At the end of an article about Trump Inc.’s meeting with his Indian business partners, I caught this — “According to Mehta, Donald Trump Jr. expressed satisfaction with the pace of Trump Organization’s India business and showed interest in expanding it further. “We didn’t get a chance to talk about currency demonetisation with Mr Trump. But, his kids knew about it and they termed it as an incredibly bold move,” Mehta added.”
“OK”, I asked, “what is Modi’s “currency demonetisation”?” Well, it’s only that “We are possibly seeing the greatest churning of the subcontinent’s population since the Partition of 1947. The cash chaos is also perhaps the most economically and socially disruptive act of State the world has seen since the Cultural Revolution in China (1966-76)”
Not something you would back lightly, under normal circumstances, to say the least. I wonder what the State Department thinks of this?
This is a big deal. It went in on Nov. 8, with no warning, while the rest of the world was, and continues to be, blinded by Hair Drumpf. R 500 and R 1000 notes were “demonitized” overnight, with every person, in a cash-based society, forced to dig up any cash they have and turn it in to the banks, where it will supposedly be replaced by smaller bills. Except that they don’t have smaller bills because the govt. never told them it was coming. It has also effectively defunded the political parties opposed to Modi in the upcoming elections. Rural farmers are unable to buy seed. 90% of the workers are paid in cash. Nobody is able to pay for food deliveries. Nobody is able to pay for weddings (though they just announced they may allow people access to their own money, only for this purpose in the future)! ATMs are no longer working.
And incoming President Trump has given it his blessing.
This is not a matter of convenience. This is life and death. People are dying in line waiting to exchange their banknotes. Delhi cops are getting two distress calls per minute related to the program. A baby died when its father was unable to find a viable form of payment (the doctor has been charged).
And incoming President Trump has given it his blessing.
Gold sellers are doing a booming business, though, converting all that hard-stolen cash into glittering bangle bracelets (only $10,800 each!), with “almost all” of those sales going to straw purchasers.
And I’m sure that incoming President Trump has given this his blessing!
The Hindustan Times has a number of stories on this, and it is time that the rest of the world shine a light on what is happening there — and ask Mr. Trump whether, since he seems to think this is a good idea for 880 million people, if he has the same thing in mind for America’s 330 million residents!