Psychological impact of demonetisation

I am writing this on the last day of November 2016. Over the last three weeks, the only thing that India has discussed is demonetisation. As I travel to Nariman Point in Mumbai for a meeting, even the Uber driver can't stop talking about it. He is busy giving me details on what impact the move is likely to have in the assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh, which are scheduled in 2017. A friend who is against demonetisation thinks that the number of deaths due to it has been played up by the media. Another friend thinks that death is god's will and hence has got nothing to do with demonetisation. His view is that if people weren't standing in a line for money, they would have still died somewhere else. To cut a long story short, there is no dearth of views on demonetisation and the impact that it has had on the Indian society. On November 8, 2016, in a late evening address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetisation of `500 and `1,000 notes. Until December 30, 2016, these notes can be deposited in bank accounts and post-office ac

This article was originally published on January 21, 2017.