My Attacking Notes Ban Is Not Communal

Mangalore Today News Network

December 15, 2016: The whole demonetisation exercise has completely failed and in the process, it has destroyed nearly 70% of the informal economy and 50% of white goods’ economy. It has created havoc among the marginalised communities whether they are Dalits or Adivasi or Muslims or women.

Demonetisation has had a very adverse impact on the Muslim minority, and when I said this in my speech at a public meeting in Hyderabad on December 11, it became a big issue and a controversy for the media.

If you read the RBI report of the Deepak Mohanty Committee of 2015, it says Indian Muslims constitute 14% of the total population, but their share in different financial assets categories is disproportionately low to their numbers.

The World Bank CGAP Report gives the same findings: that the national average for households with a bank account is 68% in urban areas, while it is only 53% in towns where the Muslim population is above 50%.

The RBI in its Report of the Committee on Medium-term Path on Financial Inclusion using data from the All-India Debt and Investment Survey (AIDIS) showed how Muslims are excluded from all formal institutions like banks and cooperative societies. Their participation rate at 3% is lower than for single women, SCs and STs.

According to census data - 84% of top 100 Muslim populated districts (with over 52% Indian Muslim populations) are among the most financially excluded districts where 95% and more adult population do without bank loan accounts.

The Kundu Committee report showed that Muslims and SCs got less than 2% of bank loans. This report was given to the Modi government in October 2014.

The Sudhir Commission of Inquiry (for Muslims of Tenlangana) shows that 90% per cent of loan applications (made by Muslims) to banks and finance corporations are rejected.

The money coming to ATMs is very little (throughout our country) and it is a pittance in areas where vulnerable sections - for example, Muslims - live. They are already financially excluded, they don’t have banks in Muslim areas, and so, for them, life has become very tough with the notes ban causing a huge economic and social impact on their daily lives.

The moment I raise this issue of Muslims or Dalits or vulnerable sections, there immediately is an outcry that this man is being communal. How can it be communal when I am asking for more banks, more accounts? I am asking for more ATMs, more cash for ATMs as compared to other areas.

The problem is compounded because the distribution of cash in ATMs is outsourced to private companies by public sector banks. They start loading ATMs in areas where people have a greater amount of deposits; by the time they come to areas or slums which are inhibited by marginalised people, not much cash is left to be deposited in ATMs.

Unfortunately, whenever an issue is raised about marginalised communities or Muslims or Dalits, immediately the BJP says "you are being anti-national." Then you have secular liberal parties which say "why did you raise it..you should not raise it.." as if they hold intellectual property rights on marginalised communities and Muslims. This is ridiculous. When I am asking or demanding more services, the BJP says it is anti-national, communal. The liberal-secular leaders say you should not raise this issue, it is us who should raise it. This narrative is completely wrong.

The problem is that the governance system in our country is always pro-forward, pro-rich communities and never pro-slum or pro marginalised communities. The BJP government wants a cashless economy. Well, I challenge them to start this (cashless) rule by making it a law in the states where BJP rules - like Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan - that all transactions in five-star hotels will be through a plastic card, all selling of liquor should be through plastic cards and all purchases of cigarettes should be through plastic cards. Do it and let us see what happens. I challenge them to do this. One cyclone in Chennai, and the internet has gone down. At the drop of a hat, you shut off internet services because some social problem has arisen. How can we then depend on digital transactions? This cannot be called Modi’s war on corruption. It is Modi’s war on poor people.

Demonetisation has affected each and every section of society - there is no denying that. But it has severely affected those sections that deal in cash. And when they deal in cash, it does not mean that they have black money. They deal in cash because of the nature of their work. It involves getting their salaries in cash. They deal in cash because they don’t have banks in their slums/villages. They deal in cash because you don’t have Point of Sale or POS machines in many areas. Not everyone in the country can afford smartphones. These are the sections that have severely affected.

The Hindu carried a news item that talked about workers who work in the Zardozi craft in Lucknow. There are nearly 3 lakh workers - majority of them Muslims - and it is a must for them to deal in cash. How would you answer that?

Courtesy: NDTV