The notable face! Women on Banknotes gain currency

The Reserve Bank of India and the government should note that putting women on currency is quite au courant in key economies these days. The US Treasury Department has announced this week that it will soon decide on which ‘notable’ female face will adorn the nation’s $10 bill in 2020 — the first woman since the Native American Pocahontas graced the $20 note as part of a group from 1865 to 1869.

Even Britain — which has its Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse of every denomination — has had Florence Nightingale and Elizabeth Fry on the reverse of £10 and £5 notes respectively, will soon have Jane Austen on £10 notes, and might even put a woman on the future £20 note as it has asked people to suggest names from the visual arts. Social media, of course, has come up with an eclectic set of names for both countries to consider.

Australia, Argentina, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, the Philippines, Sweden, Syria and Turkey also have women from politics, science and the arts on their currencies. It is time that India also puts its money on noteworthy affirmative action. Even if Mahatma Gandhi’s uncontestable image is retained mandatorily on the front of all denominations — though an RTI query has revealed no one really knows why he has a monopoly — there is room for diversity on the reverse.