I am pretty firm in my resolve not to ever write about strikes by bank staff. No, there’s no counter-guarantee that there won’t be strikes nor any quid pro quo deal like I being secretly allowed to operate my account on those ‘auspicious’ days; it’s just that the fatigue, frustration and fury over the frequent scoots by bank employees have quietly given way to philosophical acceptance. If still, despite my best efforts, strikers do figure in the following lines, then blame it on an old habit which dies hard, rather, hardly dies. Somewhat like the habit of striking which too never …there I go again!
So, two prime working days, bang in the middle of the week went to nought, thanks to ..no, no. But why two? Could not the point be made with just one -day off? Solidarity and sympathy would still have remained intact. Or would it have? For, there was also a rally on city roads to stress their demands, legitimate in their minds, no doubt, notwithstanding the moral and legal illegitimacy. But is it not logical that all those who kept off their offices to press for their demands should actually have been present at the agitation to impress further so that the books tally, so to speak? But many went missing proving once again that a jolly good day on the couch in front of the tube is what passes for str… well, forget it.
The happy news is that more is in the offing. The unions have assured the nation that, come October, say some time at the peak of Deepavali season, when the demand for money too peaks, the banks would be out of bounds indefinitely. And yes, one can bet on the resourceful bankmen to come up with sterling alibis to bunk banking and thus penalise customers who have sinned by banking on those banks. But strikes ..no, we will call them ‘casual cuts’, so that my vow is intact … are not the only spoilsport for us unfortunates hooked to the bank. The impending holiday season is virtually life-threatening for individuals and businesses. And for this, to be fair, I am not blaming the usual suspects. The Unions are innocent, that is till you decide to dispense with the holidays.
If India ranks high on the roster of corrupt countries, it is equally so w.r.t public holidays. Our secularism is most manifest only on this count: almost every holy man or holy day is commemorated annually through a holiday. And the list is zooming, thanks to many political leaders being declared holy posthumously. It looks the Negotiable Instruments Act is highly negotiable, and anyone can call it a day and stay put at home by a simple stroke of the official pen. And like the ‘casual cuts’ of recent vintage, the holy holidays do not come alone; they arrive in pairs or more and are often joined by weekends thus converting many banking holidays to banking vacations. Soon the holidays may exceed the dates on the calendar ..well, that may be a bit over the top. But, in October for instance, it is easy to count the working(?) days. And again, like with those days of ‘casual cuts’, the real reason is rarely observed: like the agitationists who forget to agitate, the celebrators too dump their divine duties and deities in favour of TV, the only industry that works when the nation is on leave.
Modern man is irrevocably wedded to banks. Thanks to the advent of credit cards, technology and vigilant tax regimes, a bank is the only temple of salvation (or doom). You do not exist if you do not have a bank account. And that’s the way it should be for there is no point in bleating about corruption and black economy if great multitudes are beyond the pale of banks. Yes, banks too could be conduits for the flow of sleaze, but it does leave footprints that can be traced, if there is political will. Also, a succession of rules and regulations, courtesy some sadistic Finance Ministers, have ensured that, while the sharks by-pass the net, the small fishs can find very few loopholes to slip through with their meagre treasures. Withdrawing and holding even one’s own well-gotten wealth is a dangerous option today: Not just fear of thieves but the dread of catching the prying eye of the taxman too is equally profound.
Indeed, one can go bankrupt if only for a few hours without access to banks. Any Time Moneys dry up in no time on peak days. And worse, during the recent two-day ‘casual cut’ we hear of some bank staff changing the configurations of the ATMs so that the public cannot lay its hands on even those paltry sums. May be such tactics are what make the S…s a success, but we are nevertheless screwed. But non-availability of precious cash at one’s golden hour is not the only threat. From barter to banking it has been a long evolutionary journey. Property and gold as symbols of wealth are only a pittance of the total wealth of the world. The rest of the booty is in the form of plain paper. And not just paper money, which too is only a promisory note, but a whole lot of receivables and payables under a variety of nomenclatures.The so-called wealth of nations and individuals is actually just a maze of IOUs. And this entire edifice, not barter economy, not money economy, but credit economy rests on the foundation of banks. Clearly if today any service needs to be declared most essential it is banking. In short, there simply cannot be a single non-banking day that denies access to one’s hard earned money or hard-fought loan!
Banks in the west have predominantly been private affairs. The now gone Freeddie Macs, Fanny Maes, Lehmans, AIGs and Merryl Lynches were all proud showpieces of capitalism. Yet if today the US and UK governments are eating humble pie and rushing in to bail them out, it is more out of concern for the safety of the financial system and not because their heart bleeds for depositors, shareholders or employees. In fact, job losses are the biggest fallout of the current tsunami in the global banking industry. Yet, if Indian banks barring some dangerous exposures are fairly safe, it is because of the might of the Indian State that represents the Indian people and Indian people who have vested their confidence in the Indian State by placing their money in nationalised banks. It is this monetary might and mammoth confidence that also assures the staff of those bank a job security that is non-existent in this nation, nay, elsewhere in the world, be it a prosperous or an impoverished land. If indeed, the Indian banks that have survived the global onslaught should still fail, it necessarily has to be owing to an ‘inside’ job!
Depositors far outnumber bank staff. And since the Indian State is the predominant shareholder, obviously the Indian population too outnumbers bank staff. Since I am under oath, I leave it to readers to decide whose interests should prevail. But just remember, banking is all about numbers. No casual cut, this!
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