524 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
TABLE XLII
| Col1 | DEPRECIATION OF | THE RUPEE | Col4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Price of Bar Gold in India (Bombay) per Tola of 180 grs. | Price of Silver in India (Bombay) per 100 Tolas | Index Number for Prices in India 1913=100 |
| 1914 ... 1915 ... 1916 ... 1917 ... 1918 August ... ” ... ” ... ” Sept. ... 1919 March ... | Rs. A. 24 10 24 14 27 2 27 11 (July) 34 0 30 0 32 4 32 0 | Rs. A. 65 11 61 2 78 10 94 10 (May 16) 117 2 (Nov. 28) 82 10 ... ... 113 0 | ... 112 125 142 178 ... ... ... 200 |
Thus, the rise in the price of silver was a part of the general rise of prices of the depreciation of the rupee. The Committee desired to raise the gold value of the rupee to 10 rupees per sovereign when it cost twice that number of rupees to purchase a sovereign in the market. So marked was the depreciation of the rupee in terms of gold that a few months before the Committee submitted its report the Statesman (a Calcutta paper) wrote:—
“If you land in the country with a sovereign the Government will take it away from you and give you eleven rupees three annas in return. If you are in the country and happen to have a sovereign and take it to the currency office you will get firfteen rupees for it. On the other hand, if you take it to the bazar you will find purchasers at twenty-one rupees.”
These facts were admitted by the Finance Department of the Government of India to be substantially correct,* and yet in the face of them the Committee recommended the 2s. gold parity for the rupee. The Committee confused the rupee with the silver, and thus failed to distinguish the problem of retaining the rupee in circulation and raising its exchange value in terms of gold. The latter solution was applicable only if the rupee had appreciated. But as it was silver that had appreciated in terms
- Cf. the reply of the Hon. Mr. Howard to the question of the Hon. Mr. Sinha on September 23, 1919. S.L.C.P., Vol. LVII, p. 417.