UNITED KINGDOM, February 15, 2017 (Independent): Members of the British Hindu community expressed deep disappointment on Wednesday after the Bank of England confirmed it will keep its five pound note with traces of animal fat in circulation. Last year, a number of Hindu temples banned the new five pound note after it emerged they contain the tallow.
Satish Sharma, the general secretary of the National Council of Hindu Temples, on Wednesday told the Independent that the Bank “completely ignored” the community’s concerns despite an encouraging meeting with the chief cashier of the Bank of England. Mr. Sharma said that members of his community will now be hit with a “crisis of conscious” as they will have to choose between taking a “financial hit” from not using the notes or going against their moral and religious beliefs. He said that the organization will now be seeking legal advice over the Bank’s decision.
Since the banknotes were introduced into circulation in September last year, more than 120,000 people have signed a petition calling for the tallow to be removed. But the Bank refused to yield to pressure from protest groups and on Wednesday said it will not pull any of the existing five pound notes from circulation and will print the ten pound notes as planned on the same paper.