Is GCWP a borderless Hindu country? Is RAAM currency accepted in US and Europe?

YouTurn Editorial

April 19, 2023

Claim

GCWP is a borderless Hindu Country located in Iowa, USA. The currency of the country is RAAM with pictures of Prabhu Ram and 1Raam = 10 USD. The currency is accepted in US and Europe.

Rating: Misleading 

Explanation

Visuals of currency with Lord Ram’s image are shared widely on social media with the claim that RAAM is the currency of GCWP, a borderless Hindu Country located in Iowa, USA, and 1Raam = 10 USD. The posts further claim that the currency is accepted in US and Europe. The viral video also mentions the same. 

What is the truth?

When searching for GCWP, we found the website ‘globalcountry.org’ mentioning itself as a consortium of educational organizations in more than 100 countries working to create peace, progress and prosperity in the world. The organization is said to be founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and is being led by Dr. Tony Nader.

The website further mentions itself as a “nation without borders”. It is also mentioned as “Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa, USA: the city by-laws state that every building has to be designed and constructed according to Maharishi Sthapatya Veda.” When we checked for location, it is mentioned that the International Headquarters of the Global Country of World Peace is in the Netherlands.

When searching for Maharishi Vedic City, we found that it is set on 3.5 square miles of rural land with the city boundaries marked on the ‘maharishi vedic city’ website.

The viral currency with the image of Lord Ram in denominations 1, 5 and 10 is found under the ‘Finance and Planning’ section of the ‘globalcountry’ website mentioning it as Global Development Currency. The RAAM is said to be utilized to develop unused fertile agricultural land for the profitable export of organic food. The website further mentions that the currency was issued by Maharishi Global Financing, The Netherlands. The RAAM currency is said to be a farmer’s currency for agricultural development projects.

We found India Today and BBC articles reporting that the Dutch Central Bank allows the currency RAAM within a closed-off circuit of users as long as the notes are not used as legal tender. The Raam notes are accepted in 100 Dutch shops in 30 villages and cities at a fixed rate of 10 euros per raam. Another India Today article mentions that a Raam is equivalent to 10 dollars in the Vedic city of Lowa, USA and in 35 American states.

Conclusion

It is found that the claim is misleading due to the below reasons.

GCWP is not a country but a city in Iowa, USA.

The Raam currency-bearing deity Ram is released in the denominations 1, 5 and 10.

One Raam is equivalent to 10 dollars in the city limits and is equivalent to 10 Euros in Dutch shops in 30 villages and cities.

The currency is not used all over the US and Europe but in 30 Dutch villages and cities and 30 American states.

The currency is not to be used as legal tender.

https://en.youturn.in/factcheck/gcwp-raam-currency.html

Danielle Rossingh 

BBC News Online business reporter

February 5, 2003

A new "currency" issued by a group founded by Beatles guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi may be used and has not violated Dutch law, the Dutch central bank has said.

The Global Country of World Peace, set up by the Indian mystic, issued the brightly coloured notes of one, five and 10 "raam" last October.

Since then, more than 100 Dutch shops, some of them part of big department store chains, in 30 villages and cities have accepted the notes.

A spokesman for the Dutch Central Bank told BBC News Online the bank was keeping a close eye on the raam, although he added that the Maharishi movement had done everything according to the law.

"The raam can be used as long as the notes are not used as legal tender and it stays within a closed-off circuit of users," he said.

A bit on the virtual currency

Hindu Businessline, Investment World
September 07, 2013

The first time I heard of a currency issued by an institution, apart from the Government or the Central Bank of a nation, was way back in 2002. A relative, devotee of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, told us about “Raam”. Raam is a currency in circulation in Holland and parts of United States, issued by the Stichting Maharishi Global Financing Research (SMDFR), a charitable foundation based in Holland. Two questions came to my mind: First, who guarantees the payment to the bearer? Second, if many more institutions start to issue currencies, wouldn't it lead to a lot of chaos?

Similar, and more, questions were raised in our minds when we heard of Bitcoin for the first time.