Why Does Indian Currency Have Only Gandhi's Picture?

When other countries have currency with other personalities, why does Indian currency still stick onto Mahatma Gandhi's picture?

Wednesday, April 15, 2020, 17:06

With all the chaos around money, people are yet to come to terms with the sudden decision of banning the 500 and 1000 rupee notes. In all this, we wonder if anybody has ever got a thought as to why only Mahatma Gandhi's picture is printed on the Indian currency notes, old or new ones alike?

It has been a tradition of every country to put their famous leaders, freedom-fighters and their presidents on their currency notes as a mark of respect and gratitude for their enormous contribution towards the country. This is something that every nation follows.

When it comes to India, there are many other people who have contributed to the betterment of India. Be it Shahid Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekar Azad, Subhash Chandra Bose, Sarojini Naidu, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, etc., who have changed the thinking of every Indian.

These freedom fighters and leaders who sowed the seed of patriotism in the younger generation of India also helped us get freedom from British rule.

Amidst all this, we still wonder why the Indian government has only Gandhiji's picture printed on all the currency notes. This was the perfect time for the government to change the face of the currency notes, yet they chose not to do so and instead just modified it.

This is a sheer example that India is still lacking behind in praising and appreciating the unsung heroes who have contributed for the betterment of India or have done good to the nation.

We need to learn from other nations, where you would see various faces on the currency notes. These are the people who have not only contributed to the nation in any political way, but also helped the nation improve in various ways.

Unfortunately, India is the only country that does not have any other currency notes than Mahatma Gandhi being printed on the same. It is a sad condition in the Indian history where people have already forgotten the great names of those other few fighters who have made India what it is today!

We still fail to understand as to why the rest of the great personalities are not given the same respect as Mahatma Gandhi is. Or is it that the nation has just not moved ahead since 1947?