On 8 November 2016, the Prime Minister announced the sudden invalidation of ₹;500 and ₹;1, 000 notes. But the real shock? The Reserve Bank of India the institution meant to protect economic stability stood silently beside him as if this was normal governance.
Overnight, 86% of Indias currency lost legal status. There was no roadmap, no rehearsal, no preparedness just instructions, confusion, and chaos. The RBI did not warn the public, did not push back, and did not act like a regulator. It acted like a spectator or worse an executor.
People stood in endless queues. ATMs malfunctioned. Hospitals refused old notes. Daily wage workers lost livelihood. Weddings stopped. Funerals were delayed.
Independent reports estimate 70120 deaths linked directly to the stress and denial of access to cash. The RBI never acknowledged them not one official statement, not even symbolic empathy.
And what did the RBI achieve through this historic move?
99.3% of the currency returned to the system
Fake currency resurfaced better quality than before
Terror financing continued
GDP fell, jobs disappeared, MSMEs collapsed
The RBIs role was supposed to be oversight, not obedience.
Instead, the RBI helped push the entire nation into panic and called it policy.
👉 Final Verdict: RBI failed in its most basic responsibility safeguarding currency and public trust.