Postal History

The postal history of India is closely tied to India's complex political history.

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THE POSTAL MUSEUMCOLLECTIONSPOSTAL HISTORY OF INDIA

Postal History of India

The postal history of India is closely tied to India's complex political history. As the
Portuguese, Dutch, French, Danish and British colonialists gained power in India, their postal
systems existed alongside those of independent states.

Britain’s involvement in the postal services of India began in the eighteenth

century. Initially the service was administered by the East India Company
who established post offices in Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta (now
Kolkata) between 1764 and 1766.

Warren Hastings (Governor General of British India from 1773-1784)

opened the posts to the public in March 1774

In 1850 a report was commissioned into the working of the Post Office in

India

Visit us

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
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o
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THE POSTAL MUSEUMCOLLECTIONSPOSTAL HISTORY OF INDIA

Postal History of India

The postal history of India is closely tied to India's complex political history. As the
Portuguese, Dutch, French, Danish and British colonialists gained power in India, their postal
systems existed alongside those of independent states.

Background
Britain’s involvement in the postal services of India began in the eighteenth century.
Initially the service was administered by the East India Company who established
post offices in Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta (now Kolkata) between 1764 and
1766.
2011-0499/04 Lantern slide of the General Post Office Calcutta

East India Company and

the British Post Office in
India
Warren Hastings (Governor General of British India from 1773-1784) opened the
posts to the public in March 1774. Prior to this the main purpose of the postal system
had been to serve the commercial interests of the East India Company. Serving
economic and political needs of the ruling authority remained a driving force in the
development of the postal service. The Post Office Act (1837) reserved the
government the exclusive right to convey letters in the territories of the East India
Company.

 In 1850 a report was commissioned into the working of the Post

Office in India. This report introduced uniform postage rates
dependent on weight alone (previously charges had been
calculated on weight and distance). It recommended that a
Manual of Instructions be supplied to postmasters to encourage
uniformity of practice. The recommendations of this report led to
the introduction of Act XVII in 1854. However the reforms had a
mixed success with some areas persisting in old practices.
 From the late eighteenth century political power began to slip
away from the East India Company. The Company was finally
abolished in 1858 and India became a Crown colony ruled
directly by Parliament.

Mail Communications with

England
In addition to the managing the postal services of British India, the Post
Office was involved in the transmission of correspondence between
England and India.

In the 1820s Thomas Waghorn began investigations into improving mail

routes between England and India. This led to the establishment of the
overland route between Alexandria and Suez. Mails had previously taken
three months to reach England, but Waghorn’s letters accomplished the
same journey in just 35 days

PH72/08 Stamp marked Care of Mr Waghorn Suez

Stamps
The first postal stamp in India was introduced on 1 July 1852 in the Scinde
district. In 1854 the introduction of uniform postage rates led to the
development of the first postage stamps valid for use throughout India. As
with the introduction of uniform postage in Britain this led to a rapid
increase in use of the postal system

The first pictorial stamps were issued in 1931

First set of independent stamps 1947

After independence, responsibility for postal services transferred to the new

Indian Government. However Britain continued to be involved in postal
services to India in the same way as it managed other international postal
services