POLITICIAN WANTS GODS ON INDIA’S BANK NOTES
Had you lived in any of the many ancient Greek city-states you would have become familiar with the Greek gods of mythology since these gods were often featured on their coins. The Romans not only borrowed and renamed these gods, but also depicted the gods on many of their coins.
If you lived in the medieval Byzantine Empire you would have been familiar with coins on which Jesus Christ appears. Likewise, if you lived in Islamic caliphates of about the same time you would have been familiar with references to Allah on their coinage.
Religion is almost always in the news, but not often in direct association with coins or bank notes. Delhi (India) Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recently made headlines by urging India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to introduce rupee denominated bank notes on which vignettes of the Hindu deities Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha would appear.
Kejriwal claims the new bank notes will bring “economic prosperity” to India. His critics accused Kejriwal of pandering to Hindu voters ahead of state elections in Punjab. Kejriwal heads the Aam Aadmi Party. The governing Bharatiya Janata Party currently rules in both Punjab and Delhi.
Kejriwal claims the religious bank note idea came to him while he was worshipping the two deities during the recent festival of Diwali. According to Kejriwal, “We need to put in all efforts to build the economy - build schools, hospitals, and strengthen our infrastructure. But our efforts will bear fruit only when we have the blessings of God upon us.”
Kejriwal added that Goddess Lakshmi brings prosperity and Lord Ganesha removes hurdles. Kejriwal said he wasn’t asking for all bank notes to be changed but for fresh notes to be issued in the future that would depict the images of the deities, pointing out that “Indonesia, which is a Muslim-majority country, prints currency notes with the picture of Lord Ganesha. If Indonesia can do this, why not us? No one should have any objection.”
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra quickly objected, saying: “Arvind Kejriwal is doing political drama to divert the attention of the people of the country from the flaws of their government and the anti-Hindu mindset of the party.” The Hindu nationalist BJP called Kejriwal’s idea an attempt by AAP to hide its “ugly anti-Hindu face.”
On Oct. 27 the British Broadcasting Corporation reported, “On social media, many accused AAP of ‘hypocrisy’ saying that the party had come to power promising an overhaul of the political system and a focus on development. Mr. Kejriwal has often said that his party believes in equality of all religions and justice for all. The AAP was seen by many as a breath of fresh air in a country where politics is mostly run on caste and religious divisions.”
The religious slant to the election as well as to the proposed bank notes continued. AAP leader Atishi Marlena said, “You hate Arvind Kejriwal, but why hate Lakshmi and Ganesha? Why hate the prosperity of the country?”
Changes in bank note designs must be approved by the Reserve Bank of India’s Central
