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| - Fact Check: Did Gandhi's portrait replace Lion Capital on currency notes in 1996?
An image of old currency notes went viral claiming that the portrait of Gandhi was imposed on the legal tenders in 1996, and it replaced the Lion Capital of Ashoka. The India Today Anti Fake News War Room found the claim to be misleading.
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India Today Fact Check
Gandhi’s portrait was first introduced on India’s currency notes in 1969. In 1996, the RBI introduced the ‘Mahatma Gandhi Series’ of notes with his portrait on it. However, it didn’t replace the Lion Capital of Ashoka, which was shifted to a different position.
An image of old currency notes went viral with some questionable claims. Many shared the image claiming that the portrait of Gandhi was imposed on the legal tenders in 1996, and it replaced the Lion Capital of Ashoka or the Ashoka Stambha.
In the viral image, old currency notes for several denominations from Rs. 1 to Rs. 100 can be seen.
Archived versions of similar posts can be seen here and here.
The India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found the claim to be misleading. The image of Mahatma Gandhi was first introduced way before 1996, and it did not replace the Ashoka Stambha.
AFWA Probe
When we searched for relevant keywords regarding Gandhi’s appearance in currency notes, we found an October 2018 article in the New Indian Express that stated Gandhi first appeared in currency notes in 1969.
We then ran an advance search on Google. It led us to the digital museum of old Indian currency notes maintained by the Reserve Bank of India.
The series of currency notes from Rs. 1 to Rs. 100 where Gandhi appeared for the first time in the post-independence era was in 1969 and was described by the RBI as the “Mahatma Gandhi Centenary Issues.”
Apart from the Rs. 1 note, all currency notes had an image of a seated Gandhi with the Sevagram Ashram as the backdrop. The Lion Capital was clearly visible on the opposite side of the note.
The second time Gandhi appeared on notes was in 1987. That year, the RBI introduced Rs. 500 tenders for the first time.
Here, the portrait of Gandhi appeared the same as they appear today. The watermark of the Lion Capital remained in the currency, but it was slid down to the left and was made smaller in size.
In 1996, the RBI released the Mahatma Gandhi series notes for denominations ranging from Rs. 5 to Rs. 1000. Those are still in use aside from the Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes that were demonetized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016.
So, did the image inclusion of Gandhi’s image in 1996 affect the Lion Capital’s position and height for the first time? No.
In 1980, when the RBI released a new set of notes, the Lion Capital was shifted towards the middle in the Rs. 5 notes. Further, it was done when there were no portraits of Gandhi on the notes.
Therefore, it can be concluded that Gandhi’s image was introduced on Indian currencies way before 1996, and it didn’t really replace the Lion Capital.
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