On 24th
of December 1957 the State Bank of Pakistan for the first time issued a
currency note worth Rs. 100 with a picture of founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali
Jinnah printed on it. On the reverse side of this green currency note was the
image of Badshahi Mosque Lahore.
This currency
note was issued simultaneously from Karachi, Lahore and Dhaka. The note was
signed by Abdul Qadir (governor of the State Bank of Pakistan) in Urdu. These
were the first currency notes of Pakistan on which a human image was published.
There was also a
strong reaction from scholars and others after the issue of this currency note
with a picture of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
The first news of
this series was published in the Daily Jang (Urdu) on December 30th,
1957.
President of the central
Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan Maulana Abdul Hamid Badauni strongly Protested and said
that during the life of Muhammad Ali Jinnah problem arose on publishing his
picture on a postage Ticket and he disliked the process. According to him, the
founder of Pakistan had considered it appropriate in his life to give a picture
of the moon star or a famous Pakistani building on stamps.
Similarly, All
Pakistan Constitution Party President Maulana Asad-ul-Qadri appealed to all
'Islamist people' to boycott currency notes with a picture of founder Pakistan
to force the authorities to withdraw the notes issued.
He termed the
government's move as an insult to Muslim sentiments and said it was a
"very non-Islamic way" He appealed to President Iskandar Mirza and
finance minister to withdraw the notes while respecting the sentiments of the
people.
The same news
also published a statement by Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi, Vice President,
Central Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, in which he said that on the occasion of the
birth anniversary of the founder of Pakistan on December 25th, a new
Rs 100 note has been introduced in the markets with a picture of Muhammad Ali
Jinnah and is being described as a reminder of the founder of Pakistan.
"It is very sad to say that Quaid-i-Azam and Pakistan are now a victim at
the hands of ignorant friends or wise enemies that each of his monuments is
being selectively erased and ironically all this is being done in his name.‘
According to
Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi, the founder of Pakistan was the master of the
democratic system in his nature and was doing everything possible to establish
the system in Pakistan. It is those who call him 'Quaid-i-Azam' who have
bricked the brick of democracy in ten years, our Parliament and government have
become a haven of conspiracies.
In his statement,
he said, "One of the great virtues of Quaid-i-Azam's was that he did not
like to put a picture of himself or anyone else on a Pakistani coin, but when
someone proposed it to him, he strongly rejected it, which was very wise and in
accordance with the teachings of Islam.
During his life
and even after that this sunnah hasana remained intact, but today on his
birthday, the same Quaid-i-Azam's fans finally sent this away and printed a
picture of Quaid-i-Azam on a new 100 rupees note as if they had done great
service to Quaid-i-Azam and Pakistan. ‘
According to a
report published in December 1957, leaders of eight different religious and
other parties of Sargodha said in a joint statement that the State Bank of
Pakistan's new proposal to print pictures on Pakistani notes is totally against
the guidelines of the Constitution of Pakistan and its spirit, even though
Pakistani authorities have taken an oath of loyalty to the Constitution, we
would have strongly protested the proposal. And the Governor calls on the State
Bank of Pakistan and the Government of Pakistan not to implement a proposal
that would allow the practice of printing a picture of an individual on
Pakistani notes and coins.
At the same time,
newspapers also published communications of readers, with some readers
supporting the protests by scholars, while others described the State Bank's
move as commendable.
Despite the
protests by scholars, the matter cooled down within a few days and the series,
which started with 100 rupees currency notes, expanded to other notes and all
notes worth Rs 5 and above began to publish a picture of founder of Pakistan.
It will not be
mentioned here that on 3rd October 1947, Bahawalpur state issued a
stamp on which pictures of founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Ameer of
Bahawalpur Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi were published.
It was the first
postage stamp in the world on which a photograph of Muhammad Ali Jinnah was
published. On Pakistan stamps the picture
was formally published for the first time on December 25th, 1966. It
was a set of two stamps worth 15 and 50 Paisas.
First commemorative coins with the picture of Muhamamd Ali Jinnah were issued on December 22nd, 1976 in the denominations of 50 Paisas, 100 Rupees and 500 Rupees.
First circulating coin with the picture of Muhamamd Ali Jinnah was issued in 1998 in the denomination of 1 Rupee.
Courtesy
Aqeel Abbas
Jafferi
BBC Urdu
