Ranjona Banerji: Not a 'minor' inconvenience, this

The rollout of this currency withdrawal is being criticised and rightly so If India was fully digitised if India was fully literate if everyone had medical insurance there would have been no problem at all PicPTIWhat a society we have become where we are supposed to have more compassion for a prime minister petulant that people are complaining about the aftereffects of his brilliant idea rather than for the people suffering because of this brilliant idea All across India there is panic and turmoil because people either have no money or their money has become worthless or because they feel that their own money is being denied to themThese are very real problems and fears regardless of the huge amount of black money and the large black money economy which exists and operates in and out of India As any salaried person mdash still the largest if tiny group of Indians that actually pays income tax regularly mdash knows trying to navigate demands for black money is terrifying and extremely difficult especially if you have ever tried to buy property So yes the dishonest and shady Indian is a scourge and yes black money dealings and transactions have to be attackedBut the implementation of this demonetisation scheme has been shoddy and illthoughtout There is no point in Prime Minister Narendra Modi weeping that he is being victimised He is not The rollout of this idea is being criticised and rightly so If India was fully digitised if India was fully literate if everyone had medical insurance there would have been no problem at all We would have easily negotiated our way through this lsquominor inconveniencersquo and lived life on cards ewallets and phone appsForget this fabulous future for a while And take a look at the ground reality It is all right perhaps for a 20yearold to stand in line for three hours to try and withdraw some of her own money It is not all right for an 80yearold to stand in line for three hours to try and withdraw some of his own money This is not a lsquominor inconveniencersquo Because given the rate at which banks and ATM machines are running out of cash there is no guarantee that standing in queue once will get you what you want How many days is it okay for a senior citizen to stand in line scared and worried before the government starts to careA former boss of a biscuit company informed us on television yesterday that it is not fair to keep going on and on about the rural and agricultural poor because they are used to suffering They will just bear some more suffering and starvation for another 50 days Fine Let them die It is also not fair to discuss the poor who are so stupid that they donrsquot have bank accounts and smartphones Fine Let them also die Indiarsquos population is too large anyway isnrsquot itItrsquos for the lsquogreater goodrsquo a fascist idea if there ever was oneInstead herersquos a story about me Last year I had a little brush with cancer The tests and the operation wiped out my insurance money for the year So for the radiation therapy that was mandated after that I had to pay cash I opted to get this done at the only hospital in Uttarakhand which had linear accelerators People come to this hospital from all over the state and from neighbouring states as well At least 100 people a day from all walks of life and parts of North India wait for hours for their turn If you do not have medical insurance you have to pay cashThe hospital was run by a trust is kind and compassionate offers discounts to those who needed them and it offers staggered payments But it runs on cash No cheques no cardsI donrsquot want to try and ask the former head of a biscuit company and his champagne buddies to feel sorry for the patients But I can tell you that any potentially fatal illness fills your family and friends with desperation and fearAnd financial worries come close to the top of the list My six weeks of radiation therapy cost me R1 lakh How many days would I or my father have to stand in line to withdraw that amount from an ATM while travelling 70 km a day and waiting for three to four hours for my treatmentI suppose one day wersquore all going to die right For the greater goodRanjona Banerji is a senior journalist You can follow her on Twitter ranjona Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycom