Will remember 2016 as the year we were left cashless'

New Delhi: Not the iron cartridges bursting out of the pellet guns, not the chilli shells that followed, not the blinding of agitators in Kashmir, not the surgical strikes nor any other event can surpass the overwhelming impact Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s game changing announcement of demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes had on the nation. 2016 will be known as the year of demonetisation, the year the BJP government forced the country to hurtle towards a cashless economy.

There were bouquets and there were brickbats. If the BJP and the RSS mouthpiece, Organiser, hailed the decision as “historic”, the international media was scathing. “India’s government perpetrated an unprecedented act that is not only damaging its economy and threatening destitution to countless millions of its already poor citizens but also breathtaking in its immorality,” an article in Forbes screamed.

The year 2016 will be remembered for long queues outside banks and ATMs, and people dying while being made to wait for hours to access their own money.

The era of demonetisation also stirred the creative juices. For one, it rocked and transformed the Bhojpuri pop music scene. Set to an “addictive uptempo disco beat”, a Bhojpuri song capturing the scene of “honest men and women” slugging it out, outside banks and ATMs for a glimpse of the new currency, was immensely popular.

As the PM again addresses the nation on New Year’s Eve, marking the 50-day deadline, 2017 will spell out the outcome of the biggest gamble the Prime Minister has so far taken.

The crucial elections in Uttar Pradesh in early 2017 will be viewed as a referendum on Mr Modi’s so-called jihad against black money. If the BJP wins UP, there’s no stopping the Modi juggernaut. But if BJP loses, the party will have to do more than mere introspection.

Uttar Pradesh
2016 also witnessed the most savage family feud in Uttar Pradesh and a possible generational shift in the Samajwadi Party. Marginalised by his own father and SP chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav, UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav rose in rebellion. Both father and son came out with parallel lists of candidates. The father, desperate to keep the party under his thumb, expelled his son. Little did he know that over the last couple of years his influence over his party had waned. In a show of strength of the SP, nearly 200 MLAs rallied around Akhilesh leaving Mulayam Singh Yadav no option but to revoke the expulsion or face complete isolation. The last day of 2016 witnessed the rise of a son and 2017 could possibly see the all-powerful regional satrap, Mulayam Singh, walk towards the sunset.

2017 will also decide the fate of Dalit queen Mayawati. With the Modi wave sweeping the nation in the 2014 general elections, Mayawati and her elephant were wiped out from UP. Following the crisis in SP, the fight is now between her and the BJP. Both these parties desperately need a victory for their survival.

Surgical strikes
This year will also be the year when, for the first time, the Indian government deviated from the norm of quietly crossing over into enemy territory to inflict as much damage as possible.

2016 was the year of chest-thumping and jingoism as the government announced that on September 29, the Indian Army crossed the Line of Control in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and inflicted significant casualties, including 35-50 militants and two Pakistani soldiers. It was claimed that such surgical strikes had been carried out for the first time and nobody but only Prime Minister Modi had the courage to take such a bold step.

The surgical strike came 11 days after one of the deadliest terrorist attacks on Army headquarters in Uri in which 17 soldiers were killed. The surgical strike, apparently, was to avenge the Uri attack and “teach Pakistan a lesson”.

According to a report, after the surgical strike at least 51 soldiers of the Indian Army and border security forces, including one from SSB, have been killed in militant attacks and cross-border firing by the Pakistani Army in Jammu and Kashmir alone.

Kashmir protests
The Valley was gripped by agitation and unrest after the killing of Burhan Wani, a militant commander of Hizbul Mujahideen by Indian security forces, on July 8. After the killing anti-India protests raged across the Valley, where the protestors defied curfew and attacked the security forces. The Valley remained under curfew for over 50 days. During the agitation, paramilitary forces used pellet guns. The cartridge of pellet guns — small iron ball bearings which burst when fired with high velocity, piercing human body at a dozen spots — resulted in more than 90 deaths and injuries, including blinding at least 1,000 young men and women. For scores of agitators, life will never be the same again.

Demise of Jayalalithaa
This year saw the demise of the “iron butterfly” of the nation — J. Jayalalithaa. The AIADMK supremo had ruled the party with an iron fist after the death of her mentor, MGR. Her death, shrouded in mystery, continues to haunt Tamil Nadu even as the AIADMK crossed over from the era of Amma to Chinamma.

Rise of Mamata
In Bengal, the mercurial “didi” has begun her journey to lead the Opposition in 2019 general elections. As the year comes to an end, the road ahead is blurry. Prime Minister says demonetisation is the remedy to all ills, while the Opposition paints a dark, grim picture. Only the Doris Day song provides solace — Que será será, whatever will be, will be, the future’s not ours to see.