6. Tragedy Can Strike the Hapless in Strange Ways

It may be too late to talk about demonetization. Both the supporters and critics of this move seem to have presented their closing arguments and moved to other topics..

But it seems it is never too late for demonetization itself  to strike people. I am not referring to the seizure of old currency that has been taking place every now and then. After all, the hoarders of the demonetized notes deserve to be punished.

But one can't help sympathizing with Ms Meenakshi, a poor lady from Hassan, Karnataka, with a disability to hear or speak who realized that the sum of Rs.1.39 lakh that she had saved up and stashed had no value. The tragedy is that she learned of the impact of demonetization too late (only in the third week of April), more than 3 months after the deadline prescribed by the government for exchanging or depositing the demonetized notes and more than 15 days after the grace period that ended on March 31, 2017.

Considering that Meenakshi has been earning Rs.1500 per month as a domestic help, in addition to the disability pension of Rs.1200 per month, so kindly doled out by the government, we can imagine how much sacrifice .she should have endured over the years to save such a substantial sum from her poor earnings, which should have been still less in the past.

After demonetization had been announced, Meenakshi's family members asked her whether she had any cash  with her. But the poor woman seems to have refrained from talking about her savings, fearing that her precious savings would be taken away from her. It has been taken away from her in a totally unexpected way.

The government officials have pleaded their inability to help her since the rules won't permit any help. I don't know whether any philanthropists have come forward to help her.

Needless to say, the government is not responsible for Meenakshi's plight. It appears that fate has played a cruel game on her. We can only pray for happiness.

5. Justice and Revenge

There were two important judgements during the first week of May, 2017.

One was in the Nirbhaya case. The Supreme Court, on 5th May, 2017,  upheld the death sentence awarded to the four rapists by the Delhi High Court. For the incident that took place in 2012, the final judgement has come in about five years' time. The nationwide attention this gruesome incident received, the outrage it created among vast sections of the people and the wide coverage this incident received from the media would have contributed, at least to some extent, to the somewhat expeditious disposal of the case.

Reacting to the judgement, Nirbhaya's father said that he had lost sleep for the last five years. He added, "I will sleep peacefully tonight. My daughter will also rest in peace."

While I could understand the intensity of his mental pain and his physical strain in losing sleep during the last 5 years, I felt a little disturbed by the second part of his statement. It is good that he is getting back to normalcy and is hopeful of having a good night's sleep from now. But I am not sure how sentencing the culprit to death can end the agony of the victim's relatives. I don't think that the victim's resting in peace depends on the culprits getting hanged, either.

Well, Nirbhaya's father has gone through a period of intense pain and my full sympathies are with him. May God give him the peace he needs and deserves.

The second was a judgement delivered on 8th may, 2017, by the Bombay high Court in the Bilkis Bano case. Bilkis Bano was 19 years old and pregnant  when she was gangraped on March 3, 2002 during the post-Godhra riots that rocked Gukarar. Ms Bano was the only adult survivor and eyewitness to the massacre  of 14 members of her family including her three and a half year old daughter.

The Bombay High Court (the case was transferred to Maharashtra by the Supreme Court since  the victim could not get justice in Gujarat, then under the rule of Mr. Narendra Modi) upheld the conviction of the 11 accused and also upturned the acquittal of  7 others, thus delivering a guilty verdict on a total of 18 individuals, including 5 policemen and 2 doctors.

What is significant is the reaction of the 34 year old (Yes, it has taken 19 years for this judgement to come) Ms. Bano to the judgement.  When she was asked by reporters whether she didn't wish that the accused in this case were awarded death sentence as in the case of the Nirbhaya case, she said, "The horrors I suffered deserve the maximum punishment but I do not want anyone else to die in my name. I want justice, not revenge."

I salute this lady for her attitude!