Thread by @gauravsabnis

An instance from 2016 India about how much even the smallest such extra cash gifts mean to India's non-elites forced to live in a "cheap labor is our competitive advantage" economy in times of crisis. Modi had declared 85% of all cash illegal overnight. India was in panic.

https://twitter.com/gauravsabnis/status/1385924410276786178

There was a strict limit of how much cash you could withdraw from YOUR OWN bank account. A month into that chaos, we had to fly to Bombay overnight cos father in law, who was visiting india, passed away there. And take care of a LOT of things, without PayTM (cos foreigners).

My family in pune, hers in bombay, lots of things to be done in both cities. Had to make many trips between and within both cities, and neither of us have ever driven a car in India. Thankfully our usual cab for hire dude said he is okay with checks or transfers later from mom.

So for about a week, Santosh drove us all over western maharastra. And I'd carry a check from my parents and write him one at the end. Cos we had to ration our own cash. You all remember india in December 2016.
Towards the end of that visit, I was about to make the last payment.

And I realized, we are leaving India tomorrow. Going direct to BOM airport where cards work everywhere. I have a reasonable amount of leftover cash that I don't really need anymore. My parents don't really need cos they have paytm etc. And it's not legal tender in NYC.

So I asked Santosh, is it okay if I make this payment (about ₹6000/$85) for the 2 days of pune-bombay and pune and bombay completely by cash.
I checked with him cos fellow brahmins (mostly bhakt) were acting like cash payments are treason, online payments are patriotic etc 🙄.

The guy said, yes sir. And when I handed him the cash, literally started crying. CRYING! A very much masculine hirsute dude, who was usually very sang froid and laconic. Starts crying because I gave him cash. Cash he earned btw. Imagine getting a chauffeured SUV for 2 days at $85

Wife and I were both a little thrown off because he was never very expressive. But seeing that cash in his hand kind of broke a dam, "Thank you! Haven't seen this much cash since notebandi. So many things I can't buy for my children or wife because I don't have cash. Thank you!"

What for me was an afterthought, just giving him my leftover cash before leaving for the US..... most of it NOT a tip but payment for services rendered... made him break down front. Proud guy, great trusted driver, great family. Crying cos he got cash.
Because Modi wanted U.P.

This time, the crisis is much MUCH worse. This time, it is because Modi wants Bengal. This time, your direct cash gifts will mean a lot.