Nehru, Indira to be on currency notes

Jyeshtha Krushna 14,Kaliyug Varsha 5114

Mumbai : The Reserve Bank of India is considering suggestions from people across all walks of life to put Indian luminaries other than M K Gandhi on our currency notes . Among the recommendations are Dr B R Ambedkar , Chhatrapati Shivaji , Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

But if there's one area in whichtheMahatma hashad a monopoly , it's our currency notes . He has been smiling at us - one section believes that given his ascetic lifestyle , he wouldn't have cared much to be on the notes - from 1987 when he made his appearance on a Rs 500 note . From 1996, he has been on all the denominations .

Ironically , before the Mahatma , the Ashoka Pillar used to be the most dominant feature on our banknotes .

RTI activist Manoranjan Roy tried to find out how and when the Mahatma took pride of place , but he drew a blank , with the RBI telling him there was no document that recorded the change .

"The recommendation to print the image of Mahatma Gandhi on the watermark / banknotes was made by the Central Board of RBI in 1993 which was later approved by the government of India ," an RBI spokesperson said .

Roy felt that the RBI wasn'tdoing justiceto a country as diverse as India by not showcasing anything else on its currency bills. Dilip Rajgor , a scholar and the author of several books on numismatics , agreed .

"India is home to several monuments , dance forms , religions , great scientists . Why are we not considering them on our coins and notes ?" he asked .

Rajgor rued that the RBI didn't have any numismatist on the board that approved the design of coins and notes . "Some African countries have Mahatma Gandhi's image on their coins ; some others have the Taj Mahal ; Nepal has the Buddha on some coins ," he added .