Demonetisation, WW2 Bengal Famine And Horrendous Indian Avoidable Mortality Then And Now

13 January 2017

 - The demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is disproportionately impacting the poor of India. Presently 4.5 million Indians die avoidably from deprivation each year and demonetisation will make this worse by increasing poverty, deprivation and disempowerment. Indians must reject this callous and deadly attack on the poor, reject deadly pro-One Percenter neoliberalism and demand social justice via social humanism (democratic socialism).

Poverty and disempowerment combine to constitute a deadly deprivation in India today that is already linked to an annual avoidable mortality  of 4.5 million Indians each year as estimated from mortality  data from the UN Population Division. Avoidable mortality  (avoidable death, excess mortality, excess death, untimely death, deaths that should not happen) is the difference between actual deaths in a country in a given period and deaths that would be expected  if that country were at peace and subject to humane governance. Demonetisation will make this horrendous Indian avoidable mortality holocaust worse by increasing poverty, deprivation and disempowerment.