Shivcharan Singh Maran, a father of a small household who died at the age of 93, left 50,000 rupees, hereinafter Rs, in 500 Rs banknotes for his family before he passed away.

The bundle of cash worth $750 was rejected by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) because 500 banknotes were previously demonetized by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Strategy for the government, tragedy for the famil

Mastan, the son of Shivcharan, discovered a bundle of cash amidst cleaning the room of his father after his death. The bundle of cash was found in sets of 500 Rs banknotes hidden in a closet of the room. Mastan and the rest of his family realized that Shivcharan forgot to remind his family about the money and that he wasn’t aware that the demonetization of 500 Rs banknotes had taken effect.

It was later revealed by a respected local Indian publication News18 that Shivcharan was suffering from short-term memory loss and thus was not aware of the demonetization or any other changes in Indian financial regulations the government had imposed.

Even if Shivcharan had known about the demonetization of 500 and 1,000 Rs banknotes, his short-term memory loss would have prevented him from discussing with the family about the matter.

Reserve Bank of India: old banknotes can’t be taken back

On behalf of his family, Mastan visited a local branch of the Reserve Bank of India and formally requested the bank to change the old and ineffective banknotes to newly designed cash. However, the bank rejected the request of Mastan regardless of the explanation of the situation Mastan provided.

Employees of the RBI simply told Mastan that the banknotes can no longer be replaced with the exception of non-resident Indians (NRIs), who are citizens of India that hold an Indian passport but resided abroad for over six months for employment or other purposes.

To put it simply, the RBI told Mastan that the old banknotes can not be taken back by the bank unless an NRI presents the cash to the RBI headquarters located in New Delhi.

Although News18 reported that Mastan is trying to search for alternative ways to receive newly designed banknotes in compensation for his father’s ineffective 500 Rs banknotes, it is highly unlikely that the RBI would provide an exceptional offer for Mastan.

The Indian people are seeking for alternatives such as Bitcoin

The financial crisis and economic instability in India caused by the demonetization of banknotes and confiscation of gold are causing significant discomfort to the Indian people.

Ironically, the two initiatives of demonetization and gold seizure were led by the Indian government to crack down on criminals. Instead, the vast majority of the general population was negatively affected by the government’s impractical policies.

Earlier this week, Cointelegraph published an article entitled “Bitcoin On The Rise in India: Steady in Growth, Impossible to Shut Down,” portraying the rapid growth of Bitcoin in the country. Considering that the country’s safe haven asset in gold and main store of value in cash have become increasingly inefficient and difficult to handle. It is becoming more obvious that the Indian people are seeking for alternatives such as Bitcoin to protect their wealth.