TheGulf rupee(Arabic:روبية خليجية) was the officialcurrencyused in the British protectorates of theArabian Peninsulathat are around thePersian Gulfbetween 1959 and 1966 (1970 Oman). These areas today form the countries ofKuwait,Bahrain,Qatar,Oman,and theUnited Arab Emirates.It was issued by theGovernment of Indiaand theReserve Bank of Indiaand was equivalent to theIndian rupee.
| روبية خليجية(Arabic) | |
|---|---|
 One Gulf rupee, similar to the regular One Indian rupee note issued in India, but printed in red and containing a "Z" letter prefix in the serial number. | |
| Denominations | |
| Banknotes | 1, 5, 10, 100 Gulf rupees |
| Demographics | |
| Replaced | Indian rupee( British Raj)(Replaced theIndian rupeeusage in theGulf) |
| Replaced by | Kuwaiti dinar( Kuwait)Bahraini dinar(  Bahrain)Bahraini dinar(  UAE;only Abu Dhabi)Qatari and Dubai riyal(  Qatar)Qatari and Dubai riyal( United Arab Emirates;only DubaiSaudi riyal( UAE;exceptAbu Dhabi)Omani rial(  Oman) |
| User(s) |  Bahrain(Until 1965) Kuwait(Until 1961) Muscat and Oman Qatar Trucial States |
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | Reserve Bank of India |
| Valuation | |
| Pegged with | Indian rupee |
| This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. | |
History
editTo the middle of the 20th century, the Indian rupee was also used as the official currency in the emirates on the eastern Arabian Peninsula, namelyKuwait,Bahrain,Qatar,theTrucial States,andOman.That meant, in effect, that the Indian rupee was the common currency in those territories as well as in India. The Indian rupee was pegged to theBritish poundat a rate of 131⁄3Indian rupees = 1 pound.
TheGovernment of Indiahad complained of gold traffickers in the Gulf region whose base of operations was constantly being broadened, especially in Kuwait, Bahrain and Dubai. Smugglers used to take gold to the Indian sub-continent and return with Indian rupees which were valid for circulation in the region and were exchanged for more valuable foreign currencies to be used by the smugglers to buy more gold. Towards the end of the 1950s, the volume of gold trafficking had become so large that it inevitably precipitated a serious depletion in the foreign cash reserves at the Indian Reserve Bank and was causing economic damage arising directly from the smuggling operations.[1]
As a result of the strain on India's foreign reserves, in 1959 theIndian governmentcreated the Gulf rupee, initially at par with the Indian rupee. It was introduced as a replacement for the Indian rupee for circulation exclusively outside the country.[2]Effectively, the common currency area now did not include India.
On 6 June 1966, India devalued the Gulf rupee against the Indian rupee. Following the devaluation, several of the states still using the Gulf rupee adopted their own currencies.Kuwaithad adopted theKuwaiti dinarin 1961, pegged to the Indian rupee, which was still pegged to the pound sterling.Bahraincreated theBahraini dinarin 1965, at the rate of 1 dinar = 10 rupees.Qatarand most of theTrucial States(after 1971, United Arab Emirates) adopted theQatar and Dubai riyal,which was equal to the Gulf rupee prior to its devaluation, effectively the Indian rupee value.Abu Dhabiused the Bahraini dinar until 1973.Omancontinued to use the Gulf rupee until 1970, with the government backing the currency at its old peg to the pound, when it adopted theOmani rial.
Banknotes
editNotes were issued in denominations of ₹1 by the Indian government and ₹5, ₹10 and ₹100 by the Reserve Bank of India. The notes were in designs very similar to the standard Indian notes but were printed in different colours. While the ₹1 and ₹10 notes were printed in red, the ₹5 notes were printed in orange and the ₹100 notes were printed in green. The serial numbers of the banknotes issued in all denominations were prefixed by aZ.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Taryam, Abdulla Omran (2019).The Establishment of the United Arab Emirates 1950–1985.Routledge. pp. 59–60.
- ^Reserve Bank of India(Amendment) Act, 1 May 1959
External links
edit
| Preceded by: Indian rupee Reason:creation of new currency for use outside ofIndia Ratio:at par |
Currency ofKuwait 1959 – 1961 |
Succeeded by: Kuwaiti dinar Ratio:1 dinar =13+1⁄3rupees = 1pound sterling |
| Currency ofBahrain 1959 – 1965 |
Succeeded by: Bahraini dinar Ratio:1 dinar = 10 rupees =3⁄4pound sterling= 15shillingssterling | |
| Currency ofQatar 1959 – 1966 |
Succeeded by: Saudi riyal Location:QatarandTrucial StatesexceptAbu Dhabi Reason:devaluation of the Gulf rupee before delivery of replacement Ratio:1 riyal = 1.065 rupee | |
| Currency ofTrucial States 1959 – 1966 | ||
| Succeeded by: Bahraini dinar Location:Abu Dhabi Reason:devaluation of the Gulf rupee before delivery of replacement Ratio:1 dinar = 10 rupees =3⁄4pound sterling= 15shillingssterling | ||
| Currency ofMuscat and Oman 1959 – 1970 Concurrent with:Maria Theresa thaler,Bahraini dinar,Kuwaiti dinar,Dhofar baiza,Muscat baiza,andOman baiza Note:the Gulf rupee circulated primarily near the coast (Muscat) |
Succeeded by: Omani rial Ratio:1 rial = 131⁄3rupees = 1pound sterling |