Why do we call it BLACK MONEY ?

Why black? That's what I can't figure out. For Indians, at least for those of us who can afford the luxury of choice, the preferred colour of most things - skin, sugar, bread, you name it - is white. So how come we call it black money? All countries, to a greater or smaller percentage, have what is known as a parallel, or cash, economy that operates outside the legitimate loop. But India's parallel economy is unparalleled, in that by many guesstimates it is not only as big as the legit economy but in fact a couple of times bigger. And we have a unique name for it. Black money. Also known as No.2.

Black money is not a synonym for the cash economy. For instance, there are several transactions which have to be carried out in cash: Municipal tax, passport fees, purchase of government stamp paper, opening a bank account. Is the money that you perforce have to use in such dealings, which often involve the sarkar, black money? God forbid. Or, better still, Chidambaram forbid.

The origins and current disposition of black money are as mysterious as its name. No one that you and I know has ever had, or indeed would ever have, any truck with black money, of course. I wouldn't touch the damn thing with a double-length bargepole. And you say you wouldn't either. Honest Injuns, both. As is everyone else you and I know. So how come the darn thing is everywhere? In media reports, scams, defence deals, buying and selling property, funding elections, making Bollywood movies.

It weighs heavily on the minds of ministers, and not just finance ministers but all sorts of ministers, including those without portfolio, but with suitcase. More than on their minds, it sometimes weighs even more heavily in their mattresses. What do you mean the damn thing is stuffed with bank notes? How should I know how they got there?

I tell you, I ordered a coir mattress, not a cash mattress. I'm a victim of sharp practice. I'll take it up with Common Cause. I'll take it up with the appropriate ministry. What's that? I am the appropriate ministry? You don't say.

How did the first black money become black? Like all money, it started life in a sarkarimint, all spruced up and spiffy. Face and knees well scrubbed, shoes shined, laces knotted neatly, it got a valedictory pat on the head from the RBI governor and was sent out to make its way in the world. So where and how, after this immaculate conception, did it suddenly become black? Nagarwala? Bofors? Sukh Ram? Who dat?

There's another problem with black money. It's like a chameleon. It keeps changing colour. Suppose X, who has black money, goes and spends some of it having a meal at a 5-star eatery. All at once, X's black money becomes the eatery's white money. Better than Fair & Lovely.

This changeability of complexion suggests that, at some point, all the money in supply was or will be black, and vice versa. So is the only way to get rid of black money to get rid of all money and replace it with cheques and credit cards? The next time you flog a year's collection of old STOIs to the raddiwala ask for payment via Amex.

There is a cautionary children's tale of the two Unclejis. One Uncleji was poor, and morose, and ulcerous and suffered from insomnia. He was the Uncleji who not only paid his taxes but also paid taxes on his taxes and couldn't sleep at night because he was afraid they might put a tax on that as well.

The other Uncleji was prosperous, and jolly, and had the digestion of an army mule and slept the sleep of the just and righteous, even though his bed was lumpy thanks to all the boodle shoved inside it. Which Uncleji would be the sensible child's role model? Maybe that's why they call it black money. Because black's the colour of the ink they use on the credit side of the ledger.

Source : www.economictimes.com