In the issue 24/03/2018 of Asian Voice, a letter by Neera and Nitin Patel titled 'Let's use cancelled Indian currency for a better cause' was published. It was also presented to the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, and Rahul Gandhi via email. Associations like NRI and JIOPIO had also made several attempts, however, no proper solution has been derived yet. May be the bureaucrats find this problem trivial, or there is no misuse of their money so they aren't least bit worried.
Unfortunately, Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar's failure in addressing this particular issue properly comes to light. During the Hare Krishna temple and Air India's direct Ahmedabad to London campaigns, they did not leave any stone unturned. Result of their efforts were seen following the change in Indian governance.
NRIs have a grim issue. There are several answers, but there won't be any changes to the politics. Yes, if the pound or dollar deposited in India was to be affected, no time would be lost in changing necessary law. Regarding the topic of charity, there are several organisations in India who engage in charity. It is difficult to imagine when they will shut down.
The primary question is, what to do with the banned notes? Why can't the Indian government make any solid decisions for the NRIs?
CB Patel may be involved in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to UK. He possibly will meet PM Modi. This will prove as a prime opportunity to discuss the unfairness of the situation. An arrangement to help resolve the tensions of all NRIs and giving them their money back is a necessity.
Call it a forced compulsion of the NRIs living in the UK, but there is no point even in receiving back the banned currency notes from banks. However, given that they hold British passports, the British government or the Foreign Ministry will help them get a solution, or, the media will help them find the much needed attention.
Dr Pravin Kalaiya
Essex
