky proposition.“Yesterday, a conductor of the city bus declined to accept Rs 10 coins and entered into an argument with my father. The conductor even scuffled with his father and tore his shirt. We can’t board auto-rickshaws and had to walk down to reach home or markets,” said Sanjay, while showing the coins along with his mother.No vegetable vendor was accepting the Rs 10 coins, said Kamlesh, Sanjay’s mother.City Bus service conductors will accept Rs 10 coins: GM“The scuffle with a passenger over Rs 10 coins was unfortunate. We will look into the issue and take action against the erring conductor if found guilty. It is our appeal to passengers that we are accepting Rs 10 coins. Yes, there are rumours that counterfeit Rs 10 coins are in circulation. We have written to banks and met senior officials over this issue. Today, the bank officials said they had not received any instruction from the authorities on banning the Rs 10 coin,” said Baljit, General Manager, City Bus Service.

After Kashmir unrest, note ban further hits Punjab hosiery sector

GONE COLD Some units stop production to tide over cash crunch to pay workers; no new orders

There are only a few brands that have bank accounts of workers; the rest are medium and small units. Traders came to us during weekends and paid in cash. We are not sure if we should accept the old currency. The ban has left us with no cash to pay the labour VINOD THAPAR, chairman of Knitwear Club, Ludhiana EARLIER THIS YEAR, DISTURBANCE IN PRIME MARKET KASHMIR HIT ORDERS; NOW INDUSTRY IS REELING UNDER DEMONETISATION OF `500 & `1,000 NOTES

CHANDIGARH: It was chill of a different kind that the hosiery and blanket industry of Punjab was hoping for this winter. Sales in last two years had not been brisk owing to warmer winters. The only consolation was the Kashmir valley, which has a longer winter spell and good tourist footfall.

HT PHOTO

But Punjab’s winter-dependent industry suffered a major blow this year after months of unrest in Kashmir, following the killing of militant Burhan Wani. Now, the industry is reeling under the aftershocks of demonetisation of `500 and `1,000 notes. Some units in Punjab’s industrial hub, Ludhiana—which has nearly 15,000 big, medium and small hosiery and knitwear units making shawls, sweaters, jackets, gloves, caps and warmers—have cut down production or stopped it altogether owing to cash crunch. So, are the 200-odd blanket manufacturers in Amritsar.

“Our industry has suffered the most this year. Jammu and Kashmir is our biggest market for hosiery products as it has long winters and huge inflow of tourists and pilgrims at Vaishno Devi. But all orders from the Valley this year got cancelled. Our business in other parts of the country is seasonal and we are able to earn only in the winter months. There are only a handful brands that have bank accounts of workers, rest are medium and small units. Most traders from J&K, Himachal, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi came to us during weekends and made payments in cash. We are not sure if we should accept the old currency. The note ban has left us with no cash to pay the labour,” said Vinod Thapar, chairman of Knitwear Club, Ludhiana.

Gurdit Singh, owner, Oster Woollen Mills, Ludhiana, said they stopped the production last week. “The hosiery industry was already hit by relatively warmer winters in the last two years. The return of unsold stock from wholesalers and retailers was also high. This year, we hardly got any orders from Kashmir due to the unrest. After the note ban, there is no fresh demand from retailers and wholesalers, who in turn say there are fewer customers. There is no point in producing when there is no demand,” he said.

Owners of blanket units in Amritsar say traders from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bengal are cancelling orders. “We supply tweed for Kashmiri ‘phiran’. But this year, we were not able to get orders from the Valley as the tourist inflow was hit. Wholesalers and retailers order stocks and it takes 20 days to reach states such as Bihar, Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. After scrapping of old notes, they are calling us to say they do not want the stocks. This season is a total washout for us. We will suffer losses to the tune of crores,” says Sudershan Wadhwa, general secretary of Shastri Market Association in Amritsar, an umbrella body for textile units in the city.

The ripple effect is also being felt by spinning mills, wholesalers and retailers. But the worst affected, say the manufacturers, are labourers from UP and Bihar. “The textile industry is country’s second biggest employer after agriculture. Nearly 99% of our workers are migrants from UP and Bihar. Since some units have stopped production, labourers are feeling insecure and it may worsen the problem as we fear mass migration. Since units are not able to pay the labour in cash, the workers are queuing up outside banks to withdraw cash and not reporting at work,” says Thapar.

But Ashok Jain, who owns Mini King Fashion, welcomed the government’s move. “Our production is 80% of the normal. But once the currency crunch ends, even old stocks will get cleared,” he said. Ajit Lakra, president of Ludhiana knitwear and textile industry, feels demonetisation will lead to some course correction by the industry. “Textile units have started opening accounts of workers. The loss is short-term and sales may pick up eventually,” he said.

Currency claims more lives

DEMONETISATION WOES Bank manager in Haryana dies of heart attack after spending three nights at work, another man also suffers cardiac arrest ahead of daughter’s wedding

Due to the increased work-load, Kumar had been sleeping in his office from the last three days. His family said that he was on medication for heart disease. NEERAJ KUMAR, police station in-charge

From page 01 ROHTAK: A 56-year-old bank manager in Haryana died of a heart attack after spending three days serving hundreds of customers following the government’s shock withdrawal of high-value currency notes of `500 and `1,000.

Police said that Rajesh Kumar, manager of Rohtak’s Cooperative Bank, was found dead in his chamber on Wednesday morning after spending three nights in the office because of the increased work-load.

Banks across India have struggled since `500 and `1,000 notes were recalled last week as millions have poured in to exchange or deposit old currency.

Banks have been asked to open early or close late to accommodate the large crowds, adding to the woes of the bank staff.

“Due to the increased workload, Kumar had been sleeping in his office from the last three days. His family said that he was on medication for heart disease,” said Neeraj Kumar, Shivaji colony police station in-charge. Work at the bank has been suspended.

When a security guard reached the bank on Wednesday morning, he knocked at the manager’s office door but got no reply. He alerted other bank employees and called in the police, who broke the door to find Kumar dead.

The police said that Kumar belonged to Gurgaon and is survived by his wife and two children.

Earlier this week, a man in Punjab’s Tarn Taran had died of heart attack reportedly after not being able to arrange cash for his daughter’s wedding.

RSS on tenterhooks after govt’s demonetisation move

CAUTIOUS Sangh tight-lipped about impact on forthcoming polls, asks BJP to guard against crime rise, possibility of breach in law and order

NEW DELHI: It may have welcomed the Centre’s decision to wage a war against black money by demonetising currency of `500 and `1,000 denomination, but the distress caused to people, especially in rural and semi-urban areas, has not gone unnoticed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

PTI PHOTOSamajwadi Party workers block railway tracks by burning an effigy of PM Narendra Modi in Allahabad on Thursday.

The political mentor of the BJP is learnt to have conveyed to the party the problems in dispersal of new currency.

While the cadre has reported widespread distress among people queuing up to get their old currency exchanged, the Sangh brass is also gearing up to placate the small and medium traders who have been its support base.

According to sources in the Sangh, while a larger section is happy about the surgical strike against black money, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statements perceived to paint the rich as black money hoarders have not been well received.

“There is a danger is generalising. Not all those who have made money are cheats or black money hoarders. It has upset some people,” said a source.

He said the comment was comparable to the PM’s earlier stand on a majority of the cow vigilantes being criminals.

The Sangh is tight-lipped about the impact of demonetisation on the forthcoming state assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and three other states, but admits the move can have an adverse effect. “The wedding season is on and there are people who are facing hardships,” the source said.

The Sangh, however, has thrown its weight behind the government that has ruled out a rollback.

Deputy Prachar Pramukh (media in-charge) J Nandakumar in a tweet said those seeking a rollback of the policy are the “Same Award Wapasi gang, same Afzal Guru supporters and Break India brigade”.

Following feedback from the ground, the BJP has also been sounded off in an informal interaction to guard against rise in crime and the possibility of a breach in law and order.

“In some areas, where people do not use banking facilities, the chances of law and order being disrupted are high. We hope the government will take into account these issues,” said a Sangh functionary.

Officials take `4L bribe in new notes, arrested

THE KANDLA PORT TRUST OFFICIALS WERE HELD FOR ALLEGEDLY ACCEPTING A BRIBE OF `4 LAKH, ALL IN `2,000 NOTES

AHMEDABAD: Within days of the introduction of `2,000 currency notes, Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials in Gujarat arrested two Kandla Port Trust officials in Kutch for allegedly accepting a bribe of `4 lakh — all in new `2,000 notes issued after the demonetisation of old `500 and `1,000 notes.

At the office of the complainant, the ACB laid a trap on Tuesday in which one Rudreshwar Sunamudi had come to collect the bribe amount allegedly on behalf of superintendent engineer (class-1) Shrinivasu and sub-divisional officer identified as Kumtekar. All three accused were arrested.

Where did a huge amount in new `2,000 currency notes come from is still being investigated. The government has fixed the withdrawal limit at `20,000 a week in the wake of the demonetisation decision.

The Narendra Modi government outlawed the higher denomination notes to slam brakes on corruption and unearth black money.

According to the police, Sunamudi played the middle man even as Shrinivasu was supposed to receive a sum of `2.5 lakh and `1.5 lakh was for Kumtekar.

A phone called made by the middleman through the complainant’s landline to one of the accused has also been recorded.

The complainant’s company is engaged in providing material supply to the KPT. And the bribe was demanded against a show cause notice by the KPT to the complainant’s firm for pending work.

His remarks came a day after the Pakistan army admitted that seven of its soldiers were killed. PTI file photo

Islamabad, November 15

Prime Minsiter Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said Pakistan cannot be bullied by Indian “tactics” and its restraint should not be “misunderstood” as weakness, warning that his country was fully capable of defending against “any belligerence”.His remarks came a day after the Pakistan army admitted that seven of its soldiers were killed in firing by Indian troops across the Line of Control (LoC) in Bhimber sector.“Pakistan cannot be bullied by such tactics as we are fully capable of defending our soil against any belligerence,” Sharif said while chairing a high-level meeting to review the situation along the LoC.He said Pakistan was exercising “maximum restraint” in the face of Indian firing, which should not be “misunderstood as our weakness,” The Express Tribune reported.Expressing grief over the death of the seven soldiers, Sharif said deliberate escalation of tension along LoC by Indian forces is a threat to regional peace and security.“It is also a futile attempt of the Indian authorities to divert the world’s attention from the worst kind of atrocities they are committing” in Kashmir, he said in a statement.He called on the United Nations to take notice of the ceasefire violations along the LoC. “Our armed forces do not initiate fire but will always respond in a befitting manner to any aggression,” Sharif said.Yesterday, Army chief General Raheel Sharif ordered troops to “effectively” respond to firing by India across the LoC.Earlier, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz briefed Nawaz Sharif on the increased firing and shelling by India.He said the recent incidents of firing have led to 26 deaths and 107 injuries in complete violation of the 2003 ceasefire understanding and international law. — PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe bow to national flags as they review an honour guard before their meeting at Abe’s official residence in Tokyo on Friday. Modi is on a three-day visit to Japan. AFP

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 11

After almost six years of intense negotiations, India and Japan today signed a landmark civil nuclear cooperation deal which will allow Japan to sell nuclear technology, fuel and equipment to India. The deal was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan. When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited India in December last, a broad framework agreement was reached between the two countries but several technical issues remained. Today, the deal was finally inked, marking India’s emergence in the region as a counterweight to China. The only caution remains a clause in the agreement allowing Japan to terminate the pact if India conducted a nuclear test.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)There had been major resistance within Japan to the deal primarily on two counts. One, Japan is the only country to have suffered a nuclear attack and the public was wary of exporting any such technology. Two, the fact that India has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was a stumbling block. The deal bestows on India the unique honour of being the first non-NPT nation to have a nuclear deal with Japan. The deal will give a boost to the 2008 India-US nuclear pact under which US-based Westinghouse Electric, which is owned by Japan’s Toshiba Corp, is in talks for building six nuclear plants in India. Japan confirmed its support to India for its entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group. “I wish to thank Prime Minister Abe for the support extended for India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group,” Modi said. 

What the agreement means

• The deal will give a boost to the 2008 India-US nuclear pact under which US-based Westinghouse Electric, owned by Japan’s Toshiba Corp, is in talks for building six nuclear plants in India

Terrorism condemned by Modi, Abe

• A joint statement issued at the conclusion of the Modi-Abe talks called for stopping ‘cross-border’ movement of terrorists
• India and Japan called upon Pakistan to bring perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attack and the 2016 Pathankot attack to justice
• They sought implemention of UNSC Resolution 1267 while referring to India’s bid to get JeM chief Masood Azhar designated as a ‘global terrorist’
• China, a veto-wielding permanent member of Security Council, had blocked India’s move to put a ban on Azha