Aug 1, 2007-2007
India
Zero Rupee Notes
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ACTIVISTS/ACT.GROUPS/DESCRIPTION OF THE GROUP
5th Pillar Anti-Corruption Movement (NGO)
TARGET
Government officials
WIDELY HELD BELIEF
It is unethical for govt. officials to accept bribe to get work down.
CASE NARRATIVE
Issue and Opposition: India has a culture of bribery. Almost no work in public offices can be done without paying government officials. This action was planned to send a message to the Chennai government officials.
Dilemma Action: The Anti-Corruption movement, 5th Pillar, distributed “Zero Rupee” paper currencies to Chennai residents to give to civil servants when they asked for bribes. The Zero Rupee bill looks identical to a 50 Rupee note with two differences: A. it is marked with a zero (0) instead of the number 50 and B. a logo for the 5th Pillar appeared in the corner of the paper currency. The message was that the public was so tired of paying extra money to Chennai government officials that they were ready to hand over only Zero Rupee notes. The Zero Rupee signified a strong refusal of the bribe request. There is no evidence to support that this dilemma action was a part of any larger campaign.
Outcome: There was no impact of this action. Bribery continued although it aroused public sympathy.
PRIMARY STRUGGLE/GOAL
NONVIOLENT TACTICS USED
DA TACTICS USED
Delivering symbolic objects
CASE NARRATIVE WRITER
SUCCESS METRICS
8 / 12
(MC) Media Coverage
(MSYMP) Media coverage was sympathetic to the activists
(OR) Opponent response
(PS) Dilemma action built sympathy with the public
(PUN) Punishment favored the activists
(REFR) Dilemma action reframed the narrative of the opponent
(RF) Dilemma action reduced fear and/or apathy among the activists
(SA) Dilemma action appealed to a broad segment of the public
PART OF A LARGER CAMPAIGN
0 / 3
RESOURCES
Project documentation
Dilemma Actions Coding Guidebook
Case study documentation
Dilemma_Actions_Analysis_Dataset
SOURCES
New Tactics in Human Rights. “Using fake money to protest prevalence of bribery in public service sectors,” Retrieved July 22, 2023. (https://www.newtactics.org/tactic/using-fake-money-protest-prevalence-bribery-public-service-sectors).
https://5thpillar.org/programs/zero-rupee-note/. Accessed April 15, 2022.
Sharma, Reema. 2021. “Have you ever seen India’s zero rupee note? Know when and why it was printed, fascinating details about it,” Zee News India. Retrieved July 22, 2023. (https://zeenews.india.com/personal-finance/have-you-ever-seen-indias-zero-rupee-note-know-when-and-why-it-was-printed-fascinating-details-about-it-2422223.html).
Ranjan, Rohit. 2021. “India Has Zero Rupee Note To Fight Against Corruption, Know All About It,” Republic World. Retrieved July 22, 2023. (https://www.republicworld.com/india-news/general-news/india-has-zero-rupee-note-to-fight-against-corruption-know-all-about-it.html).
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