Obverse. Photo © Numista
  • 5 Rupees 2004, KM# 329, India, Republic, 100th Anniversary of Birth of Lal Bahadur Shastri
  • 5 Rupees 2004, KM# 329, India, Republic, 100th Anniversary of Birth of Lal Bahadur Shastri
  • 5 Rupees 2004, KM# 329, India, Republic, 100th Anniversary of Birth of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Edge
Obverse

Depicts the State Emblem of India with Satyameva Jayate below surrounded by the country name and value.

The State Emblem of India is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath, preserved in the Sarnath Museum near Varanasi, India. A representation of Lion Capital of Ashoka was officially adopted on 26 January 1950, the day that India became a republic.

The actual Sarnath capital features four Asiatic lions standing back to back, symbolizing power, courage, confidence and pride, mounted on a circular base. At the bottom is a horse and a bull, and at its centre is a wheel (Dharma Chakra). The abacus is girded with a frieze of sculptures in high relief of The Lion of the North, The Horse of the West, The Bull of the South and The Elephant of the East, separated by intervening wheels, over a lotus in full bloom, exemplifying the fountainhead of life and creative inspiration.

"Satyameva Jayate" (Sanskrit: सत्यमेव जयते satyam-eva jayate; lit. "Truth alone triumphs.") is a part of a mantra from the ancient Indian scripture Mundaka Upanishad. Following the independence of India, it was adopted as the national motto. It is inscribed in script at the base of the Lion Capital of Ashoka and forms an integral part of the national emblem. The emblem and the words "Satyameva Jayate" are inscribed on one side of all Indian currency.

भारत INDIA
सत्यमेव जयते
रूपये 5 RUPEES

Reverse

Bust of Lal Bahadur Shastri 3/4 left.

Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904–1966) was the Prime Minister of the Republic of India and a leader of the Indian National Congress party. Shastri joined the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. Deeply impressed and influenced by Mahatma Gandhi (with whom he shared his birthday), he became a loyal follower, first of Gandhi, and then of Jawaharlal Nehru. Following independence in 1947, he joined the latter's government and became one of Prime Minister Nehru's principal, first as Railways Minister (1951–56), and then in a variety of other functions, including Home Minister. He led the country during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965. His slogan of "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" ("Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer") became very popular during the war and is remembered even today. The war formally ended with the Tashkent Agreement of 10 January 1966; he died the following day, still in Tashkent, the cause of death was said to be a heart attack but there are various reasons to think that it was a planned murder by the CIA.

लालबहादुर शास्त्री जन्मशती
LALBAHADUR SHASTRI BIRTH CENTENARY
1904 - 2004

Edge
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Cupronickel
Weight 9 g
Diameter 23 mm
Thickness -
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Calcutta Mint (no mintmark)

Related coins

Magnetic

100th Anniversary of Birth of Lal Bahadur Shastri

Stainless Steel, 6 g, ⌀ 23 mm