2018-06-28 Thu

The year 1979 marks a very important landmark in the history of postal service in India. The year marks the 125th anniversary of the first Indian postage stamp, 100 years of postcard services and 50 years of scheduled carriage of domestic Air Mail!

As a fitting culmination to the celebrations connected with these events, the Indian Post & Telegraph Department, in collaboration with the Philatelic Congress of India, hosted 'INDIA-80', an International Stamp Exhibition at New Delhi, from 25th January 1980 to 3rd February 1980. This was the first International Stamp Exhibition to be held in Asia under the patronage of the Federation Internationale de Phelatelie.

To commemorate these events, special postage stamps were issued on 25 Jan 1980 on the Inaugural Day of Exhibition. This 3rd issue of postage stamps honours the ‘Father’ of postage stamps and the variety of postal services that are offered.

Rowland Hill: Among the many things, good and bad, that the modern world has produced, surely the postal system, which covers the world, is one of its most beneficent activities.' -Jawahar Lal Nehru. This beneficial postal service was made more efficient and easy by the introduction of ‘prepaid postage’, a concept introduced by Sir Rowland Hill.

A 200 paise Postage stamp honours the ‘Father of the adhesive Postage stamps’, Sir Rowland Hill. The stamp depicts the house at No. 96 Blackwell Street, Kidderminster where Rowland Hill, inset, was born. Sir Hill was an English teacher, inventor and a social reformer. He campaigned for reforming the postal system and usually credited with originating the basic concepts of the modern postal service, including the invention of the postage stamp.

His idea that was denounced as ‘wild and visionary’ went on to become one of the biggest hits in the modern world of inventions!

Image Courtesy: Mintage World