Issued by India

Issued on Dec 30, 1980

Issued for : Indian Posts & Telegraphs Department is happy to issue a set of four stamps on brides of India.

Description of Design : The stamps depict brides in their traditional finery from Kashmir, Bengal, Rajasthan and Tamilnadu. (Photos by O. P. Sharma, S. J. Singh, Chitrangad Sharma).

Type : Stamps, Postal Used

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination : 100 Paise each

About : 

• A bride anywhere in the world signals joy. However, in India particularly she is welcomed as Saubhagyavati : “The fortunate one”, the harbinger of auspiciousness into the home.
  
• The traditional bride fulfils the promise of her community and is in turn fulfilled by it. While she epitomises the cultural style of her community, the means by which she is decorated depend heavily on the skill of local craft traditions. For once the age-old art of adornment walks hand-in-hand with a traditional socio-economic wisdom and the skills of generations of anonymous jewellers, weavers and other silent workmen.
• Tamilnadu :
  • A certain classical vigour and tension distinguishes Tamil cultural expression. Notice the rhythmic effect of this bride’s gold and gem-studded decoration. This comes from an effectively repeated motif : the mango, symbol of fruitfulness, from the border of her Kanchipuram silk to her necklet. Her long hair is thickly twined with gold thread and jasmine buds, whose close-huddled form is repeated in the ornament that binds her brows, defines her parting, dropping to a pendant. This is echoed by her ear pendants and the jewels at her nose. This sense of symmetry is further underlined by the symbolic sun and moon ornaments to left and right of the parting in her hair. These, and the studded armlets recall the classicism of bharatanatyam and the formal discipline of temple bronzes.
• Rajasthan :
  • A blaze of colour and strength of form characterise the desert dwelling Rajputs. The curve upon curve of beaten silver haslis this bride wears about her throat with heavy silver chains and their pendant rings complements the textural interest of the tie-dye odani that circles her head in red, turmeric-yellow and gleaming gota. The curve of nath from nose to ear enhances the curve of her cheek, echoed by the looped chain at hairline that suspends her bor. Cones of pendant silver drop from her ears, balancing the straight glance, the bindu and the rounded chin. Visual drama is balanced with a fineness of detailing that comes from centuries of courtly tradition and recalls the Mewari school of Rajput painting.
• Kashmir :
  • Her bridal dupatta, fringed with gold thread and sequins, frames the bride’s head ornament, plaques of beaten and incised silver, the pendants of which fall low across the brow. The deliberate framing-effect of her jewellery continues through the sequinned hoops rimming her ears to the deep drops from their lobes. These effectively throw her bridal face into relief as they droop to meet the richly embroidered ornamentation of her dark loose-fitting choga. The sense of drama to this traditional arrangement lies in the intricately-worked silver so controlled and distributed as to indicate the personality of the bride.
• Bengal :
  • With Bengal, we are in the tropics : the bridal crest, a finely fretted pith tiara (of the kind that is further elaborated for pratimas of Durga). The bride’s brocaded sari is traditionally Banarasi.  The accent falls noticeably through graceful loops and arabesques from crest through curve of chain and pendant at hairline to the delicate “creeper” painted in sandal-paste to emphasise the bhru–lata of her brows and recalling ritual alpana. With loops of fresh jasmine and rose about her neck and wrists, with gems at her throat and her ear-lobes shielded by disks of finely-wrought gold, hers is the delicate curvilinear style by which Bengal is known.
• (Text by Priadevi).

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Issued by Nepal

Issued on 14 Paush 2037, Corresponding to 28 Dec. 1980

Issued by :
His Majesty’s Government
Postal Services Department
Nepal Philatelic Bureau
Kathmandu

Designer : M. N. Rana

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : R. 1

Colour : multi-colour

Size : 26 x 36 mm

Format : Vertical

Paper : Special Non-water marked

Quantity : 2,000,000 (two millions)

Sheet : 50

Process : Offset

Printer : Bruder Rosenbaum printers, Vienna(Austria)

Name : Birendra Bir Bikram Shah

Born on Dec 28, 1945 at Kathmandu, Nepal

Died on Jun 1, 2001 at Kathmandu, Nepal

About : 

• The Nepalese people fully respect the independence of others and consider it their duty to protect and preserve their own independence in which alone lies their life and identity. – H. M. King Birendra

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Issued by India

Issued on Dec 27, 1980

Issued for : The Indian Posts & Telegraphs Department is happy to commemorate 150 years of India Government Mint, Bombay by issuing a postage stamp.

Description of Designs : The stamp depicts a view of the building of Government Mint, Bombay alongwith a die press machine. The first day cover is a line sketch of the building.

Type : Stamp, Mint condition

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination : 35 Paise

Overall size : 3.91 x 2.90 cms.

Printing size : 3.55 x 2.54 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Watermark : Printed on unwatermarked P. G. Matt stamp paper

Number printed : 20,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 35

Printing Process : Photogravure

Designed and Printed at : India Security Press

About : 

• Gold and silver have been the standards of value and exchange throughout the world for many centuries. In India, Emperor Sher Shah made the Rupee the standard currency within his domain and followed the ratio of exchange of one tola of gold to 15 tolas of silver. His gold mohur and silver rupiya were each of 180 grains in weight. Mints using hand-cut dies became extensive during the Mughal period. The important mints then were at Agra, Lahore, Jaunpur (U.P.), Delhi, Ahmedabad, Murshidabad (W.B.), Patna, Dacca, Varanasi, Sagar and Surat.
• According to some reports, the East India Company set up a mint at Bombay in 1671, after the island was transferred from the Crown to the Company in 1668, and the first coin was struck in this mint in 1672. However, the East India Company is reported to have obtained limited rights of coinage at their own mints from the Mughal emperors in 1717. They set up mints at Bombay (1717), Madras (1742) and Calcutta (1758). Each Presidency had its own gold mohur and silver rupee.
• Besides the British, the other European powers in India had also set up their own mints. The Portuguese had a mint in Goa, the Dutch in Pulicat, Nagapattinam, Masulipatnam, Pondicherry and Cochin. The Danes had their mint at Thanjavur and the French at Pondicherry, Arcot, Murshidabad and Surat.
• An Act of the British Parliament passed in 1836 during the reign of King William IV made the coinage uniform and mono-metallic. The silver standard came into being and silver rupees of various weights and fineness as well as gold mohurs became non-legal tender.
• In 1824 land for the present Mint at Bombay was acquired near the Town Hall and the Bombay Castle. The building was designed and constructed by Major John Hawkins of the Bombay Engineers. The Mint started functioning in the new premises in 1830. Initially it was under the supervision of Bombay Government. The Central Government took over its direct management in 1876.
• When industrial application of steam power was nascent, the Mint was equipped with steam engines of varying horse-powers. It now has modern electric furnaces and other sophisticated equipment. Its present daily out-turn is about 2.5 million coins, medals, seals etc.
• (The above text is based on material published elsewhere and/or supplied by the sponsors).

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Issued by Pakistan

Issued on Dec 27, 1980

Issued for : To commemorate the 100 years of Postcard service, Pakistan Post Office is issuing one postage stamp of 40 Paisa denomination on the 27^th December, 1980.

Designer : Akhlaq Ahmed

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 40 Paisa

Colour : Red, Orange, Yellow Ochre and Dark Brown

Size of Stamp : 32.50 x 44.50 m.m.

Size of Print : 29.00 x 41.00 m.m.

Perforation : 13 C

Quantity : 5,00,000

No. of stamps in one sheet : 60 (Sixty)

Process of Printing : Litho Offset

Printers : The Pakistan Security Printing Corporation, Karachi

About : 

• Introduced for the first time in 1879, the postcard has completed 100 years of its existence in the sub-continent. Brown in colour the first postcard was priced at ¼ Anna. In the same year a blue coloured 1½ Anna international single postcard was introduced. This was followed in 1883 by the introduction of inland and international reply postcards which enjoyed universal popularity on account of the convenience they brought to the public at a reasonable price. It was only in 1971 that the international reply postcard was abolished.
• Although the postcard is traditionally issued and sold by the post office, the use of privately manufactured postcards is also admissible for transmission by post after affixing postage stamps of the required value. Currently priced at Paisa 20, the postcard continues to be well within the reach of the lowest income strata of the society, particularly in the rural areas of the country.
• Issued by: The Director General, Pakistan Post Office, Islamabad.

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Issued by India

Issued on Dec 25, 1980

Issued for : Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department is privileged to issue a commemorative stamp in his honour.

Description of Designs : The stamp design carries the portrait of M. A. Ansari. The first day cover depicts M. A. Ansari with his daughter.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Colour : Raw Sienna

Denomination : 35 Paise

Overall size : 4.06 x 2.75 cms.

Printing size : 3.70 x 2.40 cms.

Perforation : 14½ x 14

Paper : Star and Government of India watermarked paper

Number printed : 20,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 40

Printing process : Photogravure

Designed and printed at : India Security Press

Name : Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari

Born on Dec 25, 1880 at Yusufpur–Mohammadabad town, Ghazipur district, Uttar Pradesh, India

Died on May 10, 1936 at Delhi, India

About : 

• Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari was born at Yusufpur in Ghazipur District of Uttar Pradesh on 25 December 1880. After graduating from Madras Medical College, he sailed for England in 1900 for higher medical studies. There he qualified for M.D. and M.S., topping the list of successful candidates. As a result he was the only Indian to be appointed Registrar at the Lock Hospital, London. Later he shifted to the Charing Cross Hospital, where a ward was named after him in recognition of his services in the field of surgery. He was also chosen to the Secretaryship of the Indian Medical Association and later to its Presidency.
• During his stay in England, Dr. Ansari was drawn into the Indian national scene by meeting and developing close friendship with Indian leaders. He became life-long friend of Motilal Nehru, Hakim Ajmal Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru. This led him to return to India in 1910. He finally set up medical practice in Delhi and was soon drawn into active politics.
• His first move was to lead, in December 1912 a medical mission to Turkey during the Balkan War.
• He helped to set up Jamia Milia Islamia at Delhi and Kashi Vidyapeeth at Varanasi. After the death of Hakim Ajmal Khan, the first Chancellor (1900-1927) of Jamia Milia, Dr. Ansari was elected its Chancellor (1928-1936). He was also a prolific contributor to various journals and published “The Regeneration of Man“, a medical treatise, in 1935. His other preoccupations did not dim his professional ardour and he attended to his patients, rich and poor, with same care and solicitude. He breathed his last on 10 May, 1936.
• (The above text is based on material published elsewhere and/or supplied by the sponsors).

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Issued by India

Issued on Dec 20, 1980

Issued for : Indian Posts & Telegraphs Department is happy to commemorate the centenary of Kolar Gold Fields by issuing a postage stamp.

Description of Designs : The stamp depicts a miner drilling for ore along with a representation of molten gold being poured into a mould and a few gold bricks. The first day cover shows old and new techniques of drilling for ore against a mine-head structure.

Type : Stamp, Mint condition

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination : 100 Paise

Overall size : 3.91 x 2.90 cms.

Printing size : 3.55 x 2.54 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Unwatermarked adhesive stamp paper

Number printed : 15,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 35

Printing process : Photogravure

Designed and printed at : India Security Press

About : 

• Kolar Gold Fields in the State of Karnataka are reported to have been mined for gold during the last 2000 years or so. The gold lodes of Kolar Gold Fields lie in a narrow bands of rocks of Dharwar Series. The systematic mining for gold in this area during modern times was started by an English mining firm, John Taylor & Sons in 1880. The mines were taken over by the Government of Mysore in 1956 and by the Government of India in 1962. The provision of railway connection in 1894 and availability of electric power in 1902 from the first hydel power station in Asia at Sivasamudram played a key role in rapid development of the mines.
• These are some of the deepest mines in the world, the deepest point being 3.2 km below surface. Inclined and vertical shafts have been sunk either along the reef or across the country rock. The length of excavations underground in the form of tunnels, shafts, etc. total about 1000 kms. The gold-bearing ore is excavated in a carefully systemised sequence and the shafts and tunnels are supported by steel arches lagged with timber to ensure safety of mine workers. In view of very high stresses encountered in deep mines, excavations are also supported by granite, concrete, timber and mill-tailing fill as a safety measure.
• During the early period of mining, the tenor of gold averaged about 40 grammes per tonne. During the past century, approximately 46 million tonnes of gold-bearing ore has been extracted yielding about 784 tonnes of gold. The present tenor of gold is about 5 grammes per tonne.
• The present management, Bharat Gold Mines Ltd., a Government of India undertaking, attaches considerable importance to measures providing safe and hygienic working conditions. Instrumentation of working areas to monitor possible violent rock failures, adequate ventilation, effective dust suppression and fire fighting equipment are some of the measures which play major roles in this sphere. Regular radiological examination of workers and sampling of underground ore for toxic dust are important hygiene measures undertaken by the management.
• At present about 12000 employees of various categories are on the rolls. Being a labour intensive industry, massive efforts are made to educate the workers in accident prevention. High priority is also given to the welfare of the employees.
• (The above text is based on material published elsewhere and/or supplied by the sponsors).

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Issued by Pakistan

Issued on Dec 20, 1980

Issued for : To commemorate the 100 years of Money Order Service, Pakistan Post Office is issuing one postage stamp of 40 Paisa denomination on the 20^th December, 1980.

Designer : Akhlaq Ahmed

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 40 Paisa

Colours : Red, yellow, blue and black 

Size of Stamp : 44.50 x 32.50 m.m.

Size of Print : 40.50 x 28.50 m.m.

Perforation : 13 C

Quantity : 5,00,000

No. of stamps in one sheet : 60 (Sixty)

Process of Printing : Litho Offset

Printers : The Pakistan Security Printing Corporation Karachi

About : 

• Postal money order is the common man’s mode of remittance of money, and this service has been in operation in this sub-continent for the last 100 years.
• Prior to 1880, transmission of money was undertaken by Government Treasuries. But Post Office network being much wider than the Government Treasuries this function naturally devolved on to Post Office Department. The Money Order Service was started on 1^st January, 1880 and to this day it has been the chief mode of remittance of moderate sums of money notwithstanding the increasingly stiff competition posed by the commercial banks.
• Postal money order has had its share of evolution. Initially, the amount remitted through money order was collected by the payee from the post office. The maximum amount that could be sent through a single money order was fixed at Rs. 150/- only. From 1st October, 1884, payment was arranged to be made to the payee at his door step. Almost simultaneously telegraphic money order service was also introduced. In 1889, the maximum limit of amount that could be remitted by a money order was raised from Rs. 150/- to Rs. 600/- which limit remained unchanged till 1963 when it was further raised to Rs. 1,000/-. In case of remittance received from abroad through commercial banks, however, the limit was set at Rs. 5,000/-.
• The commission charged by the Post Office on the money order too has undergone revision from time to time. The last revision was made in July 1979, when the minimum commission for a money order was slightly increased from Paisa 30 (for amounts upto Rs. 20/-) to Paisa 75 for an amount upto Rs. 50/- and to Rs. 1.50 for any amount from Rs. 51/- to Rs. 100/-; for amounts in excess of Rs. 100/- the commission was reduced from Paisa 20 for every Rs. 10/- or part thereof to Paisa 50 for every Rs. 50/- or part thereof. Thus the charge for a money order for the maximum amount of Rs. 1,000/- was reduced from Rs. 20/- to Rs. 10.50. The objective was to encourage remittances of higher amounts through money order.
• Issued by: The Director General, Pakistan Post Office, Islamabad.

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Issued by Canada

Issued on Dec 5, 1980

Design : The portrait of Dr. Emmanuel-Persillier Lachapelle on this commemorative stamp was taken from a painting that hangs in the Salon des Gouverneurs of the Notre-Dame Hospital. Printed in a rich duotone, the stamp was designed by Jean Morin Designers Limited, Montreal.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Colour : Multi Colour

Denomination : 17 Cents

Name : Emmanuel Persillier–Lachapelle

Born on Dec 23, 1845 at Montreal North, Montreal, Canada

Died on 1918 at Rochester, Minnesota, United States

About : 

• Emmanuel-Persillier Lachapelle was born at Sault–aux–Récollets on December 23, 1845. He was a descendant of one of Montreal‘s first colonists. Lachapelle excelled in science and studied medicine at the Montreal School of Medicine and Surgery, known as Victoria school. English Protestants had founded it in 1843, but over the years it had become French and Roman Catholic. It was affiliated with a Methodist institution, Victoria University of Cobourg, Ontario, for degree-granting purposes.
  
• An excellent physician, Dr. Lachapelle had a large and distinguished clientele, which included several religious orders. He was also one of the first French-Canadian medical examiners for an insurance company. His administrative talents were demonstrated after the Quebec College of Physicians and Surgeons named him its treasurer in 1878, when its treasury was empty. By the time he left, it had a surplus of $4,672.14. Lachapelle also took the initiative in reforming Quebec‘s laws governing medical practice. He was elected president of the Saint-Jean Baptiste Society in 1887.
  
• Lachapelle‘s greatest accomplishment was the founding of Notre-Dame Hospital in Montreal in 1880. This occurred against the background of rivalry between ultramontanism and liberalism, and between the cities of Montreal and Quebec. Bishop Bourget of Montreal wanted to make Victoria School part of a Roman Catholic University he had hoped to set up in Montreal. However, because the Pope had forbidden affiliations between Roman Catholic professional schools and universities of other faiths, Dr. Lachapelle concluded that French Roman Catholic medical training in Montreal would have to be connected with Laval University at Quebec City. Thanks to Lachapelle‘s energy and initiative, Laval opened a medical school in Montreal in September 1879. Unfortunately, a prominent French hospital in Montreal closed its doors to the new school’s students. In order that the students could have teaching facilities and that the residents of Montreal‘s rapidly growing east end could be served, Lachapelle and two others founded Notre-Dame Hospital. For years Lachapelle was administrator of the hospital, which he provided with the most modern facilities. Today it is the largest francophone medical centre in North America.
  
• Dr. Lachapelle also contributed greatly to public health in Quebec. He helped to reduce the incidence of diphtheria, typhoid fever, and tuberculosis. He strongly promoted vaccination against smallpox, a dangerous practice, since anti-vaccination riots regularly broke out. During the 1885 epidemic, for example, a mob wrecked the Montreal public health offices, beat the chief of police, and burned the house of a civic medical officer.
  
• Dr. Lachapelle died in Rochester, Minnesota, in 1918.

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Issued by India

Issued on Dec 3, 1980

Issued for : Indian Posts & Telegraphs Department is privileged to issue a commemorative stamp in his honour.

Description of Designs : The stamp design consists of portrait of Dhyan Chand. The first day cover depicts Dhyan Chand in action.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Colour : Mineral red

Denomination : 35 Paise

Overall size : 4.06 x 2.75 cms.

Printing size : 3.70 x 2.40 cms.

Perforation : 14½ x 14

Paper : Star and Government of India watermarked paper

Number printed : 20,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 40

Printing process : Photogravure

Designed and printed at : India Security Press

Name : Dhyan Singh

Born on Aug 29, 1905 at Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

Died on Dec 3, 1979 at Delhi, India

About : 

• Dhyan Chand was born on 28 August 1905 in a Rajput family of Prayag in Uttar Pradesh. After his birth, his family moved to Jhansi, where Dhyan Chand spent his childhood and most of the later years of his life. After his early education, he joined the Indian Army as a soldier at the age of 16.
• The seeds of artistry in hockey were planted and nurtured in him by Subedar Major Tiwari of his regiment. An Indian team participated in the Hockey Tournament for the first time in the VIII Olympiad held at Amsterdam in 1928. India won the championship by 3-0. Out of the three goals, two were scored by Dhyan Chand. In 1932 Olympics at Los Angeles, Indian team under the captainship of Lal Shah Bukhari again won the championship. India defeated America by 24-1 and thus set a world record. Nine out of 24 goals were scored by Dhyan Chand and ten by his younger brother, Roop Singh.
• In the X Olympiad held at Berlin in 1936, Dhyan Chand captained the Indian team. India defeated Germany by 4-1. Dhyan Chand exhibited such a wizardry with his hockey stick that speculation was rife that a magnet was embedded in his hockey stick to attract the ball. His hockey stick was ordered to be changed but his play continued to hold the spectators and his opponents spellbound. The Second World War intervened and the subsequent Olympiads were not held. Dhyan Chand thereafter retired from active hockey but his passion for the game remained undimmed. He guided and coached a large number of hockey players. His son, Ashok Kumar, under his inspired coaching added lustre to Indian Hockey by representing India in international tourneys.
• Dhyan Chand retired from the Army in 1956 with the rank of Major. The President of India conferred on him the award of Padma Bhushan in recognition of his outstanding services to the cause of Indian hockey. He passed away on 3^rd December 1979.
• (The above text is based on material published elsewhere and/or supplied by the sponsors.)

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Issued by Japan

Issued on Nov 29, 1980

Issued for : A postage stamp was issued to commemorate the 90^th anniversary of the opening of the Japanese Diet. The present Diet is bicameral; members of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors are elected by the public in accordance with the Constitution of Japan. There are 511 members in the House of Representatives and 252 in the House of Councillors.

Design : The Diet Building with Doves

Designer : Mr. Minoru Hisano

Colour : Multicolour

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 50 Yen

Perforation : 13½

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