Thousands join ‘India Against Demonetization’ social media crusade

On Sunday, January 29, a group of about 35 people collected on Marine Drive in Mumbai to protest what they term as the Modi government’s “anti-people policies”. Nothing extraordinary in it, except that this group of people has got together through a Facebook group ‘India Against Demonetization’. The group, with about 70,000+ members and more being added as you read this article, has become a force to reckon with on social media. This is significant given claims by senior ministers and the Prime Minister that people approve of the government’s decision to demonetise ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes.

“I run a small restaurant with a staff of 10 people. Demonetisation hit us hard when sales plummeted to 25% after November 8. It was hard not to see how much people were suffering. A lot of our clients, especially students, had no money to pay. In the next few days, we also started to help people financially as they were left penniless. I thought I had to do something” says Vinod Chand, an IT professional from Mumbai who started the group ‘India Against Demonetization’.

The public group on Facebook that started with a few of Chand’s friends caught the imagination of thousands across the country and also Indians living abroad. “On a daily basis we add up to 1,000 to 1,500 members. The difficulties are only increasing with the passage of time. People are losing jobs. HDFC is laying off about 4,500 employees, auto sales are all time low with Bajaj scrapping production of 1 lakh two wheelers, those working in ancillary units are losing jobs in thousands. Many of those joining the group are personally hit,” says Chand.

The group has asked its members to appoint themselves as the national executive and to meet in their respective cities, plan protests and act as a pressure group. The groups have met in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata so far.

The admins of the group claim that they have no political agenda. “We have an issue-based approach. We met in Marine Drive to raise the banner against this Tughlaqi farman (order) of the government. The motive is to make the government accept its mistakes, take responsibility of the suffering it has caused to people, to pressurise the ruling party to reflect on change of leadership. Also pressurise the government to reveal its blueprint of how it plans to remonetise and put the economy back on its rails.”

Chand says he and other admins are clear that the group is ideology-centred, not leader-centred. “We are making efforts so that unscrupulous people with vested interest do not infiltrate the group and push their agenda.”