Issued by India

Issued on Dec 30, 1988

Description of Designs : The stamp depicts K. M. Munshi and a tree, symbolising his interest in the Van Mahotsav. The first day cover shows him against a background of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. The stamp is designed by India Security Press, Nasik Road, the first day cover by Sankha Samanta and the cancellation by Alka Sharma.

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Single Colour

Denomination : 60 Paise

Overall size : 3.91 x 2.90 cms.

Printing size : 3.55 x 2.54 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Imported un W/M H.S. 2 coated gummed stamp paper

Number Printed : 10,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 35

Printing Process : Photogravure

Printed : India Security Press

Name : Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi

Born on Dec 30, 1887 at Broach, Gujarat, India

Died on Feb 8, 1971 at Bombay, India

About : 

• K.M. Munshi is remembered for his versatility: freedom-fighter, lawyer, one of the makers of India’s Constitution, literary giant, philosopher, creative artist, educationist, promoter of art, music, dance and drama, an able administrator, an advocate of Sanskrit and Hindi, environmentalist and a builder of institutions.
• Born in Broach (now in Gujarat State) on 30^th December, 1887, he settled down in Bombay in 1901. He was deeply influenced by Shri Aurobindo Ghosh, who was his Professor at Baroda College. He married Atilaxmi Pathak when he was 14.
• Lawyer by profession, he was enrolled as an Advocate (O.S.) in 1913 and joined the Home Rule League and became Joint Editor of Young India. In 1917, he became a member of the Subjects Committee of the Indian National Congress.
• Dr. Munshi was deeply interested in education. He was elected President of the Panchgani Education Society and founded the Gujarati Sahitya Sansad. He was closely associated with the Bombay University in different capacities. The Maharaja Gaekwad of Baroda appointed him a Member of the Baroda University Commission.
• In February, 1924 his wife, Atilaxmi, passed away. In 1926 he married Lilavati Sheth.
• In 1927 he was elected to the Bombay Legislative Council, but resigned in 1929 during the Bardoli Satyagraha. He was re-elected in 1930. He rejoined the Congress and was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for participating in the Salt Satyagraha movement. In 1932 he was sentenced to two years’ rigorous imprisonment in Bijapur. In 1934 he was re-elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly and appointed Home Minister in the first Congress Government. He was elected President of the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad.
• In 1939 he resigned the Home Ministership, plunged into the Satyagraha movement and was again arrested.
• In 1946 he was appointed to the Experts’ Committee for drafting the Constitution of India and elected to the Constituent Assembly. In 1947, he was appointed Agent-General to the Government of India in Hyderabad. In 1950, he became the Union Minister for Food & Agriculture, and was the Governor of U.P. from 1952-57.
• He resigned from the Congress in 1959 and was elected Vice-President of the Swatantra Party.
• In 1938, Shri Munshi founded the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan at Bombay, and, as its President, guided its activities till his death. He transformed the Bhavan into a major institution serving the cultural, educational, literary, scientific and spiritual life of the nation through its innumerable activities. It has now over 85 constituent institutions and 50 Kendras.
• His love of literature was such that even when he was young, he promoted a monthly magazine – BHARGAVA. He wrote over 125 books, including social, mythological and historical novels, in English, Hindi & Gujarati. He is considered one of the path-breakers of Gujarati literature. His books include ‘Mari Kamala‘, ‘Vami Vasulat‘, ‘Kono–Vank‘, ‘Patan–ni–Prabhuta‘, ‘Gujarat–no–Nath‘, ‘Prithvi Vallabh‘, ‘Rajadhi Raj‘, ‘Kakani Shashi‘, ‘Gujarat & Its Literature‘, ‘I follow the Mahatma‘, ‘Akhand Hindustan‘, ‘The Glory that was Gurjaradesa‘, ‘Imperial Gurjrars‘, ‘Bhagvadgita & Modern Life‘, ‘Gandhi, the Master‘, ‘The End of an Era‘, ‘Krishnavatara‘.
• Dr. Munshi is rightly ranked among the great architects and builders of modern India. He died on February 8, 1971.
• Text Courtesy : Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

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Issued by Nepal

Issued on 14 Paush 2045 (28 December 1988)

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

Designer : Mohan Rana

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : Rs. 4

Colour : 6 Colours

Size : 30 mm x 40 mm

Format : Vertical

Paper : Special stamp-paper

Quantity : 5,000,000 (Five millions)

Sheet : 50

Process : Offset

Printer : Austrian Government Printing Office, Vienna, Austria

Name : Birendra Bir Bikram Shah

Born on Dec 28, 1945 at Kathmandu, Nepal

Died on Jun 1, 2001 at Kathmandu, Nepal

About : 

• We should try to fulfil the obligations we owe to our society rather than find faults only with others. Let the very name of Panchayat donate a council of people who are able to take decisions in a democratic manner for the greater good of our motherland and let the panchas in a similar spirit be identified constantly with someone who serves the cause of the country and the people. – H. M. King Birendra

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Issued by Pakistan

Issued on Dec 22, 1988

Issued for : To commemorate the 75 Year of Islamia College Peshawar, the Pakistan Post Office is issuing a stamp of Rs. 3/- denomination on December 22, 1988.

Designer : Adil Salahuddin, Chief Designer PSPC

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Denomination : Rs. 3/-

Colours : Blue, Green, Brown and Beige

Size of Stamp : 50 x 33 mm

Size of Print : 46 x 29 mm

Perforation : 13C

Quantity : One million

Number of stamps in a sheet : 18 (eighteen)

Process of Printing : Litho Offset

Printer : Pakistan Security Printing Corporation

About : 

• Muslims of the sub-continent were very slow in acquiring modern knowledge and this was even more visible on the North Western Frontiers of India. The Pathans looked with disdain both on the British and the knowledge coming from their schools. It was Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qaiyum Khan, a civil servant in the British administration on the Frontiers, who realised the consequences of such an attitude. His visit to Aligarh in 1909 gave further impetus to his dream of establishing an exemplary College or Dar–ul–Ulum, along with an Oriental Wing and High School, where studies in religion would be blended with modern western education. Thus, having won the sympathy of the Ulema and the landed gentry, he was able to muster public support for general education.
  
• In April 1911, a Committee was formed to collect subscriptions and look after the various other connected issues. This Committee had Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qaiyum Khan as its first Honorary Secretary, for he could serve as the best intermediary between the government and the masses. It was amazing to see that in mere six months time about five lacs rupees were collected, which amount later swelled up to fifteen in 1914. What was most touching was the sight of poor widows and workers happily parting with their little savings for the College, with the hope that their children would live a better future through their education.
  
• The choice of the site for the Dar-ul-Ulum fell on the area at the entrance of the tribal territory with the view to attract the tribal youth as well. It was here that a total of 918 Kanals and 17 Marlas of land was bought for Rs. 30,683/1/4, at the rate of Rs. 30/- per Kanal. The foundation stone was then laid on 21.3.1912 at the hands of a revered scholar, Haji Sahib of Turangzai.
  
• Classes were started in the Islamia Collegiate School on April 14, 1913, while the College started on October 1^st that year. Admission initially was low, but it gradually caught up alongwith construction of its building. The Dar-ul-Ulum, comprising an Arts and Science College, a High School and an Oriental Faculty; became nucleus of the College. Establishment of hostels, library, play grounds and staff quarters turned this barren land into a haven of learning in shortest possible time.
  
• The impact of the College was soon felt in all walks of life in the Frontier. Quaid–i–Azam visited the College in 1938 during his first ever tour of the Frontier, followed by another visit in 1945. The Frontier youth took active part in the struggle for Pakistan and the Quaid-i-Azam re-visited the College after the emergence of Pakistan in 1948. The Father of the Nation was so touched by the love and affection of the graduates of the College that he bequeathed part of his assets to the College through his will.
  
• The College’s contribution to the intellectual growth of the area is universally acknowledged. It has provided educated manpower to the Province in particular and to Pakistan in general. The establishment of the University of Peshawar, followed by those of University of Engineering & Technology and the University of Agriculture, besides the Medical College and the Teaching Hospital on the same campus, stand testimony to the contribution of the College to advancement of human knowledge in this area.
  
• (Contributed by Islamia College, Peshawar)
  
• Issued by The Director General, Pakistan Post Office Department, Islamabad.

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Issued by India

Issued on Dec 20, 1988

Type : Stamps, Mint Condition

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination : 60 & 650 Paise

Overall Size : 3.91 x 2.90 cms.

Printing Size : 3.55 x 2.54 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Imported unwatermarked Adhesive gravure coated stamp paper

Number Printed : 15,00,000 each

Number per issue sheet : 6 Sheetlet

Printing Process : Photogravure

Printed : India Security Press

About : 

• As a prelude to INDIA-89, World Philatelic Exhibition, the Department of Posts has been issuing a series of stamps. This, the fourth set, carries two cancellations, one of the RMS and the other of the DLO.
• The Indian postal system is one of the largest in the world. In the nineteenth century, the geographical area covered by the system was very much larger. It included undivided India and Burma and also certain out-posts of the British Empire like Aden, Singapore and Shangai where Indian stamps were used. This, along with the multifarious activities undertaken by the system itself, made a study of Indian postal history interesting as well as instructive for a philatelist specialising in postal history collections. Postal history is the study of routes, rates and markings. The markings are by far the most colourful aspect of such collections. It is, therefore, appropriate that postal cancellations are chosen as the subject for this set of stamps.
• The first stamp depicts one of the earliest hand stamps of the travelling post office in the ‘Allahabad–Cawnpore‘ railway sector and this post mark was in use from December, 1864 to 1869. It was used by the travelling sorting offices between these two places. The first Travelling Post Office was established on 1st May, 1864 under a Superintendent at Allahabad. The TPO operated on the ‘Allahabad–Cawnpore‘ and Calcutta Delhi railway sector. The circular post mark shown on the stamp has a diameter of 25 to 26 mms with “TRAVELLING” along the upper rim of the circumference and “POST OFFICE” along the lower rim, with No. 1 of the set, date and ‘AC’ in three horizontal lines in the space within the circle. This cancellation was used by the 1^st set of the experimental TPO on 21^st August, 1864.
• The second stamp depicts the type of cancellation used by the Dead Letter Offices in 1886. The origin of Dead Letter Offices can be traced to the Act of 1837 which prescribed the treatment of undelivered letters lying at any post office for longer than three months. Initially these were sent to the GPO of the Presidency and lists of such undelivered letters and parcels were published in the official Gazette. They remained at the GPO for 18 months and, after a further period of 12 months, they were destroyed.
• The Dead Letter Offices were established somewhere in 1860s but it was only towards the end of the decade that actual markings were used on envelopes and other postal material. The marking depicted on the reverse of the envelope is a square of 18 mm and has the words D.L.O., the post office and the date in three horizontal lines in the space within the square.
• Material for text, courtesy Shri G.B. Pai, Col. L.G. Shenoi and the India-80 catalogue.

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Issued by India

Issued on Dec 15, 1988

Issued for : The Department of Posts is issuing a special postage stamp to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of the Dedication of Bhakra to the Nation on 22^nd October, 1988.

Description of Designs : The stamps, prepared by India Security Press, Nashik Road, is based on a design obtained from the Ministry of Energy. The first day cover is designed by Shri Sankha Samantha and cancellation by Smt. Alka Sharma.

Type : Stamp, Mint condition

Colour : Single colour

Denomination : 60 Paise

Overall size : 4.80 x 3.60 cms.

Printing size : 4.35 x 3.15 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Indigenous unwatermarked P.G. matt coated stamp paper

Number Printed : 15,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 20

Printing Process : Photogravure

Printed : India Security Press

About : 

• “….these days the biggest temple and mosque and gurudwara is the place where man works for the good of mankind. Which place can be greater than this, this Bhakra-Nangal, where thousands and lakhs of men have worked, have shed their blood and sweat and laid down their lives as well?” – Jawaharlal Nehru.
• A dam is a dam but Bhakra is a landmark, a landmark of Independent India. As Jawaharlal Nehru said, “It is a landmark because it has become a symbol of a nation’s will to march forward with strength, determination and courage.”
• Though the idea to raise a dam across the River Sutlej was first mooted as far back as in 1908, work on it could begin only after independence in 1948. Building the dam was a tremendous challenge. The terrain was treacherous and infrastructure non-existent. Everything was being done for the first time. Yet, all challenges were overcome, and the dam was dedicated to the nation by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on 22^nd October, 1963. The waters going waste were tapped to irrigate 26.3 lakh hectares of par of parched fields, improve irrigation in another 8.9 lakh hectares, and to provide power to agriculture, industry and homes in 13,000 villages and 128 towns. The Bhakra-Nangal Project has yielded directly over one hundred times its cost during the last 25 years of its operation.
• Bhakra, the second highest straight gravity concrete dam in the world is 225.55m high, 518.16m long and 9.14m wide at the top with about eight km long network of galleries inside for instrument panels, pipelines and monitoring offices. The reservoir created by the dam, named Gobind Sagar after Guru Gobind Singh, is 168.35 km in area and has a gross storage capacity totalling 9621 million cu. m or 7.80 million acre ft. On its banks are two power plants with an installed capacity of 1200 MW. Today, together with Ganguwal, Kotla, Pong and Dehar power plants, the Bhakra Beas Management Board has a total installed generation capacity of 2704 MW. Bhakra, always dearest to the heart of Nehru, is a splendid example of inter-State cooperation in river water management.
• The Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary Celebrations in the country commence and coincide with the Silver Jubilee of the Dedication of the Bhakra Dam of the Nation.
• Text Courtesy: Bhakra Beas Management Board.

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Issued by India

Issued on Dec 5, 1988

Description of Designs : The stamp is designed by India Security Press, Nashik Road, the first day cover by Sankha Samantha and the cancellation by Alka Sharma.

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination : 60 Paise

Overall size : 4.06 x 2.73 cms.

Printing size : 3.71 x 2.38 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Import unwatermarked Adhesive gravure coated stamp paper

Number Printed : 10,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 40

Printing Process : Photogravure

Printed : India Security Press

Name : Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah

Born on Dec 5, 1905 at Soura, Jammu and Kashmir, British India

Died on Sep 8, 1982 at Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India

About : 

• Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was born on 5^th December, 1905 in Soura Srinagar, Kashmir. Graduating from Lahore, he obtained the Master’s Degree in Chemistry from Aligarh Muslim University in 1930. In 1931 he began his political career, organising Kashmiri masses under the banner of Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference. He converted it into the National Conference in 1939 giving it a broad base and bringing more communities into its fold. He formulated a socio-political and economic programme for the state called “Naya Kashmir“ which was adopted by the National Conference. He sought to emancipate people of the princely states. On the eve of partition he launched the “Quit Kashmir” movement demanding the repudiation of the Treaty of Amritsar between the British and Raja Gulab Singh.
• On the principle of “Sovereignty vests with the people”, he denounced the prince’s ‘divine right’ to rule. He was tried for sedition and sentenced to nine years’ aggregate imprisonment and fined Rs. 1500/-, despite the strong defence by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Asaf Ali, Bhagwan Sahay, Diwan Chaman Lal, Pandit Jai Lal Kilam and others.
• When the Maharaja’s administration collapsed, under the stress of tribal raids in 1947, he was appointed the Head of the Administration. He organised the people to resist the raiders till the arrival of the Indian Army. In those critical days of Kashmir‘s history, when the whole sub-continent was torn by communal strife, Kashmir stayed aloof from communal disharmony.
• In March, 1948, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah became the first popular Prime Minister of the State. He was also a Member of the Indian Constituent Assembly, a signatory to the Indian Constitution and in 1948-49, a member of the Indian delegation to the United Nations.
• During the long period over which he rendered service to the State, he contributed much to its stability and development. His achievements included termination of the Jagirdari system, abolition of large landed estates, fixation of land ceiling, liquidation of debt and transfer of land to landless peasants. During his tenure, the hereditary rule of the royal family was replaced by the system of electing the head of the government. He also reorganised the education system. He introduced the concept of decentralisation of power by constituting the District Development Boards, where the Cabinet takes on the spot decisions.
• After the 1975 Indira-Abdullah Accord he laid a new foundation for overall development of the State. This land-mark ushered in an era of much needed peace and political stability in the State.
• His eventful life came to an end on 8^th September, 1982.

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Issued by India

Issued on Nov 15, 1988

Description of Design : The stamp prepared by India Security Press, Nashik Road, is based on a design by Shri Sankha Samantha. For the first day cover Shri K.S. Radhakrishnan has created a rural wall picture, a stylized depiction of tribals up in arms. The cancellation is by Smt. Alka Sharma.

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Single colour

Denomination : 60 Paise

Overall size : 3.91 X 2.90 cms.

Printing size : 3.55 X 2.54 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Imported unwatermarked adhesive gravure coated stamp paper

Number Printed : 10,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 35

Printing Process : Photogravure

Printed : India Security Press

Name : Birsa Munda

Born on Nov 15, 1875 at Ulihatu, Khunti district, Jharkhand, India

Died on Jun 9, 1900 at Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

About : 

• Birsa Munda, the son of Sugna Munda and Karmi Hatu, was born on 15^th November, 1875 at Ulihatu, Ranchi District, Bihar. Birsa who studied at Salga, Burju and at the Chaibasa English Middle School, used to think about the maladies of his society and found in himself the strength to challenge the British Government. He provided the Mundas a leadership, a religion and a code of life which sought freedom and dignity.
  
• In 1894 the monsoons failed and Chhota–nagpur faced an epidemic and starvation. Birsa devotedly served his people. On 1^st October, 1894 the young Birsa led the Mundas to Chaibasa to petition for remission of forest dues, thus appearing as a leader of his tribe for the first time. In 1895 he was arrested and underwent two years’ rigorous imprisonment at Hazaribagh Central Jail.
  
• Birsa and his disciples set themselves the task of serving the famine-stricken and sick people. He became a legend during his lifetime and was called “Dharti Aba” (father of the earth) and worshipped as “Birsa Bhagwan”. As his influence increased, the movement among the Mundas gathered momentum.
  
• The Mundas came into intermittent conflict with the British establishment from 1897 to 1900. In August, 1897 Birsa Munda, along with 400 of his men armed with bows and arrows, attacked the Khunti Police Station. In 1898, on the banks of the river Tanaga, the Mundas faced a British force which they initially defeated. Further action of the British however resulted in the arrest of many of the tribe’s men and women. In January 1900 a skirmish occurred on Dombari hill where many men, women and children were killed while being addressed by Birsa Munda. Later some of the leading disciples of Birsa were arrested. He himself was finally arrested in Chakradharpur forest on 3^rd February 1900. He breathed his last on 9^th June 1900 at Ranchi Jail.
  
• Even today, however, in areas of Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh “Birsa Bhagwan” is remembered as their young leader who threatened the British Raj with his slogan.
  “Abua Raj ete Jana, Maharani Raj tundu Jana”
  (Let the kingdom of the queen be ended and our kingdom be established).
  
• Material for text, courtesy: Shri B.K. Toppo, Secretary, Birsa Munda Statue Committee, Rourkela.

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Issued by India

Issued on Nov 14, 1988

Issued for : On November, 14, 1988 as the nation prepares to commemorate Jawaharlal Nehru’s memory in a year-long programme of action, the Department of Posts has taken out a set of two stamps.

Description of Designs : One of the stamps carries the famous portrait of Jawaharlal Nehru which was made by Svetoslav Roerich which adorns the Central Hall of Parliament. Roerich’s portrait of a great man who loved the natural endowments of his land as much as he loved its people is indeed befitting in the context of the Centenary.

The other carries the logo adopted by the Implementation Committee for the Commemoration of the Nehru Centenary — it is a famous portrait of Nehru in a thoughtful mood indicating perhaps his dreams, his aspirations, his apprehensions and his hopes. The portrait has the suggestion of the tricolour in the background and also carries the famous initials of Jawaharlal Nehru.

M. F. Husain’s profiles of Jawaharlal Nehru are used to design the first day cover. The cancellation is designed by Smt. Alka Sharma.

Type : Stamps, Mint Condition

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination : 60 & 100 paise 

Overall size : 5.8 X 3.91 cms.

Printing size : 5.43 X 3.55 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Imported unwatermarked adhesive gravure coated stamp paper

Number printed : 1,00,00,000 and 10,00,000 respectively

Number per issue sheet : 15

Printing Process : Photogravure

Printed : India Security Press

Name : Jawaharlal Nehru

Born on Nov 14, 1889 at Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

Died on May 27, 1964 at New Delhi, India

About : 

• The Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary Commemoration is a dedication to one of the key figures of this century and to the eternal spirit of India which he embodied.
• Jawaharlal Nehru was a valiant fighter for the people of India. All his life, Jawaharlal Nehru was at the centre of the freedom movement and the mainspring of the progressive forces which have transformed our age. As Gandhiji‘s foremost disciple he provided the leadership, the intellectual rationale and the driving force around which the struggle for freedom unfolded. He consistently strove for the awakening of India and the gradual build up to the democratic upsurge.
• After Independence, as India‘s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru devoted himself to the task of transforming India into a modern State, firmly grounded on a democratic base and wedded to the ideals on which the freedom struggle itself had been fought – national integration, secularism, socialism and universal welfare. An economy almost agrarian was rapidly transformed. A comprehensive infrastructure was established for sustained economic and industrial growth. A new thrust was given to the generation of the scientific temper. Community development programme was initiated to take the fruits of development to the remotest comer of India and, above all, an awareness was created of India’s innate strength and potential. A fledgling State became under his tender care, an important member of the comity of nations.
• Text-Courtesy:– Implementation Committee for Commemoration of the 40^th Anniversary of India‘s Independence and the Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary.

Brochure with the Stamps and Special First Day Cancellation :

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Issued by India

Issued on Nov 11, 1988

Description of Designs : The stamp design is obtained from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and is based on a painting by K.K. Hebbar. The first-day cover is designed by Sankha Samantha and the cancellation by Alka Sharma.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination : 60 Paise

Overall size : 5.8 x 3.32 cms.

Printing size : 5.33 x 2.89 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Imported unwatermarked adhesive gravure coated stamp paper

Number Printed : 10,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 18

Printing Process : Photogravure

Printed : India Security Press

Name :Maulana Sayyid Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al–Hussaini Azad

Born on Nov 11, 1888 at Makkah, Hejaz Vilayet, Ottoman Empire [now Saudi Arabia]

Died on Feb 22, 1958 at Delhi, India

About : 

• Coming from a distinguished family of Muslim divines, noted for its learning, Mohiuddin Ahmad, popularly known as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, was born in Mecca in 1888 – where his ancestors had migrated from India during the revolt of 1857. Azad spent his childhood in Arabia, studying privately. In 1898 he accompanied his parents to India and settled in Calcutta. Here he completed a traditional course in higher Islamic education.
• The Swadeshi movement in Bengal deeply influenced the patriotic Azad and he associated himself with the revolutionaries of the province. In 1912 he started the Urdu weekly Al Hilal to propagate nationalist ideas. He was forced to stop publishing the journal, for seditious writings, but the Maulana started another weekly the Al–Balagh in 1915 and faced internment at Ranchi in Bihar. On release in 1920, he came in close contact with Gandhiji and became prominent among those who supported his Non-Cooperation programme. From this time onwards till Independence he remained in the forefront of each subsequent movement and often suffered imprisonment.
  
• Chief of the Khilafat Committee, the Maulana was also elected President of the special session of the Congress at Delhi in 1923. He also presided over the Jamiat-ul-Ulema and Nationalist Muslim Conference in 1924 and 1929.
  
• When the Congress accepted office in 1937, the Maulana, as a member of its Parliamentary Board, guided the working of the Congress ministries. From 1940 to 1946 he was again elected President of the Congress. Under his presidentship the historic Quit India resolution was passed at Bombay. Subsequently he was arrested along with other leaders and detained in the Ahmadnagar Fort. On release in 1945, he participated in the Simla Conference and later led the negotiations with the British Cabinet Mission.
• A member of the Constituent Assembly, Maulana Azad joined the Interim Government as Minister of Education and Arts. In free India he became the Minister for Education and later for National Resources and Scientific Research. He was also elected Deputy Leader of the Congress following the first general election. His tenure as Education Minister is remembered for significant measures like the appointment of the University and the Secondary Education Commissions, the re-organisation of the All India Council for Technical Education, the rapid development of the Indian Institute of Science, the establishment of the University Grants Commission, the Kharagpur Institute of Technology and the setting up of a chain of laboratories for scientific research throughout the country. A profound scholar, an eminent educationist and a far-sighted statesman, Maulana Azad represented the ideals of secularism and unity in our national life.
• He passed away on 23^rd February 1958.
• Text, Courtesy: Shri Chintamani Vyas and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

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Issued by India

Issued on Nov 3, 1988

Issued for : There are not many newspapers in the world that have survived for 150 years, and when one does, there is cause to celebrate. On the sesquicentenary of The Times of India, the only national newspaper to have reached that landmark in India, the Department of Posts issues a golden commemorative stamp.

Description of Designs : The Rs. 1.50 stamp by India Security Press, Nashik Road has been designed by Shri Aman Nath. The first day cover design has been prepared by Shri Vivek Dutta Gupta. The cancellation is by Smt. Alka Sharma.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Colour : Three colour

Denomination : 150 Paise

Overall size : 4.80 x 3.60 cms.

Printing size : 4.35 x 3.15 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Imported unwatermarked adhesive gravure coated stamp paper

Number Printed : 15,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 20

Printing Process : Photogravure

Printed : India Security Press

About : 

• The reason for the longevity of The Times of India, perhaps, is that long ago it became a veritable institution through which news and reports, opinion and analysis, concepts and comments passed and, in the most recent and historically conscious era of India’s long existence, sedimented, separated, formalised and acquired ‘body’ as they made their hurried journey through the institutional filters. Events shaped The Times of India, but The Times of India played an important part in shaping the memories of these events.
• As a leading “newspaper of record“, the material The Times of India has carried has always been seen as being of significance not only for the day but even for posterity: news, pictures, cartoons, commentary, editorial view-point, readers’ opinions, even advertisements, have been perceived to have had a longer validity than would be indicated by their appearance in a daily broadsheet. Indeed, The Times of India has had a presence which has been more than that of a simple daily; it has been perceived as an institution in national life.
• The Times of India has changed over 150 years of its existence. But none of these changes have taken away from its image as a sober, reliable “newspaper of record”. The Times of India has been in the vanguard of Indian journalism and as such it has sought to perform in a considered and responsible manner the important role that the press has in a democratic society.
• After 150 years of positive and constructive engagement with the processes that shape India, The Times of India continues to remain a leading newspaper and is a champion of the cause of the free press. The issue of a befitting stamp is a tribute to the historic role of The Times of India.
• Text, courtesy: The Times of India.

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