A fascinating new challenge has been brought against the newly printed Rs 2000 and Rs 500 notes in the Madras high court. A recent PIL brings into question the fact that the new notes have international numerals and Devanagari numerals printed on them, and argues that they should hence be declared “invalid” since the Indian constitution does not permit the use of Devanagari numerals on currency notes.
Apoorva points out that while this may seem like a trivial change, the decision to introduce Devanagari numerals carries with it a huge amount of baggage. By including these new numerals, the Modi government has reneged on one of the most important compromises made during the constituent assembly debates – the Munshi-Ayyangar formula.
Written by Apoorva Sharma