I am the average middle-class Indian

I reside in India’s urban core. I am moderately or should I say, somewhat well-educated. I work 45 hour weeks. I spend sensibly. I pay my taxes on time. I invest for my children’s education and a hassle free retirement. I curse the cab aggregators Ola & Uber for causing traffic jams on the roads. And I curse them again when they go off the roads. I rejoice when I read that food in the Parliament would no longer be subsidised, after all there should be no freebies! And I make my annoyance obvious when my LPG subsidy is taken away. I cheer when I see reports on media of loads of black money being unearthed. And I get furious when I hear that I will have to declare my grand mom’s gold that I inherited. I am the average middle-class Indian.

I love India’s development agenda. I am so proud of India’s maiden mission to the Red Planet- Mars. And that too at a per kilometre rate lower than an auto rickshaw! I wished we could use the Mars vehicles on land. It would serve our auto-wallahs right for demanding double fare when it rains!  I was elated when the city I grew up in was selected as a Smart City in Jun2015.  This December when I went back, I saw that the roads were still without streetlights, a small December shower still led to water-logging and stink, main roads had bottlenecks which kept vehicles stranded on the road for hours.  I asked my brother if the smart city thing had not yet taken off. He retorted that good things take time. I agree. What took us 70 years to realise cannot get done in less than 2 years. I am the average middle-class Indian, I should not get too ambitious!

I believe in the agenda of creating 1 crore new jobs. My sister worked in a central government concern in the North Eastern Region of India. It was in a program monitoring agency of ministry of food processing. It was a centralised mission and when the central government changed hands in 2014, this was immediately de-funded. My sister and all who worked with her lost their jobs overnight without compensation. They fought a long application and email battle with the Ministry to get three month’s salary. I consoled her. Think big, I told her, think long term. I was sure that out of the 1 crore jobs created, one would be hers. But when I read a news article that India’s job growth is the lowest since 2009, a seven year low, I was shocked! I am still hopeful, that those 1 crore jobs will happen. I am the average middle-class Indian, I cannot afford to get disillusioned so soon!

I have a lot of respect for the Swachh Bharat campaign, my clean India. I have not once complained about the Swachh Bharat Cess of 0.5% on all taxable services ever since mid Nov 2015. I have volunteered to clean up parks & roadside garbage accumulations. I have carried placards saying “Clean India Green India”.  Rs 3900 plus crores in 2016 has been collected through Swachh Bharat Cess. The other day I walked close to a kilometre with a banana peel, an empty packet of chips and an empty tetrapak of juice, looking for a dustbin to junk them in. My hands started feeling sticky & sweaty, but I could not find a dustbin. Sadly there were no shops on the route, rather no eateries. Then I found a mound of garbage at the roadside and chucked my waste in. I felt as though I had cheated on the Swachh Bharat campaign, but I had no option. Very soon, I told myself, I will find dustbins along the road, clean roads sans garbage mounds, solid waste taken care of. I am the average middle-class Indian, I am hopeful the Swachh Bharat Cess will be put to good use.

The demonetisation of 1000 and 500 rupee left me mesmerised. What a gutsy thing to do! Everyone’s black money will now come out and become chits of paper. I was ready to stand in queue at the ATM for 2 hours to withdraw Rs 2500. I also tried going to the bank and withdrew more money but that was all in Rs 2000 notes. No one had the money to give me change. My mother had to postpone all the tests for her scheduled cataract surgery because she did not have enough money. “Pay with your debit card”, I told her. But the hospital did not have a card machine! She stays in a part of India where plastic money has still not made its inroads. I said a lot of small town businesses were accepting Paytm, I asked her to check. But, I forgot that my mother is a technologically-challenged septuagenarian, with cataract in her eyes and an un-smart mobile phone. She finally got the surgery done just a few weeks back. I notice that the ATMs have no queues now, the distress must have died down! But even today, as I checked out 6 ATMs where some said “NO CASH” and others had Rs 2000 notes only, I could not help but miss the good old days when you could just walk into any ATM and withdraw any amount. I feel disheartened when I see a bridegroom wearing a garland of 2000 rupee notes in the month of demonetization,  I get angry when the Axis bank managers launder money so close to the demonetization, I am sad when my banker friend says she has not slept for two days owing to demonetization! I just hope that all this rigor has unearthed the black money. A friend has filed an RTI on demonetization. I am the average middle-class Indian, I wish the results are encouraging.

I went into patriotic raptures when I heard of the surgical strikes by the Indian Army. Good job! My heart shrieked out. I was sure we had once and for all eliminated cross-border infiltration and terrorism. Then I read about the Uri attack, the pre-dawn attack on Indian soldiers killing 18 of them. I also read that along the Indo- Pak LOC, shelling and gun-fire had intensified. Post militant Burhan Wani’s funeral five months ago, Kashmir has endured the worst instability since 2010. It continues to be in the jaws of curfew. So much for my plans to go to Kashmir this summer! I am the average middle-class Indian, how can I plan a vacation to such a place!

Actually I am little sceptical about the whole neighbouring countries relationship thing now. I heard that Indo Nepal relations were at an all -time low, anti-India protests erupting and the Nepalese prime-minister praising China for its timely help and giving a veiled message that India was undermining its sovereignty and right to creating its own constitution. I just remembered reading that Sri Lanka is closer to China now in terms of naval agreements. I am the average middle-class Indian, I pray that a turnaround in the relations is impending.

I wait for every budget, hoping my taxes reduce. I have been waiting for the GST hoping that simplifying corporate India’s tax structure would give me some personal respite. I have been waiting for the potholes on the roads to be filled. I have been waiting to have street lights and dustbins on the road. I have been waiting for complete digitisation. I have been waiting for fast development. I have been waiting for the “Acche Din”. I am sure my wait is worth its weight.

I believe in the accelerator effect. I believe that what could not be done in 70 years can be achieved in less than 3 years. I am the average middle-class Indian, I am an eternal optimist, I am sure miracles happen!