There is only one country in the world whose currency note has a Hindu deity engraved on it.
An image of Hindu Lord Ganesha is engraved on an Indonesian currency note beside Ki Hajar Dewantara – an eminent Indonesian freedom fighter.
The currency note of 20,000 Rupiah (1998) has this image on it with a picture of a classroom is printed on the other side.
Noorca Armadi, born and raised in West Sumatra, Indonesia, says Ganesha is worshipped as the god of education, which fits the central theme of the note — education.
“If you look at the backside of the note, you’ll see a picture of typical classroom activity in Indonesia and front, a picture of Ki Hajar Dewantara whose birthdate is celebrated as National Education Day in Indonesia. The use of Hindu’s deities and symbols is common in Indonesia as in the early centuries, Indonesian archipelago was heavily influenced by Hinduism,” Armadi, a student of Australian National University, posted on social media site Quora.
The Republic of Indonesia is an Islamic country with a population of 270,203,917. According to the 2020 census. 86.7 per cent of people of Indonesia are Muslim, while 10.72 per cent follow Christianity.
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Only 1.74 per cent of the population follow Hinduism. However, the country has many patterns that resonate with the Hindu culture.
Hindu Lord Hanuman is the official mascot of Indonesia’s military intelligence. In addition, the Arjuna Wijaya statue is a historical landmark in Jakarta square.
