Ahmedabad: On the day the price of gold surged to a record high of nine-month highs of Rs 51,000 per 10 grams on Saturday, it might be difficult to imagine that after the price of gold is the same as silver! This dream scenario applies in the Vedic and post-Vedi period (around 3,500 to 4,000 years ago) as documented by the scriptures.
When Alexander’s troops returned home from the western border of India Circa at the 4th century BC, the ratio was 2 silver to 1 gold.
The seven centuries later, it increased to 6 silver to 1 gold and today approximately 80 silver to 1 gold.
While the price of gold fell from RS 58,000 per 10 grams in August 2020 to a little below the 50,000 RS in front of Diwali 2021, over the past few days the price of gold witnessed a stable increase due to a surge in demand and international US dollar strength against Indian rupees, experts said.
In his latest paper titled ‘Gold is old: Metal Noble in the Indian economy through Ages’ Prof.
Satish Deodhar Economices teaches at IIM-Ahmedabad tracking history and obsession with precious metals on IT in India.
“Written accounts show that many gold during the Vedic era and people will even get alluvial placer dust from rivers such as Sindhu, Saraswati, Guava and Ganga.
For a very long time, non-corrosive and soft metal properties make it a favorite medium of trading And exchanges, “said Satish Deodhar, an economic professor at IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A).
“But even when Indian gold reserves are drained, our obsession with yellow metal refuses to subside.
Today we buy gold as a value store rather than using it as an exchange media.” Prof.
Deodhar has explored several interesting nuggets from the past.
“We have found more than 40 gold names found in Sanskrit literature, mostly as adjectives.
In the literature of Vedas and post-vedi like Brahmana, we found that the golden buttons were not marked (HIRAMA PINDA) and the Bullion marked named Nishka, Satamana , Suvarna and Krishnala as a currency, “he said.
In fact, the radiation yellow hue of the metal even arouses the concept of HIRAnya-garbha (golden eggs, uterus or seeds) as the starting point (Big Bang) of the universe in the concept of Hindu creation.
The connection between gold and Dewi Lakshmi is also as old as Vedas.
Shri Sukta Hymn in Rig-Vedic described it as a person who glowed with Golden Hue wearing a golden bouquet.
Until now the earliest excavation of gold coins with the image of Dewi Lakshmi belonged to the Gupta Dynasty in the 4th century CE.
But Prof.
Deodhar refers to a bigger problem.
“For thousands of years, Indian households have collected amazing stocks around 24,245 tons of gold.
Because India does not produce gold, about 9% of our annual import value consists of this precious metal.
We have to design a way to channel IDLE gold stocks through The gold monetization scheme (GMS) initiated by the Indian government, “he said.
“Today’s households don’t get interest in the gold they have.
In fact, they pay a fee to store it in the bank locker.
Instead, GMS gold deposits can be used efficiently to recycle idle gold stocks, financing gold inventory jewelry, and reducing imports.
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