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Postage Stamps and Postal History of India PDF
Postage Stamps and Postal History of India PDF
The first stamp of independent India shows the new Indian Flag. It was meant for foreign [1][2] correspondence.
Although the Indian Post Office was established in 1837, Asia's first adhesive stamp, the Scinde Dawk, was introduced in 1852 by Sir Bartle Frere, the British East India Company's administrator of the province of Sind. The Indian postal system developed into an extensive, dependable and robust network providing connectivity to almost all parts of India, Burma, the Straits Settlements and other areas controlled by the British East India Company (EIC). Based on the model postal system introduced in England by the reformer, Rowland Hill, efficient postal services were provided at a low cost and enabled the smooth commercial, military and administrative functioning of the EIC and its successor, the British Raj. The Imperial Posts co-existed with the several postal systems maintained by various Indian states, some of which produced The second stamp depicts the stamps for use within their respective dominions, while British Aokan lions capital, the Indian postage stamps were required for sending mail beyond the National Emblem of India, and was for domestic use. boundaries of these states. Telegraphy and telephony made their appearance as part of the Posts before becoming separate departments. After the Independence of India in 1947, the Indian postal service continues to function on a countrywide basis and provides many valuable, low cost services to the public of India.
Postage stamps and postal history of India letters to [their] distant relatives through their friends or neighbors.[3] For centuries it was rare for messages to be carried by any means other than a relay of runners on foot. A runner ran from one village or relay post to the next, carrying the letters on a pole with a sharp point. His was a dangerous occupation: the relay of postal runners worked throughout the day and night, vulnerable to attacks by bandits and wild animals. These mail runners were used chiefly by the rulers, for purposes of gathering information and wartime news. They were subsequently used by merchants for trade purpose. It was much later that mail runners came to be in use for the carriage of private mail. The postal history of India primarily began with the overland routes, stretching from Persia to India. What began as mere foot-tracks that more than often included fords across the mountainous streams, gradually evolved over the centuries as highways, used by traders and military envoys on foot and horses, for carriage of missives. The Arab influence of the Caliphate came about with the conquest of Sind by Muhammad bin Qasim in 712 A.D. Thereupon, the Diwan-i-Barid or Department of Posts established official communication across the far-flung empire. The swiftness of the horse messengers finds mention in many of the chronicles of that period. The first Sultan of Delhi, Qutb-ud-din Aybak (Persian: ) was Sultan for only four years, 12061210, but he founded the Mamluk Dynasty and created a messenger post system. This was expanded into the dak chowkis, a horse and foot runner service, by Alauddin Khilji in 1296. Sher Shah Suri (15411545) replaced runners with horses for conveyance of messages along the northern high road, today known as the Grand Trunk Road, which he constructed between Bengal and Sindh over an ancient trade route at the base of the Himalayas, the Uttarapatha. He also built 1700 'serais' where two horses were always kept for the despatch of the Royal Mail[4] Akbar introduced camels in addition to the horses and runners. In the South of India, in 1672 Raja Chuk Deo of Mysore began an efficient postal service which was further improved upon by Haider Ali.
Postage stamps and postal history of India European destinations. The Suez Canal did not open until much later (17 November 1869). The time in transit for letters using the Overland Mail[9] route was dramatically reduced. Waghorn's route reduced the journey from 16,000 miles via the Cape of Good Hope to 6,000 miles; and reduced the time in transit from three months to between 35 and 45 days.
The East India Company already had attempted a 1/2 anna vermilion stamp in April 1854, known as the "9 arches essay". This could not be produced in quantity because it required an expensive vermilion pigment not readily available from England, and the substituted Indian pigment destroyed the printing stones. A new design for stamps, with Queen Victoria in an oval vignette inside a rectangular frame, was inscribed "EAST INDIA POSTAGE". These stamps were recess printed by De La Rue in England (who produced all the subsequent issues of British India until 1925).[15] The first of these became available in 1855. They continued in use well after the British government took over the administration of India in 1858, following the 1857 Rebellion against the East India Company's rule. From 1865 the Indian stamps were printed on paper watermarked with an elephant's head.
The De La Rue design for the Recess Printed issues: an 1856 color imprimatur, 2 annas "bottle green"
New regulations removed the special postal privileges which had been enjoyed by officials of the East India Company. Stamps for official use were prepared and carefully accounted for to combat the abuse of privileges by officials. In 1854 Spain had printed special stamps for official communications, but in 1866 India was the first country to adopt the simple expedient of overprinting 'Service' on postage stamps and 'Service Postage' on revenue stamps. This innovation became widely adopted by other countries in later years.[16][17] Shortages developed, so these stamps also had to be improvised. Some of the "Service Postage" overprinted rarities of this year resulted from the sudden changes in postal regulations. New designs for the 4 annas and "6 annas 8 pies" stamps were issued in 1866. Nevertheless, there was a shortage of stamps to meet the new rates. Provisional[19] six annas stamps were improvised by cutting the tops and bottoms from a current Foreign Bill revenue stamp, and overprinting "POSTAGE".
6 annas provisional, 1866 Bombay to London [18] by steamer, 29 days.
Another four new designs appeared, one at a time, between 1874 and 1876.
A complete new set of stamps was issued in 1882 for the Empire of India that had been proclaimed five years earlier, in 1877. The designs consisted of the usual Victoria profile, in a variety of frames, inscribed "INDIA POSTAGE". The watermark also changed to a star shape. These stamps were heavily used and are still quite common today. Three stamps, featuring a detail from Heinrich von Angeli's 1885 portrait of Queen Victoria,[20] in 2, 3 and 5 rupee denominations, were introduced in 1895. Other existing designs were reprinted in new colours in 1900.
Feudatory states (starting ending years) Alwar (18771899) Bamra (18881893) Faridkot (18791900) Hyderabad (18691949) Morvi (19311935) Nandgaon (18921893)
Faridkot (formerly feudatory; convention from 1887) Gwalior Jind (formerly feudatory; convention from 1885) Nabha Patiala
Poonch (18761884) Rajasthan (19491949) Rajpipla (1880) Sirmur (18791899) Soruth (18641937)
Bahawalpur (19471949)
Both Faridkot and Jind, as feudatory states, issued their own stamps before they joined the Postal Convention. Faridkot joined on 1 January 1887. Jind joined in July 1885; its stamps from the feudatory period became invalid for postage, but they continued to be used for revenue purposes.
Independent India
The First Stamp of Independent India was issued on 21 November 1947. It depicts the Indian Flag with the patriots' slogan, Jai Hind (Long Live India), on the top right hand corner. It was valued at three and one-half annas. A memorial to Mahatma Gandhi was issued 15 August 1948 on the first anniversary of Independence. Exactly one year later a definitive series appeared, depicting India's broad cultural heritage, mostly Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Sikh and Jain temples, sculptures, monuments and fortresses.[24] A subsequent issue commemorated the inauguration of the Republic of India on 26 January 1950. Definitives included a technology and development theme in 1955, a series all showing the map of India in 1957, denominated in naye paisa (decimal currency), and a series with a broad variety of images in 1965. The old inscription of "INDIA POSTAGE" was replaced in 1962 with " INDIA", though three stamps issued between December 1962/January 1963 carried the earlier inscription.[15] India has printed stamps and postal stationery for other countries, mostly neighbours. Countries which have had stamps printed in India include Burma (before independence), Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Portugal, and Ethiopia.
The Rs 10 stamp showing Mahatma Gandhi, released 15 August 1948
The Department of Posts, operating as India Post, is a government-operated postal system, simply referred to within India as "the post office". With its far-flung reach and its presence in remote areas, the Indian postal service provides many services such as small savings banking and financial services. As of 31 March 2011, the Indian Postal Service has 154,866 post offices, of which 139,040 (89.78%) are in rural areas and 15,826 (10.22%) are in urban areas. It has 25,464 departmental POs and 129,402 ED BPOs. At the time of independence, there were 23,344 post offices, which were primarily in urban areas. Thus, the network has registered a sevenfold growth since Independence, with the expansion primarily in rural areas. On an average, a post office serves an area of 21.23 sq;km and a population of 7,114 people.[25] India is believed to have the most widely distributed system in the world (China has 57,000, Russia 41,000 and the United States 38,000 offices).[26] This proliferation of offices results from India's history of having many disparate postal systems, eventually unified in the Indian Union after Independence. India has been divided into 22 postal circles, each circle headed by a Chief Postmaster General. Each Circle is further divided into Regions comprising field units, called Divisions, headed by a Postmaster General, and further divided into units headed by SSPOs & SPOs and Sub Divisions headed by ASPs and IPS. Other functional units like Circle Stamp Depots, Postal Stores Depots and Mail Motor Service exist in various Circles and Regions. Besides the 22 circles, there is a special Base Circle to provide the postal services for the Armed Forces of India. The Base Circle is headed by an Additional Director General, Army Postal Service holding the rank of a Major General. Gandhi, Nehru and other historic personalities continued to appear on the postal issues coming from the country since Independence, with almost half a century seeing the Gandhi definitives of denominations most frequently used in the era concerned, becoming synonymous with a postage stamp to the Indian people of that respective time period[citation needed]. New themes are now finding their place on Indian postage stamps, with some stamps issued
Satrunjaya, Jain temple complex near Palitana, 15 August 1949. Indian stamps reflect the country's old and rich cultural heritage.
Postage stamps and postal history of India jointly with postal agencies of other countries, renewable energy sources, the local flora and fauna and even the special annual issues wishing season's greetings. On 9 March 2011 India Post launched an online e-post office. The portal provides electronic money orders, instant money orders, stamps for collectors, postal information, tracking of express and international shipments, PIN code search and registration of feedback and complaints online.[27]
The National Philatelic Museum of India was inaugurated on 6 July 1968 in New Delhi. It had its beginning at a meeting of the Philatelic Advisory Committee on 18 September 1962. Besides the large collection of India Postage stamps designed, printed and issued, it has a large collection of Indian states, both confederate and feudatory, early essays, proofs and colour trials, a collection of Indian stamps "used abroad" and as well as early Indian postcards, postal stationery and thematic collections.[15] The museum was extensively renovated in 2009. It now includes more exhibits, a philatelic bureau and other postal objects such as beautiful Victorian post boxes.[29] An international philatelic exhibition was held from 1218 February 2011, on the centenary of India's first official air mail. For the occasion of INDIPEX 2011 India Post brought out a special stamp on Gandhi Ji to commemorate the event. It is printed on "khadi", the handspun cotton material that Gandhi Ji held out as the symbol of self-determination and self-reliance. The Presentation Pack was released by Pratibha Patil, the President of India on Saturday 12 February 2011 at INDIPEX 2011, the World Philatelic Exhibition held in New Delhi, the capital of India.[30]
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Sources Crofton, C.S.F. & Wilmot Corfield The Adhesive Fiscal and Telegraph Stamps of British India. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co., 1905. Crofton, C.S.F. & L.L.R. Hausburg & C. Stewart-Wilson. The Postage and Telegraph Stamps of British India. London: Stanley Gibbons for the Philatelic Society of India, 1907. Datta, Jayanta; Datta, Anjali; Datta, Jayoti & Datta, Ananya. (2008). Rare stamps of the world. Army Philatelic Society, Mumbai. Dawson, L. E. (1948) The One Anna and Two Annas Postage Stamps of India, 185455. Philatelic Society of India, H. Garratt-Adams & Co. and Stanley Gibbons, Ltd., London Haverbeck, H.D.S. (1985). "The Sind District Dawk," The Collectors Club Philatelist v. 44 no. 2 (March 1965) pp.7985. Lowe, Robson. Encyclopedia of British Empire Postage Stamps v.III (1951), pp.1316. "The Sind District Dawk," pp.149152. Martin, D. R. and Smythies, E. A.. (1930). The Four Annas Lithographed Stamps of India, 185455. Philatelic Society of India and Stanley Gibbons Ltd., London. Martin, Denys R. and Smythies, E. A. (1928). Half Anna Lithographed Stamps of India Mazumdar, Mohini Lal (1995) Early History and Growth of Postal System in India. Calcutta, RDDHI-India. ISBN 81-85292-07-8 [The postal history through 1858] Mazumdar, Mohini Lal (1990) The Imperial Post Offices of British India. Calcutta, Phila Publications. Saksena, Vishnu S. (1989) Notes for the Indian Stamp Collector. Army Postal Service Historic & Philatelic Society. Pratibha Printing Press, New Delhi. Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. The Stamp Atlas. London: Macdonald, 1986. ISBN 0-356-10862-7 Stanley Gibbons Ltd: various catalogues. Stewart-Wilson, Sir Charles. (1904). British Indian Adhesive Stamps (Queen's Head) Surcharged for Native States, rev. ed. with B.G. Jones.
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External links
Ashok K. Bayanwala, "Survey of Post Independence Indian Postal History" (http://modernindianphilately. blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html) Welcome to the World of Indian Philately (http://www.indianphilately.net) Stampsathi.in Complete listing of India stamps (http://www.stampsathi.in) Gallery of Indian Stamps (http://www.indiapicks.com/stamps/Gallery/H/G1947.htm) Gallery of Indian Postage Stamps (http://indianpostagestamps.com) Modern Indian States postage stamp forgeries: an illustrated checklist by David Heppell. (http://www. princelystates.com/CurrentIssue/ff-04-01a.shtml) Early India Cancellations, 18731884 : Jal Cooper Types 32 35 (http://www.surinder-singh.com/ cancellations-philately.php) Sikh Thematic Philately : Indian & Worldwide Stamps on Sikhs (http://www.singhsahib.com/sikh-stamps/)
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