174) Commemorating
125th Anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (11.11.1988 –
22.02.1958)-which fell in 2013 - with the issue of Rs.20 and Rs.5 coins by
Reserve Bank of India/India Govt. Mints, India in 2015.
Are
RBI/India Govt. Mints late in Commemorating his 125th Birth Anniversary?:
Maulana
Abul Kalam Azad or Mohiuddin Ahmad Abul Kalam Azad:
Birth and early years:
He was born in Mecca on
11.11.1888, his father Maulana Khaiuddin being a noted scholar and his mother
Alia being an Arab and niece of Sheikh Mohammad Zahir Vatri of Madina. He was
named Feroze Bakht but became better known as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (Maulana meaning “learned man” and
he adopted “Azad” – meaning “free” – as his penname).
By the young age of 10, he
was well versed in the Quran and by the age of 17, he had become a trained
Theologian who had his own standing and was recognised in the Islamic World. He
was educated by eminent Islamic scholars in Islamic Theology and Philosophy. He
became a multi-linguist, mastering numerous languages like Urdu, Hindi,
Persian, Bengali, English and Arabic. He received education in Hanbali Fiqh
(The “Hanbali” school is one of the four orthodox Sunni Islamic schools of “Fiqh”
or “Jurisprudence”), Sharia (“Sharia” is the Islamic canonical law based on the
teachings of the Koran and the traditions of the Prophet – Hadith and Sunna –
prescribing both religious and secular duties and sometimes retributive
penalties for law-breaking. It has generally been supplemented by legislation
adapted to the conditions of the day, though the manner in which it should be
applied in modern states is a subject of dispute between Muslim traditionalists
and reformists), Mathematics, Philosophy, World History and Science.
At a young age, he brought
out several journals, served as editor of the weekly “Al-Misbah” and reinterpreted the Quran, the Hadith and the
Principles of Fiqh and Kalam (Kalam means “a school of philosophical theology
originating in the 9th century A.D. asserting the existence of God
as a prime mover and the freedom of the will. It also means the word of Allah”).
His studies at Al Azhar
University Cairo, further added to his vast knowledge base.
Later his family settled
at Calcutta (present day Kolkata) where they started a magazine called “Lisan-ul-Sidq”. (Maulana Azad’s
journalistic career started with this magazine which was published from
28.11.1903 to May 1905. It was intended to be a weekly journal, but because of
financial difficulties and Azad’s ill health there was irregular publication of
the journal and only 12 issues appeared during its publication. The objectives
of the journal were social reform of the Muslim community, promotion of Urdu,
cultivation of literary taste amongst the intelligentsia and critical review of
literary works. The journal’s objectives were in conformity to Sir Syed Ahmad
Khan’s concept of social and educational reforms).
In 1905, he made
his debut in politics when the British Government partitioned Bengal on
religious grounds. The Muslim middle classes supported the partition, but Abul
Kalam rejected it outright. Unlike other Muslim activists, he opposed the
partition of Bengal and rejected All India Muslim League’s efforts for communal
separatism. He took active part in the agitation that followed against the
Partition and joined secret societies and revolutionary organisations to fight
for the Nationalist Movement in India, believing in an undivided India.
In 1908, at the age
of 20, during his trip to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Egypt and Turkey, he
firmed up his views that the neo-colonialists were exploiting all the countries
under their occupation and looked for ways in which a resurgent India could
help them as well. During this trip he met Shaikh Muhammad Abduh in Egypt (he
was an Egyptian Islamic jurist, religious scholar and liberal reformer who is
regarded as one of the key founding figures of Islamic Modernism, sometimes
called Neo-Mu’tazilism after the
medieval Islamic School of Theology based on rationalism – Mu’tazila) and Saeed Pasha and other Freedom fighters of the Arab
World. He gained firsthand knowledge of the ideals and the spirit of the young
Turks in Constantinople.
In India, he was
influenced by prominent Hindu Freedom Fighters like Sri Aurobindo and Shyam
Sundar Chakravarty and actively joined in the freedom struggle against the
British Raj.
All these contacts
metamorphosed him into a Nationalist and Freedom Fighter. He left his
clergyman’s profession in his zeal to participate in India’s Freedom struggle.
In 1912, he started
a Urdu journal “Al-Hilal” in which he
mentioned his liberal views. The journal played an important role in forging
Hindu-Muslim unity after bad blood was created between the two communities after
the Minto-Morley reforms. “Al-Hilal”
became a Nationalist mouthpiece ventilating extremist views against the British
Raj. The journal became extremely popular and within a couple of years its
circulation rose to over 30000 copies.
Maulana Abul Kalam adopted the pen name Azad
later on in his life. It represented his liberation from a narrow-minded view
of religion and life.
In 1914, the British
government regarded “Al-Hilal” as a
propagator of secessionist views, confiscated his printing press and banned the
journal under the Defence of India Act. Azad was arrested and sent to Ranchi
jail where he suffered untold hardships.
Upon his release, he
started another weekly called “Al Balagh”
with the same mission of propagating Indian Nationalism and revolutionary ideas
based on Hindi-Muslim unity. The publication of this paper too was stopped and
he was arrested and sent to jail again in 1916. This time he was
imprisoned once again at Ranchi for four years, by the British Raj authorities.
When he was released in 1920, he had grown in stature as a prominent and
respected leader of the Indian National Congress.
In the same year, his
meetings with Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi had a seminal effect on
him.
Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi
and the principles of life laid out by Prophet Mohammad, he underwent a major
transformation in his personal life and committed himself to “ahimsa” (non-violence). He travelled
extensively in India, promoting Gandhian vision and social reforms.
He exhorted the Muslims to
join the Khilafat Movement which primarily aimed at reinstating the Khalifa as
the head of British occupied Turkey, as well as, ousting the British from India.
He participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement by urging Indians to boycott
everything British – from schools, government offices, clothes and goods and
services. He served as the elected President of the All India Khilafat
Committee and was instrumental in founding the Jamia Milia Islamia Institution
in Delhi.
In 1923, at the age
of 35 he became the youngest President of the Indian National Congress.
In 1924, he headed
the Unity Conference in Delhi and worked to bridge the differences between
Khilafat and Swarajists.
In 1928, he fully
supported the report of Motilal Nehru proposing constitutional reforms based on
Indian views. He opposed the need for a separate electorate and appealed for a
secular India, devoid of communal differences.
In 1930, he was
arrested for participating in the Salt Satyagrah of Mahatma Gandhi along with
several leaders and lodged in Meerut jail.
In 1934, following
the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, he was released from prison.
In 1935, he helped
organise elections under the Government of India Act.
From 1940 to 1946,
he was elected as the Congress President at a time when there were vociferous
voices for a separate Muslim state while dubbing the Congress Rule as a
precursor to a Hindu Raj. He strongly opposed partition on religious basis,
stressing the need for a united India.
In 1942, during the
Quit India Movement, he was elected the Chief Spokesman of the Indian National
Congress (INC), a position which he continued with during the negotiations with
the Cabinet Mission in 1946 at Simla. He was arrested during the Quit India
Movement and imprisoned in Ahmednagar Fort, where he remained in solitary
confinement until 1947 and was released at the dawn of Indian Independence.
Despite being a staunch
opponent of the partition of India he worked closely with Muslim leaders and
took responsibility for the security of the Muslims in India, touring
violence-affected areas in Bengal, Bihar, Punjab and Assam, assisting in
setting up Refugee camps and providing food and security.
It is a fact of history
that while the Congress leaders accepted the partition of India on religious
grounds in 1947, Abul Kalam stood steadfast against it. He firmly believed in
Hindu-Muslim unity and declared “If an
angel were to descent from the heavens and proclaim from the heights of Qutub
Minar asking me to discard Hindu-Muslim unity and within 24 hours Swaraj would
be yours, I will refuse the preferred Swaraj but shall not budge an inch from
my stand. The refusal of Swaraj will affect only India, while the end of our
unity will be the loss of our entire human world”.
Maulana
Abul Kalam Azad as Education Minister:
He became the first Education
Minister of Independent India in 1947 and was at the helm of affairs for
eleven years thereafter, till the time of his passing away in 1958.
He was also instrumental
in setting up committees like the University Education Commission under the Chairmanship
of S. Radhakrishnan (1948), Kher Committee for Elementary Education (1948) and
Secondary Education Commission (1952-53) to study the existing educational
structure in India and making recommendations for improvement.
A wide range of activities
were introduced by the Ministry of Education
including the promotion of Gandhian teachings, introduction of general
education courses, home science programmes, institutes for rural higher
education, promotion of Hindi and other regional languages, scholarships for
scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, education and training for the
handicapped, training of teachers, special programmes for education of females,
audio-visual education, physical education et al. He felt that the cultural
content in Indian education was poor during British Rule and its content needed
to be raised.
He altered the content and curriculum of
education in a manner that it was distinctly different from that under the
British Raj.
He believed that education
was the birth-right of every citizen. Under his charge, national planning in
the field of Education was carried out on a broader scale.
He conceptualised a
National System of Education which was the corner-stone of the National Policy
on Education. This concept revolved around a policy that upto a given level,
all students, irrespective of caste, creed, location or sex would have access
to education of a comparable quality.
This was one of his most
significant contributions to education in that a new pattern of education was
emerging in a broad democratic, humane and balanced vision which he brought
into the structure and content of education. He stood for social education
which was to focus on the understanding of social conditions of the country,
health education, economic improvement through crafts, arts, literature, music,
drama, dance, poetry and instruction in universal ethics, including tolerance
and mutual appreciation.
He was a visionary who
laid a strong foundation of a long term educational and cultural development of
India.
Azad laid stress on four
major programmes:
- Removal
of illiteracy through the universalisation of elementary education up to
secondary standard and a focus on adult education including education of women.
- Equalising
educational opportunities in Indian society where exploitation on the basis of
class and caste divisions was deep-rooted.
- Three
language formula where the state languages and Hindi would be the medium of
instruction, but English would remain as an important second language (later
English was adopted as the subsidiary official language).
- Sound
primary education throughout the country.
His
focus was on:
- character
building
- Inculcating
the value of the hard won freedom from the British Raj and seizing of the new
opportunities which lay before the newly independent country. To this end, he
set up a section of Social Education in the Ministry of Education in 1948.
Linkages between Social Education and Adult Education were made with a view to
stressing upon imparting literacy, inculcating a sense of rights and duties of
citizenship and creating an educated mind-set among the masses who were
hitherto deprived of literary education.
- He
encouraged the role of education in national development and the growth of
science and technology at all levels of education.
He stood for universal
primary education, free and compulsory for all children upto the age of 14,
girl’s education, vocational training, agricultural education and technical
education. He stood for primary education to be imparted in the mother-tongue
and for retention of English for educational purposes. He stood for a common
educational structure of 10=2=3 throughout India.
Among the institutions
which he helped establish were the three National Academies – the Sangeet Natak
Academy (1953), Sahitya Academy (1954) and Lalit Kala Academy (1954), the
Indian Council for Cultural Relations having been established by him earlier (in
1950).
In 1951, the Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT) was set up in Kharagpur followed by IITs being
set up at Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur and Delhi. The School of planning &
Architecture was set up at Delhi in 1955.
He set up the University
Grants Commission (UGC) in 1956 for disbursement of grants and maintenance of
standards in Indian universities.
Azad’s vision of National
Education found due recognition in the Central Government’s Five-year plans and
as a result, many developments took place in this field with the support of the
Central Government.
All educational programmes
should be carried out in strict conformity with secular values and
constitutional framework.
He was also a supporter of
the concept of Neighbourhood schools and the Common School System.
Maulana
Abul Kalam Azad – A “learned man” and a gifted scholar & writer:
He was an eminent scholar
and a prolific writer in Urdu, Persian and Arabic. His book “India Wins
Freedom” was a prominent publication. In this famous book, he spoke his mind,
inter alia, mentioning “It is one of the greatest frauds on the people to
suggest that religious affinity can unite areas which are geographically,
economically and culturally different”.
Some of his other works
were the translation of the Quran from Arabic into Urdu in six volumes (1977).
His other books included “Gubar-e-Khatir”, Hijr-o-Vasal”, Khatbat-i-Azad”,
Hamari Azadi”, Tazkara etc.
He wrote many works,
reinterpreting the holy Quran. His erudition let him repudiate Taqliq (or the
tradition of conformity) and accept the principle of Tajdid (or innovation). He developed an interest in pan-Islamic doctrines
of Jamaluddin Afghani and the ideals of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan who founded the
Aligarh Muslim University, which is also
my Alma Mater.
He always interpreted the scriptures from the
rationalist point of view. Soaked in Islamic tradition and having many personal
contacts with prominent Muslim leaders of Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Iraq
and Iran etc., he was deeply affected by the political and cultural
developments in these countries and was better known in the Muslim world than
any other Indian Muslim.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
stood for a learning society through liberal, modern and universal education
which would lead to discipline among the youth, help women to lead a life of
dignity and a non-violent, non-exploiting social and economic order.
He was open to modern
western knowledge, even as he strongly opposed western rule over India.
His
Legacy:
He passed away on
22.02.1958.
He is remembered as being amongst
the leading Indian Nationalists of India’s Freedom struggle.
He was against racial
discrimination meted out to the people of India. He was a proponent of unified
India and never deviated from his stand. He was the face of communal harmony in
modern India.
His firm belief in
Hindu-Muslim unity gained him the respect of the Hindu community and he is
still looked upon as one of the most important proponents of communal harmony
in modern India.
His work for education and
social upliftment in India made him a guiding light in India’s economic and
social development.
He was an outstanding
thinker with a world vision and humanist outlook. He was a determined Freedom
fighter and a staunch believer of secular and democratic values. Mahatma Gandhi referred to him as a person “of
the calibre of Plato, Aristotle and Pythagorus”.
11th November
every year, which is the day of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s birthday is celebrated
as National Education Day.
In 1989, Maulana
Azad Education Foundation was set up by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Govt.
of India on the occasion of his birth centenary celebrations. This foundation
is a voluntary, non-political, non-profit making social service organisation,
established to promote education amongst the educationally backward sections of
Society and is funded by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Govt. of India. The
Ministry also provides the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad National Fellowship, which
is an integrated five-year fellowship in the form of financial assistance to
students from the minority communities to pursue higher studies.
Numerous schools, colleges
and institutions have been named after him. To name a few, Maulana Azad Medical
college, New delhi, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal,
Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad, Maulanaazad Centre for
elementary and Social Education, Delhi University, Maulana Azad library in the
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh and Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu. He is also
remembered as one of the founders and patrons of Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi.
Maulana Azad’s tomb in New
Delhi is a major landmark and a large number of visitors visit it annually.
He
was posthumously awarded India’s highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna in 1992
for his immense contribution to the Nation.
Commemorative
Coins issued on Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s 125th Birth Anniversary
which fell on 11.11.2013. Are the Reserve Bank of India/Indian Govt. Mints late in honouring him?
Commemorative coins in
Rs.20/- and Rs.5/- category are have been minted by the Kolkata Mint to
celebrate the 125th Birth Anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. These coins are being
minted in both Proof and Uncirculated quality.
The Rs.20/-coin is minted in quaternary sliver while the Rs.5/- coin is of
Nickel Brass quality. I have booked the Proof coin set delivery of which is
still awaited.
Hyderabad Mint too has
chipped in by taking bookings of a Rs.5/- coin (Nickel-Brass) on Maulna Abul
Kalam Azad bookings for which are being taken till 31.03.2015. I have booked a
couple of these coins as well.
Meanwhile, I have received
a Rs. five coin on Maulana Abul Kalam Azad from general circulation, details of
which are as under:
Reverse of the Rs
5/- (Rupees five) circulation coin showing a portrait of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad On either
side of his portrait are mentioned his life years “1888” and “1958”. On the
left periphery of the coin is mentioned “Maulana Abul Kalam Azad” in Hindi,
below which is mentioned “125vin Jayanti” also in Hindi. On the right periphery
starting from the top of the coin is mentioned “Maulana Abul Kalam Azad” and on
the bottom periphery is mentioned “125 Birth Anniversary” in English. This coin has been minted at the Mumbai mint. Notice the "diamond" mint mark below the life years "1888-1958" of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad placed below his portrait
Obverse of the Rs
5/- (Rupees five) coin showing the Lion Capitol in the top centre with the
words “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth always prevails) in Hindi/Devnagri inscribed
below it, below which is the denominational value of the coin preceded by the
rupee symbol. On the left periphery is the name of the country “Bharat” (in
Hindi/Devnagri) and on the right periphery is mentioned “India” (in English).
The specifications of this coin are as under:
Shape: Circular; Diameter/size: 23 mm; No. of serrations: 100; Weight: gms.; Metal composition: Nickel Brass (copper: 75%, zinc: 20%, nickel: 5 %).
The specifications of this coin are as under:
Shape: Circular; Diameter/size: 23 mm; No. of serrations: 100; Weight: gms.; Metal composition: Nickel Brass (copper: 75%, zinc: 20%, nickel: 5 %).
I will place the Kolkata
Mint (Proof coin set) and Hyderabad Mint (Commemorative Coin) on this post as
and when I receive them directly from the mints.
(The above circulating coin has been given for my collection by Krishna Tonpe)
The Obverse of the Rs. 20/- coin.
The Reverse of the Rs. 20/- coin.
The Obverse of the Rs. 5/- coin
On the top centre is the Lion Capitol of Emperor Ashoka which is the emblem of the Government of India. The words “Satyameva Jayate” (coined by Mahamana Madan Mohan Malaviya – meaning “Truth Always Prevails”). On the left periphery is mentioned “Bharat” in Hindi and on the right periphery is mentioned “India” in English. Below the Lion Capitol, on the bottom of the coin is mentioned the denomination of the coin “5”, preceded by the rupee symbol.
The Reverse of the Rs. 5/- coin
(The above circulating coin has been given for my collection by Krishna Tonpe)
Posted on 04.07.2015:
I have today received a
Proof Coin set on Maulana Abul Kalam Azad from the Kolkata Mint.
This is the second time that Rupees Twenty Commemorative
coins have been issued for Numismatists/Collectorsmby an India Government Mint in both categories –
Proof and Uncirculated – after the
recent issue of Rs.20/- coins on Acharya Tulsi by the Mumbai Mint.The details are as under:
The above is an image of the cover of the album of the
Proof coins.
A portrait of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad as it appears on the second page of the Coin Album.
The Obverse of the two
coins Rs.20/- and Rs.5/- as they appear in the Coin album.
The Obverse of the Rs. 20/- coin.
On the top centre is the Lion Capitol of Emperor Ashoka which is the
emblem of the Government of India. The words “Satyameva Jayate” (coined
by Mahamana Madan Mohan Malaviya – meaning “Truth Always Prevails”). On the
left periphery is mentioned “Bharat” in Hindi and on the right periphery is
mentioned “India” in English. Below the Lion Capitol, on the bottom of the coin
is mentioned the denomination of the coin “20”, preceded by the rupee
symbol.
The Reverse of the Rs. 20/- coin.
On the left periphery is mentioned “Maulana Abul
Kalam Azad, 125vin Jayanti” (in Hindi/Devnagri). On the right periphery is
mentioned “Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, 125 Birth Anniversary” in English. The
portrait of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad is placed in the centre. Further below the
portrait are mentioned the commemorative/Centenary years “1888-1958”. Notice that Kolkata Mint coins do not carry any Mint
mark.
The specifications of this coin are:
Shape: Circular; Diameter: 39 mm (This is a smaller
coin as against the regular commemorative coin issues of 44 mm); No. of
serrations: 180 (as against 200 serrations on Commemorative coin issues of 44
mm); Weight: 30.0 gms; Metal Composition: Quaternary Alloy (Silver 50%, Copper
40%, Nickel 5% and Zinc 5%).
The Obverse of the Rs. 5/- coin
On the top centre is the Lion Capitol of Emperor Ashoka which is the emblem of the Government of India. The words “Satyameva Jayate” (coined by Mahamana Madan Mohan Malaviya – meaning “Truth Always Prevails”). On the left periphery is mentioned “Bharat” in Hindi and on the right periphery is mentioned “India” in English. Below the Lion Capitol, on the bottom of the coin is mentioned the denomination of the coin “5”, preceded by the rupee symbol.
The Reverse of the Rs. 5/- coin
On the left periphery is mentioned “Maulana Abul
Kalam Azad, 125vin Jayanti” (in Hindi/Devnagri). On the right periphery is
mentioned “Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, 125 Birth Anniversary” in English. The
portrait of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad is placed in the centre. Further below the
portrait are mentioned the commemorative/Centenary years “1888-1958”. Notice that Kolkata Mint coins do not carry any Mint
mark.
The specifications of this coin are:
Shape: Circular; Diameter: 23 mm; No. of serrations:
100; Weight: 6.0 gms; Metal Composition: Nickel Brass (Copper 75%, Zinc 20% and
Nickel 5%).
Posted on 19.09.2015:
Posted on 19.09.2015:
I have a couple of days
ago, received a Rs. Five Commemorative Coin commemorating the 125th
Birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad from the Hyderabad Mint. I already
have a Rs.20/- and a Rs.5/- Proof Set from the Kolkata Mint as well as the
circulating Rs.5/- coin in my collection.
The Cover of the
Commemorative coin album received from the Hyderabad Mint celebrating the 125th
Birth Centenary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958). The cover shows Maulana
Abul Kalam Azad in the foreground and a stylised impression of the colours of the Indian Flag
in the background.
The inner pages of the
Commemorative Coin Album received from the Hyderabad Mint. On the left page is
seen a full length photo of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad holding a book in his left
hand and a walking stick in his right hand.
Mentioned on this page is
– “Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was born on November 11, 1888 in Mecca. He was a
renowned scholar, poet, patriot and totally secular and a senior leader of the
Independence Movement. Following India’s Independence, he became the first
Minister of Education in Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet. He laid the foundation to
the modern education system. He was well versed in many languages viz. Arabic, English,
Urdu, Hindi, Persian, Bengali etc. He was instrumental in setting up committees
like the University Education Commission under the Chairmanship of Sri S.
Radhakrishnan (1948), Kher Committee for Elementary and Secondary Education. He
is also credited with establishment of the Indian Institution of Technology and
University Grants Commission (UGC) in 1956. In 1992, he was posthumously
awarded India’s highest civilian award, the “Bharat Ratna”. The National
Education Day, which is celebrated on 11th November to commemorate
his birthday.
(I wish that before
sending the text of this Commemorative coin into print, someone at the
Hyderabad Mint would have spent some time at editing the text and removing
flaws in the sentence construction for this paragraph. After all, this coin
commemorates the one person who laid the foundation of Education for the masses
in India.
Despite his vision, Literacy does not seem to
have percolated down to the executives working at the Hyderabad Mint.
They even spelt his name
as “MAULANA ABDUL KALAM AZAD (instead of “ABUL KALAM” in their newspaper advertisement
no. CPM/COSTING/CCCOINS/ADV./2515 dated 31.01.2015 and when I had pointed out
this error to the Hyderabad Mint through
an email, there was an “Ominous silence” on their part, instead of
acknowledging their mistake).
On Page 3 is also shown
the Obverse of the Coin.
The partial specifications
of this coin are mentioned as under:
Denomination: Rs.5/-
Alloy: Nickel-Brass
(Copper: 75%, Zinc : 20%, Nickel: 5%).
The Obverse of the Coin
shows the Lion Capitol of Emperor Ashok, presently the Emblem of the Government
of India in the centre with the words “Satyameva Jayate” (below the Lion
Capitol), meaning “Truth Always Prevails”. Below the Lion Capitol is the
denomination of the coin “Rs.5/-”. The name of the issuing country “Bharat” (in
Hindi/Devnagri) is on the left periphery of this coin face and “India” (in
English) is on the right periphery of this coin face.
The Reverse of the Coin is
shown on the left upper side. More specifications of the coin are shown on this
page:
Diameter: 23 mm; Weight:
6.00 gms; No. of serrations: 100.
Also shown on this page is
a Rs.0.60 stamp of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad which was issued at the time of his Birth
Centenary celebrated in 1988. There is also a stylised impression of an Ink-pot
with a feathered pen/quill on this page.
The Reverse of the Coin
shows an image of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad with the upper peripheral inscription
“”MAULANA ABUL KALAM AZAD” (both in Hindi/Devnagri & English) and “125 VIN
JAYANTI” (IN Hindi/Devnagri) and “125th Birth Anniversary” in
English, on the lower periphery. Below Maulana Azad’s portrait is mentioned the
years of Maulana Azad’s lifetime “1888-1958”. Below this inscription is the
“Star” mint mark of the Hyderabad Mint.
Ramchandra Lalingkar has commented:
ReplyDelete"My hearty respects to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad ! Indeed, he was a great son of India".
So he was. It was heartening to know that the Reserve Bank of India has brought our commemorative coins on his 125th Birth Anniversary which fell in 2013.
DeleteRattan Nath has commented:
ReplyDelete"He was a remarkable man. In my opinion he would have made for a far better prime minister than Nehru but he was hobbled by the stigma of being a muslim in a country in the throes of partition.
That said, he was not secular in the sense of not paying attention to religion. Instead he was a more advanced secular who believed that he had the best religion and hoped to peacefully persuade rest of us about it. To this end he posited that under Islamic law, Hindus should be considered to be People of the Book assured of security and equality under the law. Then with an even playing field, folks may choose a religion or none as they may wish.
This was far too radical a notion for both the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League since both cemented their supporters by preventing any conversion or even conversations about what the ultimate purpose was.
Not surprisingly, he was a formidable polymath who was fluent in several languages like Urdu, English, Arabic, Bengali, Hindi and had a command of many subjects. His realpolitik analysis of the partition is noteworthy in its accuracy by way of predictions that it will lead to long term animosity between Pakistan and India, that Indian Muslims will be an underclass as a result, and that Pakistan will not be able to hold onto what is now Bangladesh. He also argued that formation of Pakistan was un-islamic in that it limited the opportunity to spread the 'true religion' on the merits.
With him as a prime minister a number of problems would have been avoided. To begin with the partition would have been a tamer incident even if it happened, Kashmir would have been integrated and resolved far earlier and most importantly his keen realpolitik analysis would have handled the Chinese incursion forcefully and very differently to provide us with very different boundaries and developmental goals-instead of the idealistic flim flam we suffered through for decades. He was the leader we deserved and needed but would not have".
Very analytical Rattan, thanks.
DeleteJayashree Mukherjee has commented:
ReplyDelete"Thank you Rajeev . Very educative".
Thank you for the constant encouragement, Boudi.
Deletewhat is the current market value for his 5Rs coin?
ReplyDeleteHello Sachin,
DeleteCurrent market values can be assessed on sites like eBay, depending on whether the coin is a Proof, Uncirculated or Circulation Coin and whether it is in mint or worn out/used condition.
I like thik blog very much
ReplyDeleteI have also a very small coin collection....
Thank you for visiting the Blog.
DeleteSir I have coin of abul kalaam 5 rupees 9431834847
ReplyDelete