2016-05-07 Sat

India issued its first ever postage stamp in 1852. India, thus, became the 1st country in Asia to issue a postage Stamp. Surprisingly, the stamp was issued in a remote province of Scinde, instead of Calcutta which was the then capital of India.

When the East India Company established its hold over Sind, the introduction of the postage stamp had become imperative for the smooth working of administration. Hence, the stamps those were issued in the district of Sind came to be known as the Scinde Dawks which are considered to be the first stamp issued in Asia.

The shape of the embossed Scinde Dawk is circular. The stamps bear a heart shape in the middle, seen with three divisions. Each division has letters EIC (East India Company) in the centre, figure 4 is seen above the heart. At the bottom, tip is written 1/2 anna. The entire design is within a border. The circular belt contains the inscriptions 'Scinde District Dawk'.

The Scinde Dawks come in three different colours: vermilion red, white and dark blue.The Scinde Dawks were first issued embossed on brittle vermilion wafers which were formerly used to seal letters as is the practice even today.

The red Scinde Dawks were found too brittle for postage use so a new type was introduced, which was slightly thicker. However, the new stamps with no colour were found unsuitable for the postal use. The new and final set was issued which was in deep blue colour. But they also come in the different shades of blue.