Varanasi

In a dramatic and unforeseen move in November 2016, India annihilated two of its highest-denomination banknotes, effectively obliterating 86% of the nation’s currency in circulation overnight. This bold maneuver, dubbed Demonetisation, aimed to dismantle rampant corruption and siphon out hidden wealth. The immediate aftermath was a pandemonium of serpentine queues outside banks and ATMs, with critics decrying the policy for disproportionately afflicting the impoverished and crippling India's vast informal economy.