The ability of US society to accept the facts of history and integrate them into an all-inclusive modern view of the nation is to be admired. The appearance, from 2020 onwards, of images of the anti-slavery campaigner Harriet Tubman on the face of $20 bills is significant for three reasons. One, recognising the enormity of a slave’s contribution to ending slavery by means of rescuing other slaves through the Underground Railroad is itself brave considering how painful the history is. Two, she is an African-American, which means even greater racial prejudices had to be brushed aside.
Three, she is a woman — only the third to appear on currency notes and the first ever on the front — and that helps in recognising the enormous contribution of women to every possible cause in furthering a free and democratic society. It’s a win-win proposition. The US Treasury’s decision to honour more personalities, including woman suffragettes, is said to have come after a heated consultation period. This was probably only to be expected since the seven white men on the seven notes in general circulation were all dead by 1885, which means there had never been a public movement to acknowledge wider contributions to society.
The exercise would, however, not be recommended in India where the Father of the Nation is the only face on rupee notes. A veritable Pandora’s box could open up were we to so much as suggest other personalities, including Presidents and Prime Ministers. So polarised can our views be that no suggestion would ever be thought of as non-partisan, even if they are based on solid historical fact.
