Issued by Pakistan

Issued on Dec 25, 1963

Design : Depicts the building and installations of Multan Thermal Power Station. The design has been prepared by the West Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority.

The words “Multan Thermal Power Station WAPDA” also appear on the stamp.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 13 Paisa

Colour : Blue

Size of Stamp :41 x 26 mm

Size of Print : 38 x 23 mm

Perforation Gauge : 14 x 12½ (C)

Quantity printed : 15,00,000

No. of Stamps in each sheet : 80

Process of Printing : Intaglio

Printers : The Pakistan Security Printing Corporation Ltd., Karachi

About : 

• Multan has been famous for centuries for its saints and shrines and for the invisible spiritual power that radiates from it for hundreds of miles in all directions. Philatelic recognition is being given to an event which marks the almost invisible transmission of another kind of power from Multan viz: electric power to run factories and tube-wells, and to provide light, heat and cool air to thousands of homes in West Pakistan. Appropriately enough, this power will be generated from Piran Ghaib (literal meaning the Invisible Saints), four miles from Multan. At this site, now stands the Multan Thermal Power Station – the biggest in the country.
• With its completion, this project of the West Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority will have the capacity to produce 2,65,000 kilowatts of electric power. This power station is run on natural gas brought by a 300 mile pipeline from Sui and has been completed in two phases spread over the last 5 years. Its total cost is estimated at Rs. 255 million. With its completion the total generating capacity of WAPDA’s power stations in West Pakistan has increased to about 7,00,000 kilowatts (plate-ratings). The first phase of the Multan Power Station provided for installation of three units, two steam sets capable of producing 65,000 kilowatts each and the third, a gas turbine, with a capacity of 5,700 kilowatts. These units were financed out of Pakistan’s own resources. The second phase (during which two steam generators of 65,000 kilowatts each have been installed) has been financed and executed with the help of a loan and technical know-how from West Germany.
• With the compliments of the Director-General, Pakistan Post Office, Karachi.

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Issued by Japan

Issued on Dec 16, 1963

Issued for : Wishing the good luck of the new year 1964, a special stamp depicting the dragon local toys of Tottori and Yamanashi prefecture was issued.

Design : Dragon local toy

Designer : Mr. M. Kimura

Colour : Multicolour

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 5 Yen

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Issued by Pakistan

Issued on Dec 10, 1963

Issued for : December 10, 1963 marks the 15^th Anniversary of the adoption of the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”. To commemorate this important event, Pakistan Post Office is, along with a number of other countries, bringing out a postage stamp of 50-Paisa denomination.

Design : Has been designed by the Pakistan Security Printing Corporation Limited, Karachi under the guidance of the Ministry of Communications (Post Office), Government of Pakistan. The commemorative in question shows among other things a brown border including the wording ‘Pakistan Postage’ in white surrounding the blue background interior of the stamp. A global representation of the world, printed in brown appears on the left hand side of the stamp with the denomination underneath in the bottom left hand corner. The UNESCO symbol, printed in red, is shown in the top right hand quarter of the stamp, the blue background having been shaded to white behind it so as to give it greater prominence. The commemorative title is printed in brown in the bottom right hand quarter of the stamp.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 50 Paisa

Colour : Blue, Red and Brown

Size of Stamp : 42 x 27 mm.

Size of Print : 39 x 24 mm.

Perforation : 14 x 14

Quantity Printed : 5,00,000 Pieces

Number of stamps in each sheet : 100

Process of Printing : Photogravure

Printers : Messrs Thomas De La Rue & Company Limited, London, U.K.

About : 

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is, it will be called, recognition of the inherent dignity and of inalienable rights of all members of the human family. These are the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. They also indicate that disregard and contempt for human rights have frequently resulted in barbarious acts which have out-raged conscience of mankind and advocate advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want. Equality of mankind in all respects is the basic tenet of the Universal Declaration.
• The “Commemorative” in question are intended to prompt the common man to acquire knowledge of, and respect for the rights and freedoms set forth in the Universal Declaration.
• With the compliments of the Director-General, Pakistan Post Office, Karachi.

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Issued by India

Issued on Dec 10, 1963

Issued for : The Posts and Telegraphs Department is privileged to issue a special stamp to commemorate the XV^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Design : The stamp carries a portrait of the late Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, an ardent champion of Human Rights, playing a Charkha – the Indian Spinning Wheel – during her visit to India. The Charkha also symbolises the struggle waged by another great champion of Human Rights – Mahatma Gandhi – for the emancipation of his own country.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Colour : Red purple

Denomination : 15 Naya Paise

Overall size : 3.91 x 2.90 cms.

Printing size : 3.63 x 2.62 cms.

Perforation : 13

Watermark : All over multiple ‘Lion Capital of Asoka’

Number printed : 2.5 million

Set : 35 stamps per issue sheet

Printing Process : Photogravure

Designed and printed at : India Security Press

About : 

• The following message has been received from our Prime Minister : –
  • “All over the world today, the fifteenth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is being observed. It is a day of remembrance, thanksgiving and dedication : remembrance of those who gave their all so that others may live in freedom; thanksgiving for the progress achieved in emancipation of millions from foreign subjection and exploitation; and dedication to continue the struggle until all mankind is freed from ‘fear and want’. The Human Rights Day this year is invested with special poignancy in the context of the martyrdom of John F. Kennedy, the great President of the United States of America.
  • Probably the most impressive fact of modern life is the breath-taking pace of development of science and technology. But all this progress is meaningful only if it leads to the general welfare of humanity and secures to each individual the fullest opportunities for development according to his genius. This is possible only if his rights and role in society are properly understood, protected and promoted. The Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed and adopted by the United Nations fifteen years ago aims precisely at achieving this objective, that is, of promoting universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without discrimination as to religion, race, sex or language.
  • If oppression, conflict and wars have darkened the pages of history, it is primarily because of ‘man’s inhumanity to man’, because of disregard of and contempt for the rights and dignity of others. In order to banish for ever these evil forces which are a blot upon civilisation and which now threaten to wipe it out altogether, it is necessary to remove all manifestations of racial arrogance, political domination and economic injustice and abuse. Real peace cannot be achieved on the basis of a precarious balance of mutual terror but only on the basis of genuine co-operation in promoting a social order which protects the rights and dignity of the individual consistent with social progress and international understanding.“

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Issued by India

Issued on Nov 14, 1963

Issued for : The Posts and Telegraphs Department is happy to bring out again, this year, a special postage stamp emphasizing the cause of child welfare.

Design : Within the frame-work of this idea, on the suggestion of the Indian Council for Child Welfare, the Posts and Telegraphs Department had chosen the provision of mid-day meals to school going children – as the theme for this year’s Children’s Day stamp. This was one of the several schemes which has been launched to improve the health of our children.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Colour : Brown

Denomination : 15 Naya Paise

Size : 3.3 x 2.9 cms.

Perforation : 13½ x 14

Watermark : All over multiple ‘Lion Capital of Ashoka’

Number printed : 2.5 Million

Number per issue sheet : 35

Printing Process : Photogravure

Designed & Printed at : India Security Press

About : 

• The Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department has, since the year 1957, been bringing out special stamps to celebrate Children’s Day each year. Various themes connected with the care and well-being of children have been depicted in them.
• The subject for the special stamp to be brought out on Children’s Day on November 14, 1963, as recommended by the International Union for Child Welfare, Geneva, was “A National Policy for Children“.

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Issued by Pakistan

Issued on Nov 10, 1963

Issued for : Pakistan Post Office is bringing out a Postage Stamp on the 25^th Death Anniversary of Ataturk to commemorate the brilliant achievements of that great Muslim leader who created modern Turkey with which Pakistan has long-standing fraternal pacts and friendship.

Design : Mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk with the words “25^th Death Anniversary of Kemal Ataturk, 1880-1938, November 10, 1963”.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 50 Paisa

Colour : Red

Size of Stamp : 39 x 25.1 mm

Size of Print : 36 x 22 mm

Perforation Gauge : 13 x 13½ (c)

Quantity Printed : 5,00,000

Number of stamps in each sheet : 80

Process of Printing : Intaglio

Printers : The Pakistan Security Printing Corporation Ltd., Karachi

Name : Ali Rıza oğlu Mustafa

Born on May 19, 1881 at Salonica, Salonica Vilayet, Ottoman Empire [now Thessaloniki, Greece]

Died on Nov 10, 1938 at Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul, Turkey

About : 

• Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, was born in 1880 at Selanik, a city of the then Ottoman Empire. His father Ali Riza Efendi, a timber merchant, died when Ataturk was yet in his teens. In the beginning, Ataturk was admitted in a school employing modern methods of teaching but after his father’s death, he had to leave the school due to financial difficulties and to work as a farm hand near his native place. Soon, however, his mother persuaded him to resume his studies and, in course of time, he went to the Military School where, because of his outstanding abilities, his mathematics teacher gave him the title ‘KEMAL’ (meaning clever). Since then, he is known as “Mustafa Kemal”. He graduated from the Istanbul Staff College in 1905 as a Staff Captain and joined the secret society of Young Turks. Mustafa Kemal played an important part in the events of 1908.
• In the First World War, it was his brilliant action in the Gallipoli campaign (1915) which led to the defeat of the Allies. In 1919, he was appointed as Inspector-General in Anatolia where he is able to crystalise his movement at two momentous national congresses, Erzurum and Sivas. As an aftermath of the first World War, the Turkish Nationalist forces had to fight on several fronts. The most important front was in the west, where the invading Greek armies were trying to enlarge the territories they had forcibly seized. But under the brilliant leadership of Mustafa Kemal, the Turkish armies were victorious on all the fronts and finally on August 30, 1922, the Turks defeated the invading Greek armies and forced them to quit Turkey. With the signing of the Lausanne Treaty (July 24, 1923), the Treaty of Sevres was abrogated and Turkey’s independence, integrity and sovereignty was recognised by the world powers.
• Turkey was proclaimed as Republic on October 29, 1923. Since then, Turkey took great strides on the road to progress. Due to shortage and shyness of private capital, the foundations of Turkish industry were built as a state enterprise. And, Mustafa Kemal was successful in channelising the intense nationalism of the people into productive patriotism. In fact, his patriotism was the driving force behind the internal reforms as well as the basis of the new foreign policy of the Turkish Republic. Ataturk’s foreign policy was based on his sincere desire for peace and aversion to ‘foreign adventures’. “Peace in the country, peace in the world” was the rock-bottom of his foreign policy. The greatest achievement of Ataturk is his realisation of the real frontiers of the new Turkey.
• Ataturk had achieved in a comparatively short time what many had failed to accomplish in long stretches of years. Ataturk who died on November 10, 1938 in Istanbul was loved by his people as few leaders had ever been loved. In the words of a foreign newsman, he was a dictator who ‘dedicated to the hearts’. He was so much a part of his people and so much their driving force that after his death, life without him seemed impossible for them. The Republic he had founded and the reforms he had achieved were, however, so deep-rooted and durable that there was no chaos, no anarchy. And, the Turkish nation without interruption continued and still continues in its quest for a better life and a better world, guided by the ever-lasting principles of Ataturk.
• With the compliments of the Director-General, Pakistan Post Office, Karachi.

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Issued by India

Issued on Oct 7, 1963

Issued for : The Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department brought out the first stamp in the projected Wild Life series, depicting the Wild Life Week in 1962. This was to be followed by other stamps in the series depicting the Indian Lion, Tiger, Elephant and Gaur (Indian Bison). A set of five stamps covering these and the Himalayan Panda is being issued on October 7, 1963, during the current Wild Life Week.

Full description of the animals and the stamps is given in this brochure.

Type : Stamps, Postal Used

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination : 10, 15, 30 & 50 Naya Paise and 1 Rupee

About : 

• India‘s wild life – E. P. Gee :
  • India has in the past been well known as a ‘sportsman’s paradise‘, and the country is indeed rich in the number and variety of big and small game animals and birds. There are still opportunities for the sportsman who wishes to shoot in India, but in recent years the emphasis has rightly been placed on wild life conservation.
  • A number of very fine wild life sanctuaries and national parks are being maintained in India, in order to ensure the survival of rare and in danger of extinction species such as the Indian Lion, Indian Rhinoceros, Wild Buffalo and so on, and to provide visitors with the very pleasing spectacle of wild animals undisturbed in their natural habitat. In these days it is being increasingly realised that unspoilt forests and grasslands with their wild inhabitants can give great opportunities for recreation and inspiration to all of us.
  • An instinctive feeling of compassion towards all living creatures accords with the general Indian belief in the sanctity of life. This has sanction in our religions as well as support from enlightened public opinion. A true sportsman nowadays usually tries to ‘capture’ or ‘shoot’ wild animals and birds with a camera rather than with a gun, in order to allow the nation’s fauna to survive for the joy of future generations.
  • The sub-continent that stretches southwards from the lofty Himalayas possesses several species of fauna not found in other parts of the world. For instance the rare Indian Rhinoceros is not found elsewhere. Of the deer family the elegant Indian Swamp Deer, the Brow-antlered Deer and the beautiful Spotted Deer or Chital are only found here; while of the antelope family the Nilgai or Blue Bull, the handsome Blackbuck and the unique Four-horned Antelope do not exist anywhere else in the world.
• Gaur or Indian Bison :
  • The Gaur (Bos gaurus) is the largest and most magnificent of all the world’s bovines, measuring up to 6 feet 4 inches at the shoulder and weighing over 2,000 pounds. It lives in the forest areas of northeast, central and south India, as well as in some parts of southeast Asia.
  • It is often mistakenly nicknamed ‘bison‘ by sportsmen, but it is not really a bison at all. It is a wild ox, and a much larger and finer-looking animal than the true bisons of North America and Europe.
  • The master bull of a herd of these animals in Periyar Sanctuary of Kerala paused for a moment as he was grazing and looked up – the embodiment of vigour and strength. He was still for a second, but in that time the camera had ‘shot’ him and from that picture this postage stamp has been made.
  • Distinctive features of this noble creature are the dorsal ridge and white ‘stockings’. Young calves are golden yellow in colour, cows and immature bulls are reddish brown, while fully grown bulls are jet black.
  • A domesticated version of the gaur is found with the hill tribesmen in the mountains of northeast India, known as the ‘gayal‘. It closely resembles the gaur and roams semi-wild in the forests, but it is slightly smaller and its horns are flat and straight instead of being nicely curved. No one knows how this animal, known as the mithun, originated, unless it was the result of a long-ago cross between the gaur and some domestic breed.
• Red Panda :
  • Very few animals can boast of greater beauty than the Red, or Lesser, Panda (Ailurus fulgens). With their bright chestnut colour and white facial markings, pointed ears and black nose, darker underparts and faintly ringed tails they instantly catch the eye.
  • They inhabit the middle ranges of the central and eastern Himalayas. They are found in fair numbers in Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and the North East Frontier Agency of India, where they live in the temperate bamboo forests from about 6,000 to 12,000 feet elevation. In feeding habits they appear to be almost omnivorous, eating the leaves, shoots and roots of bamboo and other vegetation, fruit, small birds, eggs, insects and so on.
  • Red Pandas are easily captured and tamed. Because of their cat-like and bear-like appearance they are sometimes known as ‘cat-bears‘, and make most delightful pets. They have in recent years become increasingly popular in zoos of Europe and America.
• Indian Elephant :
  • The Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus) is found in most parts of the country except in the northeast and centre. It also ranges southeastwards through Burma and Malaya to Indonesia. In spite of the spread of civilization and the shrinking of its habitat, it is still quite numerous owing to full protection by law. But it can be shot or captured under special license, and this has to be allowed because it is such a large animal and can do so much damage to food crops if allowed to multiply excessively and to roam unchecked.
  • Slightly smaller than its African cousin, the Indian elephant is believed to possess much intelligence. In India cow elephants never have tusks; and many bulls are also tuskless, being known as makhnas. Indian elephants are also distinguished from those of Africa by their convex backs (instead of concave ones), smaller ears and so on.
  • Wild elephants are sometimes allowed to be captured by the pit method in Madras or by the khedda method in Mysore, Bengal and Assam. Animals so captured become tame very quickly and render useful service to man in timber extraction, as transport animals in rough, swampy country and in other ways. Modern mechanical devices have not yet been able to replace the elephant’s ability to lift and load timber on to wagons and trucks.
  • Elephants do not live to a great age as is still commonly believed; there is no evidence of any elephant living to more than ‘three score years and ten’. And their powers of memory are probably not better than those of a dog. But they are truly remarkable creatures, especially in their capacity to submit to domestication and to learn so much from their human masters.
  • The lordly elephant is celebrated in legend and in song, and also in history. Even now it still figures prominently in traditional state and temple pageantry; and continues to be a perennial favourite in zoos and circuses throughout the world.
• Tiger :
  • It is difficult to imagine a more spectacular animal than the Tiger (Panthera tigris), especially when seen in its natural habitat against a green background of dense jungle. Found in most parts of India except in the extreme northwest and higher Himalayan ranges, it is still holding its own in spite of the increase in human population and resultant spread of cultivation and pasture.
  • Lack of natural food such as deer and wild pig often compels tigers to become cattle-lifters. Only very occasionally will a tiger become a man-killer or a man-eater. The very rare man-eating tiger is usually driven to become this by old age or some disability. A wounded tiger, or a tigress with young cubs, can be very dangerous, but as a rule a person entering a forest has no fear of tigers as the latter will cunningly keep well out of the way.
  • ‘White’ tigers sometimes occur, especially in the old princely state of Rewa, and these are usually partial albinos – a freak of nature. No black tiger has ever been reliably recorded, though black leopards are fairly frequently met with in south and northeast India.
  • For sportsmen to shoot, tigers are usually driven out of thick jungle by beaters or tame elephants, or else shot over a ‘kill’. As they become rarer, it is becoming more fashionable nowadays to try and ‘shoot’ them with a camera in some park or sanctuary like the Corbett National Park.
• Indian Lion :
  • The Asiatic or Indian Lion (Panthera leo persica) used to occur in Persia and Iraq as well as in most parts of the northwest and north of the sub-continent of India. But since 1884, they have survived only in what is now Gujarat State, and owe their survival to the former rulers of the princely state of Junagadh.
  • At the beginning of the present century there were probably only 100 lions left in the Gir Forest; in a 1950 census they were reported as numbering 240 and in a similar census in 1955 they had increased to 290. About 280 would be a reasonable estimate of their strength at the present time.
  • The Indian lion is similar to its African cousin, but has some slight differences such as fewer spots visible when young and bigger tail tassels. Regarding their manes, male Indian lions all have manes whereas those in Africa are sometimes maneless. Regarding the size of manes, those in Africa are as a rule slightly larger, probably due to differences in habitat and elevation above sea level. The Indian lion belongs to an ethnological stock distinct from the African lion.
  • Their habitat in Gujarat used to be 2,000 square miles, but this has now shrunk to some 500 square miles known as the Gir Forest. There are proposals to create a sanctuary or national park at this place. It is fitting that such a noble and majestic creature should be the national emblem of India.

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Issued by India

Issued on Oct 1, 1963 (Tuesday)

Issued for : The Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department has great pleasure in bringing out a special stamp to honour this great lady. [The Stamp is wrongly dated, gives birth date as 1837 instead of 1847.]

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Blue Green

Denomination : 15 Naye Paise

Size : 3.3 cms x 2.9 cms

Perforation : 13½ x 14

Watermark : All over multiple ‘Lion Capital of Asoka’

Number Printed : 2.5 million

Set : 42 stamps per issue sheet

Printing process : Photogravure

Designed and printed at : India Security Press

Name : Annie Wood

Born on Oct 1, 1847 at Clapham, London, United Kingdom

Died on Sep 20, 1933 at Adyar, Madras Presidency, British India [now in Karnataka, India]

About : 

• As one looks back to the decades of India‘s long struggle for freedom, few names stand out with greater glory of distinction than Dr. Annie Besant‘s. For forty years, from 1893 when she first landed in India until the moment of her death in 1933, she laboured for India‘s advancement in every sphere of activity – educational, social, religious and political – with single-minded devotion and rare dedication.
• She was gifted with a prodigious intellect, tremendous organisational capacity, a courage of conviction which defied every penalty and obstacle, and a warm and generous heart. All these were placed without stint or hesitation at India‘s disposal.
• For the first twenty years of her life in India, from 1893 to the commencement of the First World War, Mrs. Besant devoted all her energies and resources to the building up of the Central Hindu College at Varanasi, which later became the foundation on which Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya reared the Varanasi Hindu University. In collaboration with the distinguished Indian Philosopher, Dr. Bhagvan Das, she translated the Bhagvad-Gita into English, so as to make this priceless treasure accessible to millions who did not know Sanskrit. During this part of her Indian career, Mrs. Besant did her best to revive respect for the ancient teachings of Hinduism and the other great faiths which have their votaries in this country.
• Mrs. Besant was not content with merely proclaimed the goal of home rule for India as a unit in the British Commonwealth. At the end of the first world war, she declared in London before a Parliamentary Committee that India could not accept for all time a Constitution framed for her by the British Government in London. She proceeded, with the warm support of men like Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and the Rt. Hon’ble V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, to have a Constitution for India as a full-fledged Dominion prepared through a National Convention. The measure, described later as “the Commonwealth of India Bill”, was supported by several leading Indian statesmen.
• Though the Commonwealth of India Bill made no further progress, the seed thus sown was destined to bear fruit at a later stage. India‘s Constituent Assembly, which was brought into being at the end of second world war in 1946, perhaps owed its original impulse in some measure to the joint efforts initiated a quarter of a century earlier by Mrs. Besant and Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru.
• Though Mrs. Besant passed away nearly three decades ago, her spirit still presides over many of India‘s institutions. The ideals which she preached during her life-time are now materialising in the world of practical realities. Looking back over the long period of preparation for freedom and its final achievement, one can only marvel at the incredible record of Mrs. Besant‘s services to India spread over a period of forty years.

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Issued by Pakistan

Issued on Sep 16, 1963

Design :
7–Paisa: Depicts Buddhist Stupa at Paharpur (East Pakistan).
13–Paisa: Depicts Well at Mohenjodaro (West Pakistan).
40–Paisa: On the left is a Miniature Stupa in Mohra Moradu Monastery and on the right the Bhallar Stupa both at Taxila (West Pakistan).
50–Paisa Depicts Stupas at Kotila Mura, Mainamati (East-Pakistan).

Type : Stamps, Postal Used

Denomination : 7, 13, 40 & 50 Paisa

Colours :
7–Paisa –Ultramarine
13–Paisa – Brown
40–Paisa – Crimson
50–Paisa – Mulberry

Size of Stamps : 41 x 26 mm.

Size of Print : 38 x 23 mm.

Perforation Gauge : 14 x 12½ (c)

Quantities Printed :
7-Paisa – 10,00,000
13-Paisa – 10,00,000
40-Paisa – 5,00,000
50-Paisa – 3,00,000

Number of stamps in each sheet : 80

Process of Printing : Recess

Printers : The Pakistan Security Printing Corporation Ltd., Karachi

About : 

• When the Western World was unknown to history a rich civilisation flourished in the Indus Valley about 4 to 5 thousand years ago. Excavations made have revealed Mohenjodaro to be seat of this civilisation; Taxila got the limelight about 2,000 years later on. East Pakistan being a riverine area with very soft soil and practically without mountains, the forces of nature there are too strong to allow monuments to stay on for very long. It has, however, some rich antiquities of pre-Islamic period. This series has for its motif the archaeological monuments of pre-Muslim period in the two wings of Pakistan. Mohenjodaro, Taxila, Mainamati and Paharpur have been selected as representative sites.
• Mohenjodaro: The remains of a pre-historic civilisation called the Indus Valley or ‘Mohenjodaro’ civilisation have been discovered as a result of archaeological exploration in the Indus Valley. The main centre of these remains lies on the west bank of the Indus River at a distance of 9 miles from Dokri, the nearest railway station on the Karachi–Quetta line of the Pakistan Western Railway. This buried city was discovered about quarter of a century back. It is considered as one of the most remarkable of excavated towns and the treasures of relics unearthed represent unparalleled and wonderful working of human endeavour in the remote past.
• The structural remains of Mohenjodaro present a picture of a town consisting of regular rectangular blocks, separated by broad and straight streets running from North to South and East to West. The houses constructed by kiln burnt bricks are commodious with spacious rooms arranged around a central courtyard with wells and bathrooms built in one corner. The stair-cases indicate the presence of upper storey. The city had an elaborate drainage system. The street drains, soak-pits and manholes were all brick-lined and covered.
• The river Indus afforded facilities for transport, trade and irrigation. The inhabitants cultivated wheat, barley, rice, peas, sesames and cotton. The dietary include milk, vegetables, fruits, beef, mutton, pork, poultry and fish. The common dress seems to have been of cotton embroidered with designs. Both male and female were fond of ornaments made of semi-precious stones, gold, silver, bronze, shell, ivory and clay. Pottery includes every form from storage jars down through tiny vases. Games and sports articles consisted of marbles, balls, dice and casting sticks. Hunting and fishing was regular occupation. Toys of different types and toy-carts in particular were common. Worship of human/animal figures, pipal tree and snake appears to be there. The Mohenjodaro civilisation declined after 2000 B.C. for reasons not at present known but the developed culture was in no way inferior to the contemporary civilisation of Mesopotamia.
• Taxila: The excavated remains at Taxila and a number of monasteries and stupas in the North West, although separated by lofty Himalayas and the Hindukush ranges from the neighbouring cities of Central Asia, all from part of one and the same Buddhistic Civilisation that flourished in these regions. These Buddhist remains represent their largest visible assemblage in the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent. The first city of Taxila or Bhir Mound as it is now known has preserved little to show. It was greatly disturbed by the invasion of Alexander the Great in 326 B.C. The conquest of Alexander was short-lived but the Greek influence did spread across the Hindukush into Pakistan. In the second century B.C. partially Hellenized Scythians reached Taxila and rebuilt the city on a new site (Sirkap), and as again rebuilt by their Parthian successors in the following century, its streets and houses are today, after extensive excavation, one of the very rare archaeological sights of the sub-continent. The long straight main streets, flanked by shops, shrines and a palace, is the axis of a regular, rectilinear plan like that of a Greek city of the West. Probably towards the end of the second century A.D., the city was yet again rebuilt, this time by great Kushans with elaborate defences of which a part has been exposed to view by Archaeologists. Meanwhile, great numbers of Buddhist monasteries had been growing up in the surrounding country side and drew numerous students. For many centuries the University of Taxila was famous amongst the Universities of Asia. The end of Taxila came by violence. Soon after the middle of the fifth century A.D., the White Huns swept down from Central Asia and Taxila with its monasteries was put to sword and fire.
• Paharpur: Buddhism in East Pakistan would appear to go back to Asoka, the Mauryan Emperor, as certain stupas there, according to Hiuen Tsang, had been founded by that Emperor. One of these was in the vicinity of Pundra Nagar (near Bogra) and was a magnificent Buddhist establishment, with spacious halls, tall storeyed chambers and more than 700 monks. The immense scale of some of the Buddhist monasteries under the wealthy patronage of the Pala Kings, however, is best represented by the Somapura Vihara established by Dharama Pala about 800 A.D. The monastery is known today from the adjacent village of Paharpur (Rajshahi District); and this in turn derives its name from the Pahar or Hill which preserved the central shrine. Here, amidst tall sugar cane and jute fields, grain and roots, are the excavated remains of the largest known monastery south of the Himalayas. This monastery is nearly 1,000 feet square, with the central stupa still seventy feet high, terraced and adorned with long lines of sculptures, mostly of terracotta.
• Mainamati: On the flat tops and slopes of the picturesque hills in Mainamati–Lalmai ridge near Comilla, has been discovered another extensive centre of Buddhist Culture. More than 50 sites of varying sizes and importance are found buried all over the ridge. Excavations in three of these sites have exposed a large monastic establishment known as Salban Vihara, a group of three stupas at Kotila Mura and a shrine at Charpatra Mura. These excavations have yielded a rich harvest of valuable antiquities. They include copper plates, hoards of gold and silver coins, relic caskets, bronze images of Buddha, Bodhistava and goddesses Tara and Sarvani, stone sculptures, terracotta sealings, clay, votive stupas, terracotta plaques and carved bricks, pottery and miscellaneous objects of daily use. Terracotta sculptures, like those found in Paharpur, depict a true picture of the social life of the people of East Pakistan of those days and help to throw light on the history of the place and the religion practised in this region. They also cover a large number of subjects such as musicians, dancers, warriors, semi-divine beings, animal fables and birds. The evidence from relics discovered from excavations lend support to the views that Buddhist Monuments on Mainamati hills were established at some stage during the 7^th-8^th centuries A.D.
• With the compliments of the Director-General, Pakistan Post Office, Karachi.

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Issued by Japan

Issued on Sep 9, 1963

Issued for : To commemorate the 14^th general convention of the international radio scientific union at Tokyo from 9 sept. 1963, a special stamp was issued as following.

Design : Parabora–antena (Radio telescope)

Designer : Mr. K. Hioki

Colour : Multicolour

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 10 Yen

Printing Process : Photogravure

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