Tags:
Journalism of Courage
But why take the fun out of the north Indian wedding?
The Reserve Bank of India has protested the misuse of currency notes by the public,the vulgar herd which chucks cash about at celebrations and fashions decorative festoons and garlands out of banknotes to felicitate grooms and political leaders who already have more cash than they could possibly account for. Perhaps the RBI believes that the devaluation of the rupee is an important national project and should be left in the able hands of the money managers in government,who have performed remarkably well in recent months and sent the rupee into a power dive. Somewhat embarrassingly,the RBIs statement came out the very day that the rupee performed best among Asian currencies. But seen in the proper light,that was probably a temporary setback,not to be taken seriously.
Unmindful of the irony,the RBI wants us to revere cash as a national symbol. But fortunately,the dignity of the rupee is not protected by law. The rules governing the proper use of the national flag have caused enough trouble to people who have found creative and relatively innocent uses for the tricolour,in clothing or drapery,for example. Now,do we really need to criminalise the national hobby of accountants and bookkeepers to deface rupee notes by scribbling their sums on the watermark?
