1 Rupee: 1991-2000

In the decade of 90's, inflation grew consistently and as a result 'Rupee' as a currency went on depreciating. Hence 1 Rupee and 2 Rupees coins started getting circulated in the hands of people in large numbers. As a result commemorative 1Rs. and 2 Rs. coins also got released frequently in this decade i.e. almost every year a new commemorative 1 Rs./2 Rs. coins got issued by Govt. of India.

Below are the coins issued between 1991-2000AD. I have all these coins in my collection.

Rajiv Gandhi 

Year: 1991
Metal: Copper-nickel
Weight: 6 gm
Diameter: 26 mm
Thickness: 1.5 mm

Obverse features Ashoka Lion capital and the denomination below it.
Reverse features Bust of Rajiv Gandhi 3/4 left.

Rajiv Gandhi

Rajiv Ratna Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was the sixth Prime Minister of India (1984–1989). He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.

Rajiv Gandhi was the eldest son of Indira and Feroze Gandhi.After dropping out of university, he became a professional pilot for Indian Airlines. He remained aloof from politics, despite his family's political prominence. Following the death of his younger brother Sanjay Gandhi in 1980 Rajiv entered politics. Following the assassination of his mother in 1984 after Operation Blue Star, the Indian National Congress party leaders nominated him to be Prime Minister.

Rajiv Gandhi led the Congress to a major election victory in 1984 soon after, amassing the largest majority ever seen in the Indian Parliament, the Congress party winning 411 seats out of 542. He began dismantling the License Raj – government quotas, tariffs and permit regulations on economic activity – modernised the telecommunications industry, the education system, expanded science and technology initiatives and improved relations with the United States.

While campaigning for the elections in 1991, he was assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Rajiv Gandhi was posthumously awarded the Highest National Award of India, Bharat Ratna (1991).

Click here to know more about Rajiv Gandhi.

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Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference 

Year: 1991
Metal: Copper-nickel
Weight: 6 gm
Diameter: 26 mm
Thickness: 1.5 mm

Obverse features Ashoka Lion capital and the denomination below it.
Reverse features Parliament Building.

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, previously known as the 'Empire Parliamentary Association' is an organisation of British origin which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights. It was founded in 1911.The Association promotes the advancement of parliamentary democracy by enhancing knowledge and understanding of democratic governance.

Global political issues and developments in the parliamentary system are analyzed in conference debates among leading Parliamentarians representing Parliaments and Legislatures throughout the Commonwealth. These plenary conferences were biennial from 1948 to 1959 and annual since 1961. A summary of the main views expressed in conference debates is sent to Members, Commonwealth governments and international agencies.

The 36th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference was held in New Delhi from 23rd to 28th September, 1991. To commemorate this event, India issued a 1 rupee commemorative coin on 21st September, 1991. The other coins issued in this theme, in the denomination of 5 rupees and 10 rupees, were only issued as proof and uncirculated specimens.

Click here to know more about CPA.

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Tourism Year 

Year: 1991
Metal: Copper-nickel
Weight: 6 gm
Diameter: 26 mm

Obverse features Ashoka Lion capital and the denomination below it.
Reverse features Stylized peacock the 'Monogram' of tourism year.

UNC set cover

To boost the tourism in India, the year “1991” was celebrated as “TOURISM YEAR” – the year to be devoted for the development of tourism in the country. In the same year 'World Tourism Day' was also celeberated. 

To commemorate this, Govt. of India issued a 1 Rs. coin on 25 December 1991 for general circulation. The other 2 coins issued in this theme were of 2 Rupees and 5 Rupees issued only as proof and uncirculated specimens.

The current theme to promote Indian tourism is 'Incredible India' is very popular in India.

Click here to know more about tourism in India.

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Quit India Movement (Golden Jubilee) 

Year: 1992
Metal: Copper-nickel
Weight: 6.1 gm
Diameter: 26 mm

Commemorative issue: 50th Anniversary of Quit India Movement - British Forces Withdrawal.

Obverse features Ashoka Lion capital and the denomination below it.
Reverse features Quit India Monument (Martyrs Memorial, Patna).

The Quit India Movement or the August Movement (August Kranti) was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence. The All-India Congress Committee proclaimed a mass protest demanding what Gandhi called "an orderly British withdrawal" from India. The British refused to grant immediate independence, saying it could happen only after the war ended. The Quit India campaign was effectively crushed. However the British government realized that India was ungovernable in the long run.

Martyrs Memorial, Patna

Martyrs memorial is a life size stone statue of the seven brave students or martyrs, who sacrificed their lives in order to hoist the national flag on the (now) Secretariat building and give impulse to the Quit India Movement in 1942.

The 50th Anniversary of “Quit India Movement “ was observed all over the country throughout the year 1992. A 1 rupee commemorative coin was issued for general circulation on 12th July 1993 to mark the completion of the Anniversary Year. The other3 coins issued in this theme are of 10 rupees, 50 rupees and 100 rupees which were only issued as proof and uncirculated specimens.

Click here to know more about Quit India Movement.

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Food And Nutrition: World Food Day 

Year: 1992
Metal: Copper-nickel
Weight: 6.4 gm
Diameter: 26.2 mm

Commemorative issue: FAO - World Food Day 1992

Obverse features Ashoka Lion Capitol and denomination below it.
Reverse features a sheaf of paddy, a fish, a glass of milk, fruits and vegetables.

To acknowledge the fundamental right of each individual to living conditions in keeping with human dignity and to expresses deep esteem for all those in different parts of the world who are working to set mankind free from the scourge of hunger, 12th World Food Day was observed on 16th October 1992. This time the theme was 'Nutrition'. It evoked the reality of increasingly impoverished portion of humanity suffering from hunger and malnutrition in a world and emphasized on the need to put an end to this persistent plague.

To commemorate this event, India issued a 1 rupee commemorative coin on 16th October,1992 with a theme 'Food and Nutrition'.

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89th Inter Parliamentary Union Conference 

Year: 1993
Metal: Copper-nickel
Diameter: 26 mm

Obverse features Ashoka Lion Capitol and denomination below it.

Reverse features a logo of the IPU having Small building and date within wreath below Parliament House in New Delhi.

The IPU is the international organization of Parliaments established in 1889.The Union is the focal point for world-wide parliamentary dialogue and works for peace and co-operation among peoples and for the firm establishment of representative democracy.

 

The IPU year revolves around the biannual assemblies. These are large conferences that bring together hundreds of MPs to discuss the most salient issues on the international agenda. The members express the parliamentary view on the question of  the day in the form of resolutions. 

India and IPU: India joined the Inter-Parliamentary Union in the year 1949. Since then, India has been an active member of the Union and has participated in all its meetings/events. Indian Parliamentary Delegations representing the different political parties have been attending the IPU Conferences.

So far, India has had the privilege of playing host to the following International Conferences under the auspices of IPU:
 

1.    57th IPU Conference in New Delhi in October-November, 1969
2.    89th IPU Conference in New Delhi in  April, 1993
3.    Specialised IPU Conference on “Towards partnership between men and women in politics” in February, 1997.

Click here to know more about India and IPU.

Click here to know more about IPU.

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International Year of The Family 

Year: 1994
Metal: Ferritic Stainless Steel
Weight: 4.9 gm
Diameter: 26.0 mm

Obverse features Ashoka Lion Capitol and denomination below it.
Reverse features a stylized circular design of a close knit family, consisting of a child with his parents and grand parents.

India issued 1 rupee coin on 27th December 1994 to highlight the increased awareness of family issues in a society. This coin is the first 1 rupee commemorative coin issued in FSS metal.

The International Year of the Family, 1994, was proclaimed by the United Nations.The theme of the Year was "Family: resources and responsibilities in a changing world". Its motto: "Building the Smallest Democracy at the Heart of Society".

Principles underlining the IYF Proclamation:The family constitutes the basic unit of society and therefore warrants special attention. Hence, the widest possible protection and assistance should be accorded to families so that they may fully assume their responsibilities within the community.

The International Year of the Family encompassed and addressed the needs of all families.Its Policies were aimed at fostering equality between women and men within families, to bring about a fuller sharing of domestic responsibilities and employment opportunities.

Click here to know more about IYF.

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8th World Tamil Conference 

Year: 1995
Metal: Ferritic  Stainless Steel (FSS)
Weight: 5 gm
Diameter: 25 mm 

Obverse features Ashoka Lion Capitol and denomination below it.
Reverse features Saint Thiruvalluvar.

The World Tamil Conference is a series of occasional conferences to discuss the social growth of the Tamil language. Each conference is attended by thousands of Tamil enthusiasts around the world. Conferences are hosted in various cities in India like Chennai,Madurai, Thanjavur as well as world cities like Kuala Lumpur, Jffna, Paris, Port Louis etc. with a significant Tamil population. The conference aims in promoting the rich heritage of Tamil language, though many see it also as a political rallying point for electoral fortunes by the ruling dispensation in TN.

Saint Thiruvalluvar Statue in Kanyakumari

Thiruvalluvar was a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher whose contribution to Tamil literature is the Thirukkural, a work on ethics. Thiruvalluvar is thought to have lived sometime between the 2nd century BC and the 8th century AD.

To commemorate the 8th World Tamil Conference held at Thanjuvar (Tamil Nadu) from 1st to 5th January 1995, India issued a 1 Rs. commemorative coin in FSS. The other coins issued for general circulation were in the denomination of 2 Rs. and 5 Rs.

Click here to know more about Saint Thiruvalluvar.

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Cellular Jail (Port Blair)

Year: 1997
Metal: Ferritic Stainless Steel
Weight: 4.88 gm
Diameter: 25 mm
Thickness: 1.52 mm

Obverse features Ashoka Lion Capitol and denomination below it.
Reverse features Cellular jail building in Port Blair, Andaman.

The Cellular Jail, also known as Kala Paani (Black Water), was a colonial prison situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The prison was used by the British especially to exile political prisoners to the remote archipelago. Many notable dissidents such as Veer Savarkar and Batukeshwar Dutt , among others, were imprisoned here during the struggle for India's independence. Today, the complex serves as a national memorial monument.

Cellular Jail

Spread as seven spokes of a bicycle wheel, this unique three-storied structure was the first of its kind in India. 663 cells in the jail were specially built for solitary confinement of the prisoners. In the center of the seven wings of the Cellular Jail was built the Central tower. Each cell wing was sealed off by an iron grill door. Thus a single guard on duty could supervise all the seven wings from his vantage position. Another unique feature of the jail was the total absence of communication between prisoners in the different wings since the front of one row of cells faced the back of the wings in front.

Veer Savarkar - One of the famous prisoners of cellular jail

Click here to know more about Cellular Jail.
Click here or here to know more about Veer Savarkar.

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Saint Dnyaneshwar 

Year: 1999
Metal: Ferritic Stainless Steel
Weight: 4.9 gm
Diameter: 25.1 mm

Obverse features Ashoka Lion Capitol and denomination below it.
Reverse features Saint Dnyaneshwar.

Dnyaneshwar Mauli

Sant Dnyaneshwar (1275–1296) also known as Dnyanadeva was a 13th century Maharashtrian Hindu saint, poet, philosopher and yogi of the Nath tradition whose works Bhavartha Deepika (a commentary on Bhagavad Gita, popularly known as "Dnyaneshwari"), and Amrutanubhav are considered to be milestones in Marathi literature. There are large number of followers of Saint Dnyaneshwar in Maharashtra even after more than 700 years.

Click here to know more about Saint Dnyaneshwar.

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