Literature, popular culture and current affairs are not mutually exclusive. The event — Theatre of Demonetisation — saw a lively debate among participants at the Bangalore Literature Festival. While some branded it the “Dara Singh of Economics”, others likened it to “shock therapy”. Social scientist Shiv Visvanathan, who took a critical stand on the issue, called it a “B-grade Bollywood film.”
“It’s already a stretch that people have started remembering the days of socialism and long queues in front of ration shops. But now ATMs deliver even less,” he said.
Economist author Sanjeev Sanyal passionately batted for the move calling it a “shock therapy” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi essentially trying to lead the country into a new normal, shirking off the old inertia and effecting a behaviour change. He was booed by the audience when he questioned the deaths of people standing in queues. “They may have died in football stadium queues or even railway queues,” he said, which did not go down well with the audience.
Economist Narendra Pani said the constant shift in narrative from black money to cashless society clearly showed that the script writer was not in control. “The move clearly shows a lack of empathy and understanding on various affected sections. Informal economies have suffered a setback. In India, we may move towards a cashless economy, but that does not mean banking or digital. There are many alternative systems, including barter, that have already evolved in the rural areas,” he argued.
On liberalism
Another session drew on the political landscape in a world after the victory of Donald Trump and Brexit. Is it time for liberals to reinvent their narrative?
Senior editor Mini Menon made a passionate case for a rethink. “Liberalism, that has fought many wars, has today become elitist and caught in ivory towers. They (liberals) are no longer talking about jobs and are unable to produce a credible counter narrative,” she said, speaking at a session on “Culture Wars: Left Right and Twitter.”
Author Manu S. Pillai cited the matrilineal society of Kerala that lies in a shambles today. “Even in 1940s, our society was matrilineal and in 1920s women never covered their upper torso. But we now think the present values existed for all times,” he argued, adding that jobs alone cannot solve issues.
Not all were sceptical. Aakar Patel, executive director, Amnesty International India, was optimistic. “Liberalism has won most of the wars in the last 100 years, from voting rights to women to civil rights movements to all individual freedoms. But liberalism is boring while right-wing is exciting. I would say 2016 is only a blip and a violent reaction of the right, which will subside.”
