THIS refers to the continuing debate about the 75-rupee currency note that was issued last year to commemorate the 75th celebration of independence. It was a good initiative to place portraits of distinguished personalities on the currency note, but one could not grasp the reason for placing images of some while omitting other equally eminent persons.

Almost a year after the currency note had been issued, it is unclear whether the selection was made at the discretion of some individual, a select group, or if it was a random act without any discussion or debate at any level.

Ideally, the selection should have been based on some predefined criteria shared publicly. The criteria could have been proposed by a panel comprising people from different fields of intellectual knowledge.

Once that was agreed upon through a vote among the panellists, another panel of people from diverse fields could have been commissioned to give input on the matter while bearing in mind the predefined criteria.

The SBP needs to come out with an explanation regarding the modus operandi adopted for the selection of the particular personalities for displaying their images on the currency note.

In 2018, the Bank of England wanted to introduce a redesigned polymer £50 note which sparked speculation as to who might feature on it. The bank sought public nominations via ‘a character selection process’. The British citizens initiated petitions and campaigns backing their favourites after the announcement.

I was just wondering if such practices could be introduced in our part of the world. If done, it will surely give the public at large a sense of partici-pation in such important matters.

Muhammad K. Sufi
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2023