We are all human, and we all make mistakes.
Our mistakes are usually forgotten after a period of time, but there are a few mistakes that time can never erase. Take, for example, the mistakes recorded on coins!
The incident occurred many years ago in the region of Kashmir, which was part of Afghanistan until 1811 and remained under its influence until 1819 when it was invaded by Indian Sikh forces. The governor of the region was appointed by the Maharaja of Punjab until 1845 when Punjab fell into the hands of the British.
The first Maharaja under the yoke of English occupation was Gulab Singh, who is not considered a strong ruler as he was unable to carry out any major reforms during his reign. As for his son, Ranbir Singh, who is the hero of our story today, his fame is due to the coins that were minted with a famous mistake in the history of numismatics.
The coins of “Ranbir Singh” were minted during his reign, which lasted from 1857 to 1875, and are considered unique among the coins of the Sikh Rajawats, as they all bear the foreign letters JHS, which in Latin means Jesus Hominum Salvator or “Jesus the Savior of Mankind.” It was strange that a religious Sikh leader would put such a phrase on his coins, especially if we knew that “Ranbir” was historically considered a ruler and social reformer who cared about Sikh culture, Islam, and Buddhism, but he did not care much about Christianity.
Our story – and the responsibility for this account rests with the narrator – states that the Rajah met Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence, the British High Commissioner, at the beginning of his term (and it was undoubtedly a cold meeting, as the Rajah had always dreamed of expelling the English from his land without delay). The Rajah asked the Sir, “What is the reason for the successive victories of the English in every battle they enter in various parts of the world?” So the Sir took a small piece of paper, wrote the letters JHS on it, and handed it to him.
It seems that the Raja did not want his host to know that he did not understand the meaning of the letters and thought that they were talismans or spells with a magical significance used by the English in particular. Sir Henry did not pronounce the letters but handed him the paper silently, so he issued orders that these letters be engraved on all his coins in the hope of obtaining power and authority similar to that enjoyed by the English!
Of course, we do not know if the story is entirely true or not, especially since the letters appear on all the coins of the man who continued to rule for 38 years. However, in any case, and apart from his strange coins, Ranbir was considered a decent ruler who carried out many reforms. He established a postal service in 1866, and the textile, silk and carpet industries spread, and the region’s economic situation flourished greatly during his reign.
Moheb Rizkalla
