GCWP Fact Checked: The Reality of the Hindu Country with Its Own Raam Currency.

A short video claiming that there is a borderless Hindu country called Global Country of World Peace (GCWP) with its own currency Raam (where 1 Raam = 10 USD/10 Euros) is going viral on social media platforms.

However, when we investigated GCWP, we found that it is not a real country and its currency is also not real. Here is the truth about GCWP.

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The above video claims that the Global Country of World is a borderless Hindu country located in Iowa, U.S.A. It further says, “The current leader of this country is Tony Nader, a distinguished Neuroscientist and Researcher. The GCWP has even issued their own currency Raam. This currency contains the image of Lord Ram and is accepted in the U.S. and Europe. One Raam is equivalent to 10 USD in the U.S. and 10 Euros in countries like Netherlands.” The video also claims that the members of the country include scientists who work at CERN and renowned Quantum Physicists. In this fact check, we will check whether GCWP is actually a country and whether the currency Raam is actually a currency.

Fact Check

Before examining the claims of the GCWP being a country and Raam being its official currency, let us understand what a country is and what a currency is.

What is a country?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a country as "a nation with its own government, occupying a particular territory." The United Nations, an international organization that includes almost all recognized sovereign states as members, defines a country as "a politically organized territory with a permanent population, a defined territory, and a government." Similarly, the World Bank defines a country as "a political entity that exercises sovereignty over a defined territory."

Therefore, from all these definitions, it is clear that in order for any group of individuals can declare a territory their country if they meet the following conditions:

1. They should have a territory or a Geographical area with well-defined physical borders.
2. They should have their own government.
3. They should have a fixed population.
4. Lastly, other countries should recognize them.

For any country to be recognized as a sovereign state, it should have its own independent foreign policy to communicate with other countries.

The website of GCWP says The Global Country of World Peace is a “nation without borders” promoting unity consciousness and the reduction of the narrow nationalism that divides humanity from humanity. It is a home for peace-loving people everywhere.

Thus, it does not have a clearly defined Geographical area neither it has a fixed population. They also do not have recognition from any other country. Hence, it cannot be considered a country or a sovereign state.

Even their website states that they are a ‘consortium of educational organizations in more than 100 countries’.

Is Raam a Currency?

As per Investopedia, the term currency refers to the tangible form of money that is paper bills and coins. It is used as a medium of exchange that is accepted at face value for products and services as well as for savings and the payment of debt.

Currency is a measure of money that can be exchanged for goods and services. There are different types of money such as Commodity money, Fiat Money, Representative Money, etc. A commodity such as Gold backs commodity money. Until 1970, the U.S. used the gold standard. This means the person carrying U.S. dollars could exchange dollars for gold at a rate set by the government. However, most of the currencies in the world are now Fiat money.

The value of fiat money is derived from the relationship between supply and demand and the stability of the issuing government, rather than the worth of a commodity backing it.

The currency Raam issued by the GCWP is just a Bearer bond, a fixed-income security that is owned by the holder, or bearer, rather than by a registered owner. Bearer bonds cannot be traded like other currencies and they have a maturity date and coupon interest rate. Thus, it cannot be called a currency as you can only redeem it from the Banks that have issued them.

In a 2003 report, a spokesperson for Dutch Central Bank told BBC, "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." The article states that 100 shops in the Netherlands agreed to accept Raam. The shopkeepers were required to exchange these Raam notes at the Fortis Bank Branch in Roermond.

Thus, Raam is used within a closed circuit of users. It also pays an annual interest of 0.6% to the bearer. The maturity of these bonds is said to be perpetual, that is, there is no maturity date. These fulfil the criteria of a Bearer bond, which is a user who possesses the bond becomes its owner, can redeem it only from the bank that issued it and will also get a coupon interest rate.

Conclusion

The GCWP cannot be called a country or a sovereign state, as it does not have a well-defined territory, fixed population and international recognition. The Raam is basically a bearer bond and not a currency like the US Dollar, Euro or the Indian Rupee. Hence, the claims made in the viral video are misleading.