Mahatma Gandhi will reportedly be the first non-white person to feature on British currency and Daily Mail UK reports that The Royal Mint Advisory Committee has started working on a coin featuring Mahatma Gandhi. British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak also reportedly extended his support to a campaign for influential ethnic minority figures to be featured on UK coins so as to celebrate Britain’s diversity. Daily Mail also quoted the UK Treasury saying that Sunak wrote to the Royal Mint Advisory Committee (RMAC), asking them to pursue recognition of individuals from BAME communities on the UK's coinage.
Meanwhile, a report in The Times Of India states that The Royal Mint is working on a proposal for a new coin commemorating Mahatma Gandhi, and a spokesperson from The Royal Mint told the tabloid, “We are working with the Chancellor (Rishi Sunak) and the Royal Mint Advisory Committee (RMAC) to develop a proposal...It is too early to reveal further specific details about the coin as we are still in the initial stages of discussions."
On August 2, the Indian-origin Finance Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted, “I know @Zehra_Zaidi @ppvernonand many others have been campaigning for years for the BAME people who built Britain to be recognised on legal tender. Yesterday I wrote to The Royal Mint urging them to consider how to celebrate the achievements of BAME individuals on UK coinage.”
I know @Zehra_Zaidi @ppvernon and many others have been campaigning for years for the BAME people who built Britain to be recognised on legal tender.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) August 2, 2020
Yesterday I wrote to The Royal Mint urging them to consider how to celebrate the achievements of BAME individuals on UK coinage.
PTI reports that Sunak issued a letter to the chair of the Royal Mint Advisory Committee (RMAC), Lord William Waldegrave, in response to a campaign led by Zehra Zaidi, who leads the We Too Built Britain campaign. Sunak’s letter to Lord Waldegrave reads, “For generations, ethnic minority groups have fought and died for this country we have built together; taught our children, nursed the sick, cared for the elderly; and through their enterprising spirit have started some of our most exciting and dynamic businesses, creating jobs and driving growth.”
Daily Mail UK also quoted the Treasury saying in a statement, “RMAC is currently considering a coin to commemorate Gandhi.”
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