There can be as many as the same number of opinions as the number of citizens in this country over whose picture should or should not appear on the currency. The photograph of Mahatma Gandhi on the currency notes may not sit well with some of the think tanks. The currency should have a so and so leader’s or god’s photograph on it can be a personal opinion. However, for a person holding the post of chief minister of a State it publicly carries a certain value, just like the currency. And to say that putting a deity’s image on the currency will strengthen the economy is like undoing all the great hardships by previous finance ministers.
If the currency can be strengthened just by putting particular images on the notes then one must check which god appears on the world’s most powerful currency that the dollar is. It cannot be denied that there are deities which appear on the currencies of some countries but usually that honour is reserved for the respective country’s respected leaders. Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi’s image on the Indian currency is seen as a tribute to him to this day. The BJP leader Ram Kadam too has demanded to publish Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s face on the currency. He tweeted four pictures of 500 rupee notes with the images of Chatrapati Shivaji, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Veer Savarkar and PM Modi on them with the caption that reads “Akhand Bharat…Nava Bharat… Mahan Bharat…Jai Shri Ram…Jai Mata Di…” (United India, New India, Great India).
Last Wednesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to the Centre to print the images of deities Lakshmi and Ganesh on the Indian currency notes which received an expected backlash. Congress leader Manish Tiwari then demanded to have Dr Ambedkar’s picture on one side of the notes while Mahatma Gandhi’s on the other. Ram Kadam’s demand to print PM Modi’s picture has only poured oil in the fire. As per Kejriwal, India needs to build schools, hospitals and infrastructure to become a rich country but we need god’s blessings for our efforts to come to fruition.
Businessmen and others worship Laxmi, the goddess of wealth and Ganesh, the god of knowledge for prosperity. I appeal to the Central government and Prime Minister to keep Mahatma Gandhi’s picture on one side and have Ganesh and Laxmi image on the other, he says. Although Kejriwal is entitled to his personal views, our country is made up of diverse groups, thoughts, languages and traditions. Even though the Hindus are a majority in India, our country has accepted a secular democracy which means the government will have no religion of its own whatsoever.
To print a particular religion’s deities on the currency goes against that very secular philosophy. If the Constitution states that the country is accepting a secular democracy then that should reflect on the currency as well. Mahatma Gandhi is a personality that transcends all groups and communities. To consider him Father of Nation may hurt people with certain ideologies but the world has already taken note of his tremendous contribution in the country’s fight for freedom and his efforts to spread non-violence.
India’s image is synonymous with Gandhi at the world stage. Hence, whether one accepts it or not, Gandhi as India’s leader is universally accepted and his picture is donned by Indian currency just rightfully so. If there is any other image in mind for the currency then the various sects and religions will have to be taken into consideration. Earlier, the religion of the winner was by-default religion of the people which is not the case in democracy. Everyone is entitled to practise the religion as per their own wish and so it is only wise to not stretch this subject any longer. It will not be wrong to say that the idea to print deities on the currency notes is nothing less than being superstitious.
