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发帖数: 16484 | 1 The collateral damage in Modi’s fight against black money: Indian
housewives
On the evening of Nov. 08, social media in India exploded with gifs on
Narendra Modi’s decision to scrap Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes overnight. A
WhatsApp joke in Hindi, too, began making the rounds. It read: “Tomorrow, a
lot of married men in India are going to find out how much black money
their wives have.” This hit too close to reality.
The ruling government has withdrawn the country’s highest denomination
notes to fight black money, or illegal wealth. However, the move has also
had an unintended victim: Indian housewives.
For many generations, Indian housewives have been whittling away from their
husbands tiny amounts of cash from the sum they received to run the
household. Hidden in kitchen jars, tucked away under mattresses, or stashed
away in the dark corners of closets, this money usually grows into a
significant reserve over time. Often concealed from the husband and other
family members, it becomes her treasure, to be used as and when she pleases. | w*p
发帖数: 16484 | 2 政治目的远大于经济目的
Narendra Modi’s currency play has more political value than economic
benefit
The Narendra Modi government’s decision to demonetise the Rs500 and Rs1,000
notes in circulation will have three distinct political outcomes, two of
which will be advantageous for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The first, and instantly visible, impact of the late evening announcement on
Nov. 08 by prime minister Modi himself is a reversal of the news cycle.
Dire discussions on the polluted Delhi air and its impact on foreign
investment? Gone. The unfortunate ripple effects from the army veteran’s
suicide? Buried. Doubts over the BJP’s chances in the forthcoming state
elections? Dismissed.
Elections to state assemblies in the first half of 2017 are crucial for the
ruling party, especially since they have been smarting from the defeats in
Delhi and Bihar in 2015 and West Bengal this year. The battleground states
this time include Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Punjab. UP, as things stand, will
see a four-cornered battle. |
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