Issued by Pakistan

Issued on Dec 31, 1984

Issued for : Now, Pakistan Post Office is issuing, on December 31, 1984, two special postage stamps of the denomination of Rs. 2/- each on Moenjodaro, in the World Heritage Monument series, as a part of “Save Moenjodaro” Campaign.

Designer : Adil Salahuddin & M. A. Munnawar (PSPC)

Type : Se–tenant set of 2 Stamps, Postal Used

Denominations : Rs. 2/- each design

Colours : Dark brown, reddish brown, light brown, & yellow ochre

Size of stamps : 33.10 x 41 mm

Size of print : 29.10 x 37 mm

Perforation : 13 x 13½ C

Quantities : 500,000 each denomination

Number of stamps in a sheet : 60 (Sixty) 30 (thirty) each design (se-tenant)

Process of printing : Litho Offset

Printers : Pakistan Security Printing Corporation

About : 

• The dead city of Moenjodaro is located on the right bank of the Indus River, about 400 Kilometers North of Karachi. The remarkable discovery of Moenjodaro in 1922 was at first nothing more than the result of routine explorations by the Archaeological Survey of British India, regarding twin mounds, one large & the other small, in the district of Larkana, about 12 Kilometers east of the small town of Dokri.
• The excavations conducted in the subsequent years established that a civilization possessing a high standard of art & craftsmanship & a well developed system of pictographic writing had existed about 2250 B.C., in the Indus Valley for a considerable period before the arrival of Indo-Aryans. Moenjodaro and other sites of Indus Valley have provided very significant archaeological results and given us considerable information about the civilization of the original inhabitants of the sub-continent.
• The excavated ruins at Moenjodaro, which have so far been subjected to the attention of archaeologists, cover an area of about 100 hectares.
• Well-constructed and covered drainage systems and neat parallel streets, laid out in an orderly design, suggest a developed and major civilization, far ahead of most of the rest of the ancient world. Europe at the time, more than 4,500 years ago, had barely emerged from the Stone Age. Moenjodaro, however, yields its secrets reluctantly. It will be sometime before a really comprehensive picture of the life of the people begins to emerge.
• The economy of the cities of Moenjodaro was based upon the fertile valleys of the major rivers of the Indus Basin & the easy means of communication and transportation which these rivers afforded. As such, agriculture was the main occupation of the people of these regions. There is evidence to show that wheat, barley, sesamum, dates and cotton were cultivated. The farmers depended on the annual rains and floods for the irrigation of their fields. The architecture of the Moenjodaro period is plain & utilitarian. There are neither imposing temples nor royal tombs. It seems that the aim of the city builders was to make life comfortable rather than luxurious. No definite answer can be given to the question, as to who were the people who lived in Moenjodaro. But it is certain that they were of non-Aryan racial stock and highly civilized.
• Among the causes for the decay and desertion of these ancient cities of Indus Valley Civilization after 1800 B.C., progressive desiccation of the Valley may have been one. Another possibility may be the growing danger of floods which compelled the inhabitants to evacuate these cities. There was a remarkable dearth of weapons of defence and war and it is probable that those rich cities with their un-warlike mercantile population were either ransacked by the invading tribes from the neighbouring hilly regions or that the inhabitants were compelled to migrate to more fertile valleys when dry & arid climatic conditions started prevailing on the Indus Valley.
• It is a paradox of facts that the ruins of Moenjodaro buried beneath the accumulations of five thousand years remained in an excellent state of preservation. But as soon as they were exposed from oblivion to the incredible gaze of the 20^th Century, they were overtaken by water-logging and salinity. These two diseases, combined with the threat of bank erosion by the Indus River, pose a grim danger to the existence of one of the most valuable cultural legacies of the human race.
• Measures to Save Moenjodaro have been devised by the Government of Pakistan with the help of UNESCO experts. As a part of an international appeal for assistance to preserve Moenjodaro, the Pakistan Post Office, in collaboration with the Authority for the Preservation of Moenjodaro (Pakistan), had arranged to bring out a series of special stamps for public motivation. The first issue of the “Save Moenjodaro” series, consisting of a set of five stamps in se-tenant, was brought out on 29^th February, 1976. This was followed by a 20-Paisa stamp issued on 31^st May, 1976 and a 65-Paisa stamp issued on 31^st August, 1976. Earlier, on 16^th September, 1963, a set of four stamps was issued on Archaeological Series, out of which one 13 Paisa stamp depicted Moenjodaro.
• Issued by: The Director General, Pakistan Post Office, Islamabad. 

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Issued by Nepal

Issued on Dec 28, 1984 [14 Paush 2041]

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

Designer : K. Karmacharya

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : 1 Rupee

Colour : 4 Colour

Size : 26 x 36 mm

Format : Horizontal

Perforation : 13¾ x 13¾

Paper : Unwatermarked special stamp-paper

Quantity : 3,000,000 (Three millions)

Sheet : 50

Process : Offset litho

Printer : Carl Ueberreuter Druck Und Verlag, Vienna, Austria

Name : Birendra Bir Bikram Shah

Born on Dec 28, 1945 at Kathmandu, Nepal

Died on Jun 1, 2001 at Kathmandu, Nepal

About : 

• “Our proposal to declare Nepal as a Zone of Peace reflects the sincere desire of the Nepalese people to achieve economic progress at home and contribute to peace in this region and the world at large.“ – H. M. King Birendra

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Issued by India

Issued on Dec 23, 1984

Issued for : The Indian Posts & Telegraphs is proud to celebrate the beauty of rose, and is releasing these two special postage stamps as a tribute to the rose breeders of our country and all lovers of roses around the world.

Description of Design : The stamp has been designed by India Security Press, Nasik based on photographs provided by the Rose Society of India. The first day cover, features the rose Raktangadha. The cancellation has been designed by Nenu Bagga.

Type : Stamps, Postal Used

Colour : Multi colour

Denomination : 150 & 200 Paise

About : 

• This beauteous flower, Rose, has a universal appeal. Poets, craftsmen and painters have found joy and inspiration in the range of colours, form, substance and fragrance this exquisite flower offers. While the ancestry of rose can be traced to earliest fossil remains, its imposing advent is unmistakably with the arrival of the Hybrid Tea, celebrated for its classic form and range of colours. Man has taken over from Nature and the new creations of hybridisers continue to be a source of marvel and delight.
• History of roses in India dates back to 334-323 BC when it is reported that Alexander the Great in his epic drive to the borders of India sent one of the newly discovered rose plants back to his mentor Aristotle and to ancient Greece. Later during the Moghul period too, the legendary gardens at Samarkhand and at the famous monument of Taj Mahal, roses were present. It is to India that the world owes the discovery of otto or ‘attar‘ of roses. Empress Nur Jahan once noticed an oily film floating on the surface of her favourite rose water bath. This substance was separated and distilled and rose oil or attar was discovered.
• While, roses have been popular in India through legend and poetry, in recent times roses of Indian origin introduced by hybridisers in India have attracted attention world-wide. Rose breeding started early in the first half of the century and one of the earliest breeders was Bhattacharji (BS) the well-known nurseryman of Deogarh. Scientific rose breeding on modern lines started during the nineteen sixties at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) New Delhi.
• There are three popular varieties of modern roses viz. (i) Hybrid Teas (HT for short), which produce large flowers on single long stems, (ii) Floribundas which produce clusters of medium sized flowers and (iii) Miniatures, which are small and exact replicas of HTs.
• In India there are today, over three hundred varieties developed locally, prominent amongst these are ‘Raja Ram Mohan Roy‘ (A.M. Bhattacharji, 1959) apricot coloured, ‘Sugandha’, again a richly fragrant variety from S.M. Bhattacharji (1964), the pristine pure white ‘Dr Homi Bhabha‘ (Pal, 1968), a lovely red and silver ‘Srinivasa‘ (Kasturirangan 1969), the ‘Banjaran‘, a brilliant red and gold (Pal, 1969) and many bewitching ones – ‘Bhim‘, ‘Jawahar‘, ‘Mrinalini‘, ‘Mohini‘ from the IARI.
• The varieties selected for the present issue of stamps i.e. ‘MRINALINI’ and ‘SUGANDHA’ are two of the finest examples of roses developed in India.
• ‘MRINALINI‘ (IARI 1974): A hybrid seedling from the cross of ‘Pink Parfait’ and ‘Christian Dior’ (HT). Phlox pink, long pointed buds open to very large (10 cm diameter across), well formed blooms on long stem. The flowers are long lasting and borne on vigorous growing bushes (plant height 85 cms) producing about 60 blooms in a season from December to April.
• ‘SUGANDHA‘ (Bhattacharji 1964): long pointed buds, ranging from pure red to scarlet, opening into large loose flowers on medium tall, upright growing bush. The flowers are gloriously scented and tend to droop. However, flowers on strong shoots attain exhibition quality.
• Text courtesy
  Friends of the Roses Bombay and Rose Society of India – New Delhi.

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Issued by Nepal

Issued on Dec 21, 1984

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

Designer : M. N. Rana

Type : Stamps, Postal Used

Denomination :
(i) 10 Paisa
(ii) Re. 1
(iii) Rs. 5.00

Colour : 5 Colour

Size : 28 x 26 mm. 26 x 36 mm.

Format : Vertical, Horizontal

Paper : unwatermarked special stamp-paper

Quantity :
(i) 5,000,000 (Five millions)
(ii) 1,000,000 (One million)
(iii) 1,000,000 (One million)

Sheet : 50

Process : Offset litho.

Printer : Carl ueberreuter Druck und verlag, Austria, Vienna

About : 

• Tri Vikrama Vamanavatara
  • The stone image of Tri Vikrama Vamanavatara was established in the year 467 A.D. by the Lichchhavi king Manadeva with a view to give lasting memory to the pious aspiration of his mother Rajyavati. It is said to be the oldest stone image found in Nepal with date inscribed on it and has been preserved in the National Museum, Kathmandu.
  • The image symbolizes the mythical legend of Lord Vishnu in his gigantic size after the demon king Bali agree to give three steps space to Lord Vishnu in disguise of Vamana, the dwarf during religious Yajna performed by Bali.
• Chhinna Masta Bhagavati
  • This temple of Chhinna Masta Bhagavati is located on the bank of a beautiful pond in the village Sakhara of Saptari district. This goddess is also known as Sakhandeshwari Devi.
  • In order that one’s wishes and aspirations be fulfilled, thousands of devotees congregate here every year during Navaratri. Many Nepalese and Indian devotees visit this place every day to offer their worship.
  • In tantricism this goddess has a great significance. Tantrists hold this belief that worshipping the goddess with full devotion gives power to achieve impossible miracles.
• Mt. Api
  • Mt. Api belonging to Byas Rishi range of Himalya is one of the most attractive mountain peak. 7132 m. high this peak is located in Darchula District of Mahakali zone in the far western region. The first known successful ascent of this peak was made on 10^th May, 1960 by a Japanese climber and a Sherpa.

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Issued by India

Issued on Dec 3, 1984

Issued for : The Posts and Telegraphs Department is proud to issue a commemorative stamp for the second time as an humble tribute on the first birth centenary of Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India.

Description of Design : The 50 p. multicolour stamp has been designed by India Security Press, Nasik. The First Day Cover shows Dr. Rajendra Prasad with Mahatma Gandhi. The cancellation design has been prepared by Nenu Bagga.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination : 50 Paise

Overall size : 4.06 x 2.73 cms.

Printing size : 3.71 x 2.38 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Unwatermarked P. G. matt coated paper

Number printed : 15,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 40

Printing process : Photogravure

Printed at : India Security Press

Name : Rajendra Prasad

Born on Dec 3, 1884 at Ziradei, Siwan district, Bihar, India

Died on Feb 28, 1963 at Patna, Bihar, India

About : 

• Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Republic of India was born on 3^rd December, 1884 in a small village in the Saran district of North Bihar known as Jeradei. His father Mahadev Sahay was a scholar in Persian and Sanskrit.
• At the age of five, according to the practice of the times, Rajendra Prasad learnt Persian, besides Hindi and Arithmetic under a Maulvi. Later, he joined the Zilla school at Chapra from where he did his Entrance Examination at the age of 18, standing first in the first division. Thereafter, he joined the Presidency College, Calcutta for higher studies. He claimed the first position in B.A., M.A., LLB and M.L. Examinations. He was elected to the post of the Secretary of the College Union and started a student organisation whose members actively participated in Gandhiji‘s Champaran movement. It was in Calcutta as a student that Rajendra Prasad was exposed to a new awareness that had begun to dawn on the country at that time. The ‘Dawn Society‘ of which Rajendra Prasad was a member provided ample opportunities for his socio-political awakening.
• He first started legal practice in Calcutta. Simultaneously, he joined the Indian National Congress and was elected to AICC. Rajendra Prasad was really a diamond covered with dust. After 33 years, a clever jeweller who was no other than Mahatma Gandhi recognised his worth and presented him before the world, in 1917 when British atrocities ended in Champaran. He was a successful lawyer not merely by dint of his incisive intellect and phenomenal memory but also because of his innate honesty, integrity and purity of character. Jawaharlal Nehru once remarked that he was a symbol of the real India and “truth looked at you through his eyes“.
• Rajendra Prasad’s organising capacity, his devotion to service and popularity were fully appreciated by Gandhiji, specially after his role as Chairman of the “Bihar Central Relief Committee” formed to ameliorate the condition of thousands of people uprooted by the devastating earthquake which occurred in 1934, in Bihar. In 1920, Rajendra Prasad took the final plunge and dedicated himself wholly to the national cause, from where he did not look back. He joined Gandhiji’s Civil disobedience movement, non-cooperation movement and suffered several terms of rigorous imprisonment. Personally, he suffered severe privations for want of a regular income and had a weak health due to asthma, but they did not come in the way of his participation in the national struggle.
• Gandhiji persuaded him to become the President for the 48^th Congress session held at Bombay in 1934. When in 1939, Subash Chander Bose resigned from the Presidentship of the Congress, Rajendra Prasad had to accept the responsibility again. In 1947, when Acharya Kripalani resigned as President of the Congress, all the leaders including Gandhiji unanimously requested Dr. Rajendra Prasad to accept the office. Thus he became President of the Congress for the third term. During the framing of the constitution Dr. Rajendra Prasad made momentous contribution as President of the Constituent Assembly. This was an event which had no parallel in the political history of India. This was an event even greater than his being the first President of India. His appointment to the high office of the President of India in 1950 came as a matter of course which he held lending great dignity to it. He held the office for two terms and retired in 1962. After retirement, he settled in Sadaqat Ashram, Patna and breathed his last on 28^th February, 1963.

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Issued by Nepal

Issued on Nov 30, 1984

Issued for : In order to emphasise the importance and specialities of the wildlife existing in the kingdom of Nepal three various postage stamps under the wildlife series are being brought out today.

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

Designer : K. Karmacharya

Type : Stamps, Postal Used

Denomination :
(a) 10 Paisa
(b) 25 Paisa
(c) 50 Paisa

Colour : 4 colour

Size : 26 x 36 mm

Format : Horizontal

Paper : unwatermarked special stamp-paper

Quantity :
(a) 5,000,000 (Five millions)
(b) 3,000,000 (Three millions)
(c) 5,000,000 (Five millions)

Sheet : 50

Process : Offset litho

Printer : Carl Ueberreuter Druck und verlag Austria, Vienna

About : 

• Panthera uncia (Snow leopard)
  • Snow leopard is a beautiful carnivore found in the Himalayan region. This animal is a bit lighter in colour than the ordinary leopard with a very bushy tail. In order to study the behaviour and habitat of the snow leopard, which fell under the category of fully protected animal group, a Himalayan Snow Leopard Project has been launched. In 1982 ecologists working under this project have succeeded in radio colouring few snow leopards in the Dolphu region of Mugu district.
• Antilope cervicapra (Krishna Sar)
  • Krishna Sar, a very attractive looking antilope, is a fully protected species in Nepal.
  • Almost extinct from Nepal this animal has been found in a small number in Khairi of Bardia and in Royal Bardia wildlife reserve. It has high significance from religious point of view. To save this species from extinction in Nepal, a rehabilitation project has been launched since 1979 in Bardia.
• Gavialis gangeticus (Gharial)
  • Regarded as a unique wealth of nature, Gharial is a fully protected reptile in Nepal. Threatened with extinction a few remnant populations of this species has been found in the Narayani river of Royal Chitwan National Park and in the Karnali and Babai rivers inside Royal Bardia Wildlife Reserve. To save this reptile from extinction, a Gharial Breeding Centre under the joint collaboration of Frankfurt Zoological Society and His Majesty‘s Government has been launched in Royal Chitwan National Park.

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Issued by Israel

Issued on 27 Nov, 1984

Designer : Z. Narkiss

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Colour : Multi colour

Denomination : 400 Shekel

Name : Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog

Born on 3 Dec 1988 at Łomża, Congress Poland [now in Poland]

Died on 25 Jul, 1959 at Jerusalem, Israel

About : 

• Rabbi Isaac Ha–Levi Herzog was born in 1888 in Lomza, Poland where his father served as Rabbi. His father who was known for his inspiring sermons and as a spiritual leader, officiated in Lomza, Leeds, and Paris; and it was from him that his son imbibed a deep love for Jewish Studies and a love for Zion. Isaac was an outstanding scholar and when no more than 16 years old had mastered the whole of the Babylonian Talmud and a few years later was ordained as rabbi by one of the outstanding Jewish scholars of the day.
• Rabbi Isaac Ha–Levi Herzog was regarded as an authority on Jewish Law and respected for his profound knowledge and judicial skill. He also devoted himself to secular studies and studied mathematics, classical and semitic languages, philosophy and science at the Universities of London, Leeds and Paris. He was fluent in a dozen languages and his writings show a mastery of such subjects as marine biology and Roman and English Law.
• In the year 1916 he was invited to take up the position of Rabbi in Belfast Northern Ireland and shortly after that moved to Dublin as Chief Rabbi of what is now Eire. He was a close observer of the Irish people’s fight for independence and became friendly with their leaders. Until this very day he holds a special place in the memory of the Irish people who saw in him both an exceptional personality and a true friend.
• In 1936 Rabbi Herzog was invited to succeed Rabbi Kook as the Chief Ashkenazi Rabbni of Eretz Israel and following the declaration of the State, was privileged to serve as Israel’s first Chief Rabbi, a post he continued to hold until his death in 1959.
• Throughout all those stormy years of the Holocaust and the rebirth of the Jewish State, Rabbi Herzog fought unceasingly to bring the people of Israel closer to Judaism. He strengthened the yeshivot, established contacts with all sections of the Yishuv, strove for national unity and for a greater understanding between religious and non-religious sections of the community and negotiated with the Mandatory authorities as equal to equal. He was one of the leaders of their fight for independence and frequently represented his people before world tribunals. Again and again he pleaded the Jewish people’s case before the various Enquiry Commissions set up to solve the problems of Eretz Israel and on one never-to-be-forgotten occasion publicly tore to shreds the infamous White Paper on the future of Palestine.
• During and after the Second World War he worked unceasingly to save the Jews of Europe from destruction and conversion. At the risk of his life he travelled to Europe and the USA to speak personally with the world’s leaders and was received by presidents of the USA and the Pope. His rescue mission undertaken in 1946 saved hundreds of Jewish orphans from the danger of conversion. Rabbi Herzog was among those who helped draft the laws of the new State. In the judgements that he handed down in his capacity as President of the Rabbinical High Court of Appeal he interpreted Jewish Law in terms of current realities, emphasizing its relevance alongside the laws of the new Jewish State. His judgements in matrimonial cases from the basis of present-day legal decision and contributed greatly to enhancing the status of the woman in our society.
• He left behind him a whole treasury of responsa (rabbinical opinions) on questions of Jewish Law, part of which have been published; two volumes (out of the five that he planned to write) on “The Main Institutions of Jewish Law” as well as numerous articles and scholarly theses.
• Rabbi Herzog’s family too have left their mark on Israel public life. His wife Sarah served as President of Mizrachi Women and chairman of the Ezrat Nashim hospital; his son Ya’akov was an intellectual and statesman who served as Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office until his untimely death, while his other son Chaim is Israel’s sixth President.

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Issued by India

Issued on Nov 20, 1984

Issued for : The Indian Posts & Telegraphs Department is privileged to issue a commemorative postage stamp to mark the Congress being held for the first time in an Asian Country.

Description of Design : The 100 P. stamp based on the emblem of the 12^th World Mining Congress has been designed by India Security Press, Nashik. The First Day Cover shows drilling operations. The cancellation has been designed by Nenu Bagga.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Colour : Two colours

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 P.G. matt coated stamp paper

Number printed : 15,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 35

Printing Process : Photogravure

Printed at : India Security Press

About : 

• The 12^th World Mining Congress is being held in New Delhi from November 19 to 23, 1984. The Institution of Engineers (India) as the National Committee of the World Mining Congress are hosts to the Congress, being held in India for the first time.
• Started by Prof. Boleslaw Krupinski of Poland in August, 1957 as an International Committee, the first Congress was held in Warsaw during September, 1958.
• In the early stages, it was an informal organisation and the membership of the early International Organising Committee reflected Prof. Krupinski‘s personal and professional friendships around the world. He saw, very clearly, the mining community as an international community. As the Organisation developed, a more formal structure was created and, in Austria in 1975, a set statutes was adopted and the name was changed to the present title; World Mining Congress. The aims of the Congress are :
  • To promote and support scientific and technical co-operation for national and international progress in the fields of mining of solid minerals and the development of natural mineral sources;
  • To obtain a worldwide exchange of information with respect to the development of mining science, technology, economics, health and safety aspects of mining operation and environmental protection.
• The International Organising Committee of the World Mining Congress, on which as many as 36 countries are now represented, is a permanent organisation with its secretariat at Warsaw and has been responsible for organising international meets.
• Three permanent international bodies are affiliated with the World Mining Congress, although each maintains its independent Secretariat :
  • (1) the International Bureau of Strata Mechanics,
  • (2) the International Bureau for Mine Thermo Physics and,
  • (3) the International Society for Mine Surveying.
• The World Mining Congress itself has consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
• In its statutes, the Congress covers all solid minerals i.e. metals, non-metallics and solid energy minerals. Of the 11 Congresses held to date, only one (Peru) has been outside Europe; of the 54 IOC meetings, seven have been held outside Europe viz. China, Peru (2), India, USA, USSR and Turkey.
• Text based on the material published by the 12^th World Mining Congress, New Delhi.

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Issued by India

Issued on Nov 19, 1984

Issued for : The Indian Posts & Telegraphs Department offers its humble tribute, to this illustrious leader of our country, a legend of our times – Smt. Indira Gandhi.

Description of Designs : The 50 p. two colour stamp is designed by Charanjit Lal. The first day cover is based on a design prepared by Badar Makhmoor. The cancellation has been designed by Alka Sharma.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination : 50 Paise

Name : Indira Priyadarshini Nehru

Born on Nov 19, 1917 at Allahabad, United Provinces, British India

Died on Oct 31, 1984 at New Delhi, India

About : 

• Born on November 19, 1917 at Allahabad, Indira Priyadarshini as she was named by her father Jawaharlal Nehru and her mother Kamala Nehru, got her early education in Switzerland and at Oxford, and in India at Bombay, Pune and at the Vishwa Bharati, Shantiniketan.
  
• Even in her early childhood, young Indira involved herself in the struggle for freedom and founded the Bal Charkha Sangh, and in 1930 the ‘Vanar Sena‘ of children to help the Congress Party during the Non-Cooperation Movement. Indira Priyadarshini was married to Feroze Gandhi on March 26, 1942. Soon after, she and Feroze Gandhi were imprisoned in September, 1942, for their association with the Non-Cooperation Movement. Smt. Indira Gandhi came in close contact with various eminent national leaders through her father and her family. She was greatly influenced by the ideals of Mahatama Gandhi and worked in the riot affected areas of Delhi under Gandhiji‘s directions in 1947. Smt. Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi had two sons Rajiv and Sanjay. Sanjay died prematurely in an air-crash at Delhi.
• After Independence, Smt. Indira Gandhi was the official hostess to her father Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. She accompanied Pandit Nehru on his tours in the country and abroad and picked up the art of statecraft and diplomacy from her famed father. From 1955 she was actively associated with the working of the Indian National Congress and was elected as its President for the term 1959-60. She was made the Minister for Information and Broadcasting in 1964 in the cabinet of Late Lal Bahadur Shastri. After the sudden demise of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Smt. Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister of India in January, 1966. She continued to lead the country through various challenges and trying situations upto March, 1977 when in the elections she was defeated. However, she was back as the Prime Minister of India in January, 1980 and since then provided dynamic leadership to this country of over 700 million people of various religions, languages and customs, till she breathed her last. She was associated with a very large number of welfare and cultural organisations and institutions. On an average she used to work 17 to 18 hours a day. Her work provided her the source of recreation and relaxation. Smt. Gandhi was fond of the mountains, wherefrom, she derived inspiration and strength. Being a lover of nature she took active interest in all ecological preservation efforts.
• True to her socialistic ideals Smt. Indira Gandhi took a number of bold steps like abolition of privy purses and nationalisation of banks. She had a special corner in her heart for the poor and the downtrodden as also for the disabled. She launched the twenty point programme for the removal of poverty, ‘Garibi Hatao’, and for the all round progress of the nation. On the international front, India got a place of rare honour and respect at all forums, thanks to her keen understanding and appreciation of the international situation.
• Smt. Indira Gandhi has been conferred with a number of honorary doctoral degrees from the Universities and Institutions around the world, she was also awarded a very large number of prestigious national and international awards including the Bharat Ratna in 1972. In 1971 she was acclaimed to be the most admired women according to a poll conducted by the French Institute of Public Opinion. Smt. Gandhi travelled all over India and the larger part of the world, and wherever she went she won numerous friends and admirers. Busy as she was with all her myriad responsibilities Smt. Gandhi enjoyed reading on a variety of subjects. She has also written a number of books and reminiscences which include Eternal India, Ma Varite, My Truth, Peoples and Problems and a few more. Not only was Smt. Gandhi acclaimed as a connoisseur of the arts, she was also an ardent advocate of scientific and technological advancement. India’s Space and Nuclear Research programmes owe their growth and development to the vision and foresight of Smt. Indira Gandhi.
• It was her encouragement which earned the Asian Games held in Delhi in 1982, worldwide fame. The successful hosting of the Non-Aligned Summit Meet and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in New Delhi under her leadership made every Indian proud. It was an honour for her and for the country when she was elected chairperson of the Non-Aligned Meet in 1983.
• Smt. Indira Gandhi worked relentlessly for the integration, unity and progress of the country till the very last. In one of her last speeches she said:
  • “Every drop of my blood, I am sure, will contribute to the growth of this nation and make it strong and dynamic.”
• The nation lost a charismatic leader with a rare vision, and the world a remarkably foresighted statesman, when Smt. Indira Gandhi was assassinated on the morning of the 31^st October, 1984 bringing to a close a most eventful era in India’s history.

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Issued by India

Issued on Nov 14, 1984

Issued for : As stamps communicate to masses in an effective way, the Indian Posts & Telegraphs Department every year propagates and promotes an important message of mass awakening about the needs of the children and is happy to issue a special postage stamp on Children’s Day, 1984.

Description of Designs : The stamp designed by India Security Press, Nasik’s based is on a painting by an Orthopedically handicapped child artist Master Hanif Kassam of Bombay. The First Day Cover shows a painting by Pravin Pramod Khairnar of Distt Nasik (Maharashtra). The cancellation has been designed by Nenu Bagga.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination : 50 Paise

Overall size : 3.91 x 2.90 cms.

Printing size : 3.35 x 2.54 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Unwatermarked P. G. matt coated paper

Number printed : 15,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 35

Printing process : Photogravure

Printed at : India Security Press

About : 

• Children’s Day is celebrated every year on November 14 to celebrate the birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who was one of the few great architects in the delicate and uncommon art of national building. He had a grand design for India and looked not just to today but was much more concerned with the tomorrow. He believed that children are the most valuable assets and to ensure a country’s future its children have to be secured.
• Children are civilization’s base for the future and should, therefore, be nursed and nourished, trained and guided, helped and equipped to play their role as future builders of world destiny. Recent researches show that an estimated 45 percent of India’s urban children and 55 percent in the rural areas out of a total child population of 260 million live below subsistence level. About 16.3 million Indian Children or roughly 5 percent of the total number are sentenced to labour, they work on farms and in factories and will grow up unable to read or write. Less than 5% of India’s Children attend school. Over a hundred per 100,000 Indian Children are totally physically handicapped. Upto 40,000 a year go blind due to vitamin A deficiency. Over a million in the age group 1-4 years die every year due to sickness, 60 percent of them within a month of being born. But the most lethal killer of all remains starvation; it takes a toll of about 100,000 children every month according to UNICEF reports.
• At such a state of affairs, conscientious efforts of the policy makers, voluntary organisations, social workers and experts need to be channelised so that programmes geared to guarantee the children their basic rights to love, affection and understanding are organised providing opportunities to children to develop into useful members of the society. It is the moral duty of all of us to assure the children their right to a harmonious co-existence and every gesture that awakens mankind to the continuing and often desperate needs of children must be given its fullest support.
• (Text courtesy Indian Council for Child Welfare, New Delhi).

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