2019 - Mahatma Gandhi 150th Birth Anniversary

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The 4^th release function saw the release of a coin on 150^th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

This would be the 2^nd coin to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi, the first one being in 1969 on occasion of Birth Centenary.

The coin and the details of the set are;

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement. A pioneer of satyagraha, or resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience—a philosophy firmly founded upon ahimsa, or total nonviolence—Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi is often referred to as Mahatma an honorific first applied to him by Rabindranath Tagore. In India, he is also called Bapu and officially honoured as the Father of the Nation. His birthday, 2 October, is commemorated in India as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and worldwide as the International Day of Non-Violence.
Gandhi first employed non-violent civil disobedience as an expatriate lawyer in South Africa, in the resident Indian community's struggle for civil rights. After his return to India in 1915, he set about organising peasants, farmers, and urban labourers in protesting excessive land-tax and discrimination. Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women's rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability, increasing economic self-reliance, but above all for achieving Swaraj—the independence of India from foreign domination. Gandhi famously led Indians in protesting the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km Dandi Salt March in 1930, and later in calling for the British to Quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned for many years, on many occasions, in both South Africa and India.

Gandhi strove to practice non-violence and truth in all situations, and advocated that others do the same. He lived modestly in a self-sufficient residential community and wore the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn he had hand spun on a charkha. He ate simple vegetarian food, and also undertook long fasts as means of both self-purification and social protest.

Release Function

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi releasing the Silver Coin based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, on the occasion of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on October 02, 2019. The Governor of Gujarat, Shri Acharya Dev Vrat and the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Vijay Rupani are also seen.

Proof Set
Coin of Rs 150

UNC Set
Coin of Rs 150

2017 - Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya

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The third release function saw the release of a coin commemorating Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.
The details are;

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay (25 September 1916 – 11 February 1968) was an philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and political scientist. He was one of the most important leaders of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the forerunner of the present day Bharatiya Janata Party.

While he was a student at Sanatan College, Kanpur in 1937, he came into contact with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) through his classmate Baluji Mahashabde. He met the founder of the RSS, K. B. Hedgewar, who engaged with him in an intellectual discussion at one of the shakhas. Sunder Singh Bhandari was also one of his classmates at Kanpur. This gave a fillip to his public life. He dedicated himself to full-time work in the RSS from 1942.

In 1951, when Syama Prasad Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Deendayal was seconded to the party by the RSS, tasked with moulding it into a genuine member of the Sangh Parivar. He was appointed as General Secretary of its Uttar Pradesh branch, and later the all-India General Secretary. The acumen and meticulousness shown by Deendayal deeply impressed Syama Prasad Mookerjee and elicited his famous remark:

" If I had two Deendayals, I could transform the political face of India. "

After Mookerjee's death in 1953, the entire burden of nurturing the orphaned organisation and building it up as a nationwide movement fell on the young shoulders of Deendayal. For 15 years, he remained the outfit's general secretary and built it up, brick by brick.

He was assassinated on 11 February 1968 at Mughalsarai in UP, while travelling in a train.

2017 – Shrimad Rajchandra

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A slow start to the calendar year 2017. June saw the first commemorative release function on the occasion of 150 years of Shrimad Rajchandra.

The coin and the details of the set are;

ShrimadRajchandra, was a prominent Jain poet, philosopher, and scholar. He is best known for his teachings on Jainism and as a spiritual guide of Mahatma Gandhi.

Shrimad Rajchandra was born on November 9, 1867, in Vavania Bandar,Morbi, Gujarat. He started speaking in public at age of 10 and writing articles at 11. He performedShatavdhan (a difficult memory test of memorizing 100 different things at a time) at Sir Framji Cowasji Institute in Mumbai in 1887. The same year, he married to Jhabakben and then engaged in the pearls and diamond business. At the age of 32, he contracted an illness from which he never recovered. He died on April 9, 1901 in Rajkot, Gujarat.

He summarized his interpretation of Jainism in Atma Siddhi, a Gujarati short verse poem written when he was 28 years old. In addition, throughout his life, he wrote 800 letters charting his spiritual journey. In his letters, he mentioned having the memory of several past lives at the age of seven, and in a letter written in 1890, he mentions having achieved self-realization.

He is well known as a spiritual guide of Mahatma Gandhi. They were introduced in Mumbai in 1891 and had various conversations through letters while Gandhi was in South Africa. Gandhi noted his impression of Shrimad Rajchandra in his autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, calling Raichandbhai his "guide and helper" and his "refuge… in moments of spiritual crisis". He had advised Gandhi to be patient and to study Hinduism deeply.

Release Function

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi releasing the commemorative coin on Shrimad Rajchandraji at Sabarmati Ashram, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on June 29, 2017. The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Vijay Rupani is also seen.

PS: If you notice the initial design of Rs 150 coin, the year is depicted below the bust. In Rs 10 it is on left and right. However in the final released coins both the coins of Rs 150 as well as Rs 10 have the same design.

Executive Set:

2016 - Banaras Hindu University - Proof Set

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This post gives the details of Proof set. For UNC Set refer to the next post. For Hyderabad Mint UNC set refer to this link.

The Seventh release of the year saw a commemorative coin on Centenary Year of Banaras Hindu University. This is a first for commemorating a University. There is another one planned this year for Mysore University. The denominations are Rs 100 and Rs 10.

The coin and the details of the set are;

Release Function

Banaras Hindu University commonly referred to as BHU; formerly known as Central Hindu College is a public central university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Established in 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, BHU is one of the largest residential universities in Asia, with over 20,000 students.

The university's main campus spread over 1,300 acres (5.3 km2) was built on land donated by the Kashi Naresh, the hereditary ruler of Banaras. The Banaras Hindu University, South campus, spread over 2,700 acres (11 km2), hosts the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Agriculture Science Centre) and is located in Barkachha in Mirzapur district, about 60 km from Banaras.

BHU is organised into 6 institutes and 14 faculties (streams) and more than 132 departments. Total student enrolment at the university exceeds 30000, and includes students from over 34 nations. It has over 60 hostels for resident students. Several of its colleges, including engineering (IIT-BHU), management (FMS-BHU), science, linguistics, journalism & mass communication, performing arts, law, agriculture (IAS-BHU), medicine (IMS-BHU) and Institute of Environment And Sustainable Development (IESD-BHU), are ranked among the best in India and world.


Coin Designs
The Below coin Designs were proposed by the BHU. However as these did not align to the Coins, the design was not approved. The final design was quite different.

Proof
Coins of Rs 100 and Rs 10
Images as available during online bookings.

Coins of Rs 100 and Rs 10. Images of coins that were actually shipped.

2015 – 200th Birth Anniversary of Tatya Tope - Proof Set

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The Post gives the details of Proof Set. For UNC Set Refer to the Next Post. 

The fifth release function in 2016 saw the release of a coin commemorating the 200th Birth Anniversary of Tatya Tope. This would be the first time a coin of denomination Rs 200 was released. 

Technically Tope's Birth year is 1814 and hence the 200th year should have started in 2014 and completed in 2015. The coins finally released in 2016 on Martyr Day.

The details are as below;

Release Function

The Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma releasing a Commemorative Coin of Rs.200/- and a Circulation Coin of Rs.10/- on Tatya Tope, on the occasion of his Martyr Day, in New Delhi on April 18, 2016. The Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Shri Narendra Kumar Sinha and other dignitaries are also seen.



Ramachandra Pandurang Tope (1814 – 18 April 1859) was an leader in the Rebellion of 1857 and one of its notable generals. He is better known by his nickname Tatya Tope, which is also transliterated as Tantya Tope or Tantia Topi

A personal adherent of Nana Sahib of Bithur, he progressed with the Gwalior contingent after the British reoccupied Kanpur and forced General Windham to retreat from the city. Later on, he came to the relief of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi and with her seized the city of Gwalior. However, he was defeated by General Napier's British Indian troops at Ranod and after a further defeat at Sikarabandoned the campaign. He was executed by the British Government at Shivpuri on 18 April 1859.

Tatya Tope was Nana Sahib's close associate and general. During the Siege of Cawnpore in 1857, Nana Sahib's forces attacked the British entrenchment at Kanpur in June 1857. The low supplies of food, water and medicine added to the misery of the British Forces who accepted Nana Sahib offer of safe passage to Allahabad.

Many of General Wheeler's men were either killed or captured. The surviving British women and children were moved from the Savada House to Bibighar, "the House of the Ladies", a villa-type house in Rajasthan.

Nana Sahib decided to use the captives for bargaining with the British. The Company forces from Allahabad, under the command of General Henry Havelock, advanced relentlessly towards Cawnpore. Two forces sent by Nana Sahib to check their advance were defeated. When it became clear that the bargaining attempts had failed, an order was given to murder the women and children imprisoned at Bibighar, on July 15. The details of the incident, such as who ordered the massacre, are not clear. The sepoys refused to kill the captive women and children, but some of them agreed to remove the women and children from the courtyard, when Tope threatened to execute them for dereliction of duty.

The Company forces reached Cawnpore on July 16, and captured the city. Both Nana Sahib and Tope escaped from the city. While Nana Sahib fled to an unknown place, Tope continued the fight against the British. In November 1857, he gathered a large army, mainly consisting of the rebel soldiers from the Gwalior contingent, to recapture Cawnpore. By November 19, Tope's advance guard of 6,000 dominated all the routes west and north-west of Cawnpore. However, his forces were defeated by the Company forces under Colin Campbell in the Second Battle of Cawnpore, marking the end of the rebellion in the Cawnpore area. Tope then joined Rani Laxmi Bai at Kalpi.

After losing Gwalior to the British, Tope and Rao Sahib, nephew of Nana Sahib, fled into Rajputana. He was able to induce the army of Tonk to join him. Tope was defeated at several places

Tope escaped alone into the jungles of Paron. At this point he met Man Singh, raja of Narwar and decided to stay with them. The British forces had failed to subdue Tope for over a year.

Tope was however betrayed into the hands of the British by his trusted friend, Man Singh, while asleep in his camp in the Paron forest. He was captured on 7 April 1859 by a detachment of native infantry from British General Richard John Meade's troops led to him by Singh and escorted to Shivpuri where he was tried by a military court. Tope admitted the charges brought before him saying that he was answerable to his master the Peshwa only. He was executed at the gallows on 18 April 1859.


Proof Set

Coins of Rs 200 and Rs 10

UNC Set
Coins of Rs 200 and Rs 10
Refer to Next Post

2016 - Allahabad High Court – 150th Anniversary - Proof Set

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The Link to Proof and UNC sets is here

The Post gives the details of Proof Set. For UNC Set Refer to the Next Post. For Hyderabad Mint UNC Set refer to this link.

The fourth function saw the release of a coin commemorating the 150 years of Allahabad High Court.

In a first the sesquicentennial of Allahabad High Court is being commemorated. Although Madras and Bombay High court are older than Allahabad, there was no commemorative coin issued in 2011 for the 150th Anniversary.

This would be also the first issue where the Mumbai Mint has sent out an email on 12-Mar of the coin booking being available for booking; even before the release function.

This is amongst a few times when the coin was available for cash during the release function as well  as from the Mint counter. The previous such case was during Yoga day celebrations.

The coin and the details of the set are;

Release Function

The Allahabad High Court was established on 11-July-1866. It has jurisdiction over the Uttar Pradesh. It is the 3rd oldest High court in India. The first being the Madras [Chennai] High Court, established on 15-Aug-1862 followed by Bombay [Mumbai] in 14-Aug-1862. All these were established under the High Courts Act of 1861.
The year 2016 is being celebrated as sesquicentennial and there are functions organized all over the year with special events from March 13th to March 17th.

Allahabad High Court, one of the oldest courts in the country, is celebrating 150th year of its foundation. The High Court of Judicature for the North-Western Provinces came into existence at Agra under Letters Patent of the 17th March, 1866, replacing the old Sudder Diwanny Adawlat.

The seat of the High Court for the North-Western Provinces was shifted from Agra to Allahabad in 1869 and its designation was altered to ‘the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad’ by a supplementary Letters patent issued on March 11, 1919.

Two courts i.e. the High Court in Allahabad for North Western Provinces and the Chief Court of Oudh for the districts of Oudh at Lucknow, were simultaneously functioning and were exercising the powers of the High Courts over the respective territories. After the attainment of Independence by India, the historical anomaly of existence of the two highest courts of appeal within the same province for the territories known as Agra and Oudh which had come under one local Government as far back as the year 1902 was keenly felt. By the U.P. High Court Amalgamation Order, 1948, the Chief Court of Oudh was amalgamated with the High Court of Allahabad.

On the eve of the Republic Day celebrations on the 26th January, 1950 the date of commencement of the Constitution of India, the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad came to have jurisdiction throughout the entire length and breadth of the State of Uttar Pradesh.


The Coins booking images from Mumbai Mint.

Proof Set:
Coins of Rs 150 and Rs 5

UNC Set
Refer to the Next Post