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Prominent Events of Mahatma Gandhi’s life portrayed on a silver five coin set
issued by the New Zealand Mint on behalf of Niue Island:
New Zealand Mint has
released a five-silver coins set from the East India Company. Each 1 oz.silver
coin is minted to the highest proof quality featuring 24 carat selective gold
plate and is presented in a beautiful lacquered display case with an information
booklet and a Certificate of Authenticity.
Mahatma Gandhi is a
legendary and much loved personality both in India and around the World. An
extra-ordinary human being whose ideology, based on the foundations of truth,
honesty, non-violence, hard word and service to humanity meant that the Mahatma
still remains one of the most important and influential persons of all time.
His mission started in
893, at a young age of 24. Whilst working as a lawyer in South Africa, he was
brutally thrown out from a first class carriage of a train for being a
non-white passenger in an all white carriage, although he was holding a valid
ticket. This incident became a defining moment of change, not just for one man
but for a whole nation.
At the core of all his endeavours was the belief
in the strength of the ordinary human being. His messages and teachings
inspired apartheid and civil rights leaders world-wide including Martin Luther
King, Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama.
These coins have been
released on 2nd October 2015, which is Gandhi’s Birth Anniversary,
recognised world-wide as the “International Day of Non-Violence”.
This limited edition
collection of five silver coins have been issued in his honour as a lasting
tribute to his message and teachings, commemorating 100 years since his return
to India.
The
First Coin:
Arriving in Bombay
(present day Mumbai) on 09.01.2015, Mahatma Gandhi and his wife Kasturba
received a warm welcome in India. He was given the appellation “Mahatma” or
“Great Soul” by Ravindra Nath Tagore, (the well-known Nobel Laureate for
Literature, and Bengali thinker/writer of songs, plays and the like, which are
extremely popular even today) who in turn was fondly called “Gurudev” by
Mahatma Gandhi.
South Africa had been the
crucible that created his identity as a political activist. His arrival at the age of 45 was greeted with
excitement and anticipation, Honoured with the “Kaisar-i-Hind” gold medal in
the King’s birthday honours list of 1915, Mahatma Gandhi was showered with
admiration, wherever he went. This was to become the beginning of a Nation’s
journey towards Independence, self-governance and liberty under the guidance
and teachings of this simple man.
This coin shows the
inscription “GANDHI’S ARRIVAL IN INDIA – 1915” on the right to lower periphery
and “BE THE CHANGE THAT YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD” on the upper to left
Periphery. Mahatma Gandhi is seen wearing a traditional Indian dress.
The
Second Coin:
In September 1920, Mahatma
Gandhi organised the Non-Cooperation Movement in India in an attempt to induce
the British authorities to grant Self-Governance or “Swaraj” to India. This
Movement enveloped the whole nation, particularly after the Jallianwala Bagh
Massacre at Amritsar in April 1919, in which the British Administrators killed
several hundred innocent and unarmed Indians. This non-violent civil
disobedience movement spread across India, through the resignation of titles,
boycotting of government institutions and refusal to pay British imposed taxes.
Gandhi’s aim was to unite all Indians in protest using the might of India’s
population and the moral force of non-violence.
In 1921, the British
authorities confronted a united Indian front for the first time, was visibly
shaken but there were sporadic outbursts of violence across the nation.
After an angry mob burned
a police station killing several police personnel at Chauri Chaura in February
1922, Mahatma Gandhi called off the Movement as an act of atonement, stating
that India was not ready yet for the fight for Freedom.
The following month he was
arrested but he had succeeded in transforming Indian Nationalism from a middle
class thought process to a masses based Movement.
This coin shows the
inscription “NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT, 1920” on the right to lower periphery
and “BE HATE THE SIN, LOVE THE SINNER” on the upper to left Periphery. Mahatma
Gandhi is shown here examining the Khadi cloth that he has spun on a Spinning
Wheel or “Charkha” as part of the Non-Cooperation Movement and wearing “Swadeshi”
on Indian-made clothes.
The
Third Coin:
On 12.03.1930, in his
boldest act of Civil Disobedience, Mahatma Gandhi began a long march to the
Arabian Sea in protest against a British imposed Salt Tax. Directly affecting
all strata of Indian Society – from the very rich to the very poor – this law
had made it illegal to sell or produce salt, allowing for a complete British monopoly
on the sale of this essential food ingredient.
Thousands of Indians
joined Mahatma Gandhi along the way, from his retreat near Ahmedabad to the Arabian
Sea coast, a distance of some 240 miles.
On 05.04.1930, Mahatma
Gandhi and his followers reached the Arabian Sea. Here, in a symbolic gesture,
they made their own salt by evaporating sea water – a direct violation of the
British law.
The march resulted in the
arrest of Mahatma Gandhi and 60,000 others. As a wide array of International
journalists was covering the event, this event gained wide publicity and gained
international respect and support for both the leader and his movement. A
notable feature of this March was that the British Authorities used steel
tipped batons to strike at the heads of the marchers. Yet wave after wave of
marchers moved forward to be hit by police batons while offering no resistance
or violence only to sustain injuries and be struck down.
This coin shows the
inscription “GANDHI’S SALT MARCH, 1930” on the right to lower periphery and “IN
A GENTLE WAY, YOU CAN SHAKE THE WORLD” on the upper to left Periphery. Mahatma
Gandhi is shown wearing “Khadi Charkha spun clothes” or indigenous clothes and
leading the Salt Marchers.
The
Fourth Coin:
AsWorld War II erupted,
the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (who had served as a subaltern in India and there is still a huge bill
outstanding against his name at the Secunderabad Club in India which he quietly
ignored when leaving India for Britain) announced that India was to join
the war as a constituent of the British Empire. Mahatma Gandhi and the then
Indian National Congress (INC) while denouncing Nazism, were adamant that India
should not come to Britain’s aid while Indians were being subjugated at home
and ratified the “Quit India” resolution calling for “complete and immediate
orderly withdrawal of the British from India”. Before the All India Congress
Committee on 08.08.1942, Mahatma Gandhi addressed all the people of India with
the message: “Here is mantra, a short one that I give you. You may imprint it
on your hearts and let every breath of yours give expression to it. The mantra
is “Do or Die. We shall either free India or die in the attempt”.
The following day Mahatma
Gandhi and members of the INC were arrested. He and his wife Kasturba were
imprisoned at different locations at Pune. Tragically, Kasturba passed away
while under arrest. Her “Samadhi” (Memorial) exists at the Aga Khan Palace
where Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned. The Aga Khan Palace is now a National
Heritage building, about two kilometres from our residence.
By 1944, most
demonstrations had been brutally suppressed, yet on his release, Mahatma Gandhi
continued his resistance, undertaking a 21-day fast in protest of the violence
used against the demonstrators. Nevertheless, by the end of World War II in
1945, India’s demand for Independence could no longer be ignored.
This coin shows the
inscription “QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT, 1942” on the right to lower periphery and “THE
FUTURE DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU DO TODAY” on the upper to left Periphery. Three
waves of non-violent protestor monitored by British authorities are shown on
this coin face.
The
Fifth Coin:
On 15.08.1947, India
became free from British Rule. The likes of Winston Churchill (and their unpaid
bills) had gone out of the country once and for all.
However, the British
Authorities played their last cunning move. The country was partitioned into
India and Pakistan. After years of struggle for freedom for a united India,
violence broke out in some areas between communities of vastly diverse cultures
and religions. For Mahatma Gandhi this victory – Independence was hollow and
tinged with sadness and disappointment at the events which followed. On the day
India received its Independence, Mahatma Gandhi spent the day fasting and
spinning his Charkha.
For him, non-violence went
beyond independence and elections. It must be fully integrated “economically,
politically and morally”. He understood that this would take a lifetime to
achieve and that there was much more to be done.
One of the last notes left
behind by him in 1948, expressing his deepest social thought – “I will give you
a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with
you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest
man whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is
going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him
to a control over his own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to
Swaraj for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find
your doubts and your self melt away”.
This coin shows the
inscription “MY LIFE IS MY MESSAGE- MAHATMA GANDHI” on the right to lower
periphery and “INDIAN INDEPENDENCE, 1947” on the upper to left Periphery. Mahatma
Gandhi is shown smiling with the Indian Flag (the Tri-colour) flying in the background.
Below is an image of the common obverse to these coins: showing the inscription "Niue Island", 1 dollar" and year of issue as '2015"
Links to other posts on Mahatma Gandhi on this blog:
Satyajit Pratap has commented:
ReplyDelete"And we have forgotten about this event ..."
He was one of the most prominent leaders who had a clear-cut vision on how the British would run scared & ultimately Quit India. And all thru the mantra of Satyagrah and non-violence.
DeleteMita Banerjee has commented:
ReplyDelete"Great!!!"
Jayashree Mukherjee has commented:
ReplyDelete"Interesting. "
Rajeev, I just got a 1997 1 Rupee which you referenced in this article. Thank you so much for all the background information and references, I learned more about my coin than I ever hoped to. I particularly appreciate your descriptions of the coins and stamps. Such a great article!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Tom for the nice comment. I am so happy that my research could be of some help.
Delete