No, That Is Not A Recent Image Of Lord Ganesha On Indonesian Currency Note; Currency Note Was Discontinued In 2008

An image of a currency note is being widely circulated across social media after a recent press conference by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. The image is being circulated with the claim that the 20,000 Indonesian rupiahs currency note has an icon of Lord Ganesha.

Claim:

On 26th October, Arvind Kejriwal held a press conference where he demanded the Centre add the icons of the Hindu gods' Lord Ganesha and Goddess Laxmi on Indian currency notes. He supported his demand by taking the example of Indonesia, which he claimed despite being a Muslim country has the image of Lord Ganesha on its currency notes.

Kejriwal claimed that the inclusion of the deities on the currency notes would help to recover the country's declining economy. The Delhi CM's remarks can be heard from the 4.35 mark in the press conference.

AAP spokesperson and MLA Sanjeev Jha shared the clip with Kejriwal's demands about the addition of the Hindu gods on the currency notes. The claim reads, "Indonesia is a Muslim country. There are 85% Muslims and only 2% Hindus, but there is a picture of Lord Ganesha on the currency. I appeal to the Prime Minister that the pictures of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh should be put on the newly printed notes also."

Saurabh Bharadwaj, AAP leader and Vice Chairman of the Delhi Jal Board claimed, "Indonesia is a Muslim country. There are 85% Muslims and only 2% Hindus but there is a picture of Shri Ganesh ji on the currency."

Aam Aadmi Party circulated the video with the same caption as well.

AAP leader and MLA Durgesh Pathak also circulated the clip with a similar claim.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian fact-check team verified the viral claim and found it to be misleading. The currency note showing the icon of Lord Ganesha did exist but was discontinued in 2008.

We conducted a reverse image search on the viral image of the currency note. We came across the image of the currency note on Wikimedia, titled 'Indonesian currency issued 1998-2005.' In this image, the icon of Lord Ganesha can be seen on the currency note.

In our reverse image search, we came across a picture of the 20,000 rupiah banknote on the website BankNote World. The description of the listing notes that the Indonesia 20,000 Rupiah banknote from 1998's obverse side shows the national emblem, a mythical statue, and a portrait of Indonesian independence movement activist Ki Hadjar Dewantara.

We conducted a keyword search with the keywords Ki Hadjar Dewantara with date filters. We came across a case study document titled 'Bank Indonesia Policy In Responding To The Crisis'. The case study was uploaded on the website of Bank Indonesia, which is the central bank of Indonesia.

On page number 27 of this case study, it is noted that a note of 20,000 with an image of the Indonesian independence movement activist Haza Devantara was issued in Indonesia.

We searched the Bank Indonesia website and came across a news release dated 25 June 2018. In the release titled, 'Deadline For Exchanging Withdrawn Banknotes,' dated 25th November 2008, it is stated that Bank Indonesia withdrew several banknotes from circulation.

The notification states that the 20,000 rupiah banknote issued in 1998, which shows the independence activist Hajar Dewantara would not be accepted as legal tender. The news release states, "The withdrawn banknotes may be exchanged at Bank Indonesia until 30th December 2018."

The current 20,000 rupiah currency note has the image of the national hero of the Republic of Indonesia and the Former Governor of Sulawesi, Dr. G.S.S.J. Ratulangi, as the icon on the note.

Is Indonesia a Muslim Country?

To check the status of religious beliefs in Indonesia, we searched for a copy of the Constitution of the Southeast Asian country. We came across Article 29 in Chapter XI of the constitution, which states that the country does not have a fixed religion and that the State guarantees all persons freedom of worship as per their beliefs.

In Indonesia, over 87% of the population is affiliated with the Islamic faith. As per an article in Britannica, Hindus account for less than 2 percent of all Indonesians.

We also came across an article published in Cambridge University Press' Journal of Law and Religion on December 4, 2020. The article titled, 'Constitutional Recognition Of Beliefs In Indonesia' notes, "Constitutionally, Indonesia is a state "based on Almighty God," but the Constitution does not specify any religions or belief systems." Six official religions are supported by the state including Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism.

Conclusion:

We found that the currency note showing the icon of Lord Ganesha did exist but was discontinued in 2008. Arvind Kejriwal claimed that Indonesia is a Muslim country. The Southeast Asian country has more than 87 percent of the population professing Islam, and the population of Hindus there is less than 2 percent. Although the majority population in Indonesia is Muslim, the country does not have a fixed religion. All religions are considered equal in Indonesia. Thus, we can ascertain that the viral claim is misleading.

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