A NEW commemorative coin in memory of Abdus Sattar Edhi is a fitting tribute to a man who spent his life in the service of the most disadvantaged amongst us. The coin will be issued in limited quantity only, with a denomination of Rs50. There is no monetary value one can attach to the services rendered by this saintly man however, and one can only hope that, after doing this, the government might want to honour his memory by drawing inspiration from his example as well. After all, in the course of piling honours upon him and his memory, it is easy to forget that in providing essential services to the poor he filled a space that the state had abandoned. Our previous commemorative coins have been in remembrance of people who have left a political legacy — the Quaid-i-Azam, Allama Iqbal and Benazir Bhutto — or to mark milestones such as the country’s 50th anniversary. This is the first time that a coin has been minted in memory of a non-political figure who embodied the most basic values that we should all aspire to live by.

Most commemorative coins have limited circulation, eventually becoming collectors’ items since they are cast in small quantities. It is hoped the same will happen in this instance too. Edhi’s memory does not deserve to be turned into a medium of exchange in retail transactions, tossed from hand to hand with casual disregard. More specifically, if the coin is of a large denomination; large denomination coins and currency notes need to be strongly discouraged because they facilitate a cash economy. Hopefully the State Bank will issue the coin only once, in a tribute to the ambiguous blend of the ephemeral and the eternal that the lives of great human beings represent. Edhi deserves to be remembered for his deeds, and honoured with emulation. Hopefully the federal cabinet, that approved issuing this coin, will also reflect on how it can live up to the standards set by him.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2017