Even as concerns have been raised from time to time about fake currency being pumped illegally into India, a latest government report states that there has been a 400 per cent increase in such counterfeit transactions in Indian’s financial channels. This is a big cause for worry because once the money is adulterated, the security and reliability of the financial system comes into question. Since this problem of fake currency cannot be country specific as it involves cross-border transaction, a collective effort is needed in tackling counterfeiting of currency. Lest more countries fall prey to the schemes of the organised crime syndicates who operate such illegal crime, global and regional efforts must be forged to fight this menace. And India, having experienced first-hand, the unprecedented rise in fake currency, should take whatever measures as currency counterfeiting poses a grave threat to national security and economic stability. Over the past few years now, there had been reports pointing to the unprecedented rise in fake currency circulation especially along border areas.
In the commercial hub of Dimapur also, there have been regular instances of fake currency making its way into public money transactions. The State government should take serious note of this and respond urgently before the local economy is adversely affected by such spurious money supply. At the end of the day, the innocent public will suffer. What should worry the government of Nagaland is that there are increasing evidence of sponsored counterfeiting with the sinister objectives of terrorist funding and promoting transnational organised crime—be it arms and drug trafficking. It is a fact that National Highway 29 passing through Kohima and Dimapur has become a major transit route for anti-social elements and this should itself be a matter of serious concern for the government to pay immediate attention before the very stability of the local economy falls under threat of those scheming organised crime syndicates.
For most people in the State, the sinister design involving counterfeit money is yet to be fully understood or even realized as a major issue of concern. It is therefore of outmost importance to create awareness of the problem and to educate the public and more importantly to also providing the necessary safeguard measures to be followed. The concerned Home Ministry of the State government must step in to provide the necessary public information on counterfeit currency and put up in the public domain to create awareness on the dangers of counterfeit currency. Only when the public is properly educated, will they be able to remain alert and assist in the fight against such crimes.
The northeastern States because of its geographical location become the first target of those who operate such illegal activity and therefore the need to focus greater attention along the areas bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh. In this regard, the Union Home Ministry must continue to monitor the situation by improving surveillance of borders while also coordinating with the Finance Ministry to ensure proper security features in currency notes. Also rather than needlessly playing divisive tactics in the region, New Delhi should rather focus attention on fighting anti-social crimes and other threats to its national security by working closely with people’s group/s on the ground especially in the large tract of areas bordering Bangladesh, Burma and China.
