Narendra Modi’s campaign to power was based on two things: a check on black money and development. While the latter is still in doubts, he has definitely taken huge strides to fulfill his promise of putting an end to black money.

Like anything and everything that happens in the world, people were quick to pick their ‘favourable’ sides so that it could give them another excuse to have a banal discussion over the internet. Because that’s how you bait the internet rolls.

I had previously written a piece about my willingness to bear the inconvenience if it helped the country in future. You can read it here. A lot of guys were/are skeptical about this move because it’s causing a lot of problems. And rightly so. There have been multiple reports about people bearing the brunt of a rather important move to put an end to black money.

I absolutely understand when you make the argument that a huge amount of undeclared wealth is converted to gold or kept in off-shore accounts, but we need to note (see what I did there?) that this move is a start of the government’s movement against black money. Let’s be civilised individuals who are wise enough to see the larger and brighter image behind this?

On the other hand, we have people sharing/talking/tweeting things that are comparing these inconveniences and problems faced by millions to those of the Indian Army. Why, you might think. It’s easy, it’s just a convenient argument to make because the Indian Armed Forces and their problems become a sentimental thing for us Indians. Now if you try and reason against it, they’ll instantly infer that you hate/disrespect the Indian Army.

Well, that’s not the case. You need to stop using ‘our soldiers stand all day to protect our country’ as an analogy to overlook the hardships of the common man. Remember them when they should be, and not at your convenience. 

It’s the logic given by those who’ve run out of any rationality. I’m hungry but the soldier hasn’t eaten in days, so should I stay hungry? I’m not disrespecting or belittling the massive sacrifices made by the Indian Army personnel. They are definitely do us all a favour and we should be forever grateful to them for their selfless service. But aren’t we trivialising their service by limiting it to a banal argument in the demonetisation row? 

Here’s a prime example of how some of our esteemed celebrities tried adding their two cents to the issue. Rajdeep Sardesai posted a conversation he has had with a daily wages worker.

And Anupam Kher replied with this:

And then there are people who are quick to point out that if people could form queues to get movie/concert tickets or a Jio SIM card, they can do it for going to banks as well. It’s classic case of the inherent lack of empathy when you try and use this kind of logic. 

When you join the queue for a movie ticket or anything else, you are consciously making a choice to do the same. You are not missing your work or putting everything else at hold to get work done in banks. But due to demonetisation, people have been forced to stand in lines and go to banks even when they didn’t want to. Every day work of certain sections have been affected and people are concerned about it too. 

So when you try and use your absolutely outrageous bit of logic by comparing it to an activity that one actually wants to indulge in, you are overlooking the basics of consent. I will have to take a leave for a day from work if I have to get some Rs 1000 in change from different banks.

I completely get it if you are ready to bear the consequences of demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 100 notes. I am willing to do it myself. But let’s not forget that most of us are privileged enough to overcome this difficulty for the larger good.

A lot of people are suffering because of this too. Trying to berate them or trivialising their problems is a dick move. I get your love for the country and all that jazz, but people are suffering and we need to acknowledge that and find a viable way out.

When you try and shut out the voices that make you uncomfortable, you turn into a fascist. Let’s try and not add to the problems that a lot of under-privileged people are facing right now? All responsible citizens need to pledge to support the government and bear with the tough times we will face over the next few months with regards to logistics caused by the discarding of the notes. 

This is our chance to come together as a society and help each other out; not belittle those who are facing problems because of the same.