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Mahatma Gandhi will become the first Indian to be minted on British currency: Report
According to reports by Daily Mail, Mahatma Gandhi will become the first Indian and the first non-White person to be featured on the British currency. Scroll down to read all the details.
According to reports by the Daily Mail, Mahatma Gandhi will become the first non-white person to be coined on the British currency. Gandhi was assassinated five months after the end of British rule in India in August 1947 and now the Royal Mint Advisory Committee, which recommends themes and designs for coins in the UK, is reportedly working on a coin featuring the Indian independence leader.
Chancellor and native Indian Rishi Sunak has offered his support to a campaign to help recognise the efforts of black and minority ethnic (BAME) people in shaping modern Britain. In a letter to Zehra Zaidi, a former Tory candidate who leads the We Too Built Britain campaign, Mr Sunak said: “Black, Asian and other ethnic minority communities have made a profound contribution to the shared history of the UK.”
Gandhi will be the first BAME person to feature on British currency, although figures such as Walter Tull – the Army's first black officer – have featured on commemorative coins, but not legal tender. Miss Zaidi told The Sunday Telegraph, “We welcome the Chancellor's support.”
British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak wrote to the Royal Mint Advisory Committee (RMAC), asking them to pursue recognition of individuals from BAME communities on the UK's coinage, the UK Treasury said. A statement from the UK Treasury, emailed late on Saturday, said: “RMAC is currently considering a coin to commemorate Gandhi.”
Gandhi, who was born in 1869, advocated for non-violence throughout his life and played a key role in India's struggle for independence. His birthday on October 2 is observed as the International Day of Non-Violence in India. Often referred to as India's “father of the nation”, he was assassinated by a Hindu radical on January 30, 1948, just a few months after he led India to freedom from British rule.
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