Today’s the birth anniversary of Mohandas Gandhi – yes, that Gandhi, the so-called Father of the Nation. Now those of you who have been reading me for a while are aware that I have no great love for Gandhi; I feel he was a political hack whose contribution to India’s independence has been grossly overrated. Be that as it may, he was personally honest – to the extent that, as Jawaharlal Nehru’s sister Sarojini Naidu quipped, it “cost a fortune to keep him in poverty.” So nowadays his face is all over Indian currency notes of denomination one hundred rupees and up.
As anyone who’s read me for a while also knows, India’s incredible levels of corruption are another of my trigger topics – corruption involving the transfer of uncounted billions of rupees, all in five hundred or thousand rupee notes with Gandhi’s face on them.
Now, assuming those who claim to venerate Gandhi as the Father of the Nation are being serious about that, the worst possible insult they could offer him is having currency notes stamped with his visage being handed around in illegal transactions. Since there’s, of course, no question of corruption actually ending – the ruling classes can’t have their funding endangered – the only viable solution is to remove Gandhi from the currency note and substitute something else. Something, let us say, more representative of the Indian reality.
Some time ago I suggested – not quite facetiously – a new national animal for India. Something quite in keeping with the mindset of those in power. I think it would be a lovely replacement for MK Gandhi on the currency, and avoid insulting the man as well.
Therefore, let’s hear it for the new currency design, featuring the...housefly.
As anyone who’s read me for a while also knows, India’s incredible levels of corruption are another of my trigger topics – corruption involving the transfer of uncounted billions of rupees, all in five hundred or thousand rupee notes with Gandhi’s face on them.
Now, assuming those who claim to venerate Gandhi as the Father of the Nation are being serious about that, the worst possible insult they could offer him is having currency notes stamped with his visage being handed around in illegal transactions. Since there’s, of course, no question of corruption actually ending – the ruling classes can’t have their funding endangered – the only viable solution is to remove Gandhi from the currency note and substitute something else. Something, let us say, more representative of the Indian reality.
Some time ago I suggested – not quite facetiously – a new national animal for India. Something quite in keeping with the mindset of those in power. I think it would be a lovely replacement for MK Gandhi on the currency, and avoid insulting the man as well.
Therefore, let’s hear it for the new currency design, featuring the...housefly.
Oh, you liberals and your disdain for money! Money is fantastic measure of the worth of a life. Look at the fuss that's being made about Steve Jobs right now.
ReplyDeleteI like Gandhi. I think he was largely a fake, but he represents some good ideas in the abstract (as long as you're not a woman, in which case he is sort of a horrible jerk).
Anyway, I like the fly idea, and think it should catch on internationally. Not sure if there's any way to make it clear that the fly is carrying a disease of some sort, but that would be appropriate...
why not put your face on currency.
ReplyDeletewhy do you underrate someone's effort? and you dont live in the same timeline as gandhi, so you have no idea about him. whatever your opinion is, it is simply biased based on what you might have read somewhere. gandhi alone didnt bring independence. it was an effort by crores of people, but led by gandhi.
trying to increase the visitors for your blog by such cheap posts itself tell what kind of person you are.
...says the person without the moral courage to identify him or herself.
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